AAMU’s Magic City Classic Rivalry Week series up for award
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Alabama A&M University’s 2024 Magic City Classic Rivalry Week video series has been shortlisted for a 2025 Telly Award.
The branded video series celebrating the magic of the nation’s largest HBCU rivalry has been recognized among the best short films of the year.
About the Magic City Classic Rivalry Week series
Alabama A&M launched a unique content campaign last fall to celebrate the Magic City Classic rivalry. The brand-amplifying video series has earned more than 1 million overall views, driving a nearly 10% uptick in audience growth for AAMU through the content deployed across social media and major Alabama TV markets ahead of the Magic City Classic.
The series showcases the Willigham family, who are huge Bulldog fans. The series includes three episodic videos highlighting AAMU’s traditional rivalry through storylines rooted in familial school spirit.
Julius, the family patriarch, finds himself in the middle of each vignette as he protects The Hill ahead of the Classic.
The first spot, entitled “Trick or Treat”, brings Julius face-to-face with the enemy as his little nephew, Jeremiah, appears at his doorstep dressed as the cutest hornet you’ve ever seen.
In the second spot titled “Choices,” the Willingham’s father-son duo – Julius and Curtis – shed a fun light on a rivalry that often divides households along mascot lines. Curtis’ decision to attend college in Montgomery leads Julius to replace him with a new son.
The final spot in the series — “Meet the Parents” — has Tonya (the Willingham’s daughter) bringing home her new boyfriend Jaden, who happens to be a student at a Montgomery area university.
Julius gets to the bottom of Jaden’s loyalties as rivalry week approaches. The episodes, shared more than 10,000 times across social media so far, were also launched as digital ads across key markets.
“The series is a new spin on the Magic City Classic hype videos fans have come to expect and was a center piece of our MCC campaign – ‘The rivalry, the love… Classic.’ We decided to take a different approach that really showcases the familial aspect of the nation’s largest HBCU rivalry.”
Aaron Thompson, AAMU Assistant Vice President for Advancement and Branding
More about the Telly Awards
Right now the series is a nominee for a 2025 Telly Award. The Telly Awards annually showcase the best work created within television and across video, for all screens.
Receiving more than 13,000 entries globally from six continents and all 50 states, Telly Award winners represent work from some of the most respected advertising agencies, television stations, production companies and publishers from around the world.
A public voting period will decide the People’s Telly Award winner. The People’s Telly is the only category that goes to the Telly’s public voting platform after it is scored high enough by the judges.
The People’s Telly voting period (April 8 – April 18) allows the online public, fans and supporters to view and rate video projects to help determine a People’s Telly winner. Create an account and rate the AAMU video series through April 18.
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