Alumni Boyan Zlatarski (’22) and Emma Kerencheva (’22), together with their team from VCU Brandcenter, won a Black Pencil at the D&AD New Blood Awards, one of the highest accolades in the global creative industry. The recognition came for Scan to Revolt, a campaign for Adobe meant to empower Gen Z to challenge design cliches in advertising with their fresh perspective.
With this achievement, Boyan and Emma became the first Bulgarians, first AUBG alumni and, together with their teammates Alexander Ward, Callum Leitenberg and Henry Coffey, first VCU Brandcenter students to ever receive a Black Pencil.
About Boyan and Emma
Boyan graduated from AUBG with a major in Journalism and Mass Communication and a minor in Psychology, while Emma has a double major in Journalism and Mass Communication and Business Administration.
In 2023, Boyan and Emma enrolled in a two-year master’s program at VCU Brandcenter at Virginia Commonwealth University with concentrations in Copywriting and Creative Brand Management, respectively. The One Club for Creativity ranked Brandcenter number one in the U.S. and number two globally in their 2024 Global Creative College Rankings.
“This achievement came as a huge surprise and we are thrilled and honored,” Emma said. “Of course there was no world in which we expected any of this to happen, but we’re convinced that our Brandcenter faculty, staff, AUBG friends and peers played a big part in pushing us to greatness. More than anything, we’re excited for the briefs that we get to work on next.”
While the team will finish their studies in 2025, they’re already making their mark. Boyan is sharpening his copywriting skills at Giant Spoon, an independent agency in New York, Emma is gaining strategic expertise at Publicis’ New York office, and their teammates are interning at Fallon, Ogilvy, and Dentsu Creative. This win is a testament to the students’ talent, hard work, and the guidance of their creative mentors, Tom Scharpf, Holly Hessler and Kevin Rothermel.
About the Award
The annual D&AD New Blood Awards welcome a diverse array of talent from the realms of advertising, design, digital, and marketing. The global competition is specifically tailored for students, recent graduates, and emerging creatives eager to make their mark in the creative industry.
The Black Pencil is one of the most renowned awards in the global creative industry; only three black pencils were awarded this year and only 21 have been awarded in the past decade of D&AD New Blood competitions. To even be considered for a Black Pencil, an entry needs to first secure a Yellow Pencil, signifying it’s among the category’s best solutions. Then, it needs to leave a lasting impression, convincing the jury to nominate it for the ultimate recognition. Finally, it faces a separate committee of jury presidents for a final showdown. Many entries don’t make it past each stage, and some years, no Black Pencils are awarded at all.
