BBDO Chairman Critiques Bob Garfield's Cannes Critique

Many years ago, I saw an invitation to the annual awards of the Art Directors Club of New York. It went something like this:

ARE THIS YEAR'S AWARDS GOING TO BE TOO LONG, ANOTHER BAD SHOW, UNFAIRLY JUDGED, AND WORSE FOOD...

... NOT IF YOU WIN!

That pretty much sums up every awards show I have ever entered and/or attended.

Plus, all awards shows seem to go through a cycle of relevance and sometimes an evolution. The Clios imploded a number of years ago. For a while the One Show was all the rage. The local Addys have fewer than half the entries they received 10 years ago.

Certainly, Cannes has enjoyed an international luster for years due to the cinematic awards that are the tail that wags the lion (so to speak). However, the current economic climate may prove to be the catalyst to some modernization of the categories and make it more relevant to today's marketing paradigm.

Hoot Communications

Last night, I had the pleasure of co-hosting (with Phil Johnson of PJA in Boston,) the BMA ACE Awards in New York City, which celebrate creative excellence in business to business marketing. While the b-to-b sector has been decimated by the recession, we saw incredible work from agencies large and small...

Sometimes, a strong idea (even if it's poorly funded) can return a disproportionate amount of value back to the client. However, a weak idea with a zillion dollar budget still tanks.

That's why we recognize these agencies and the individuals doing creative work - because it IS an accomplishment of something important on the professional level. We're not asking bankers and lawyers to recognize us, just other ad people.

Dave Lubars will be happy to learn that his agency, BBDO, won BEST IN SHOW last night for their beautiful and idea-rich work for GE.

Nader Ashway
The Ashway Group

Twitter @nashway

What are awards? Awards for beauty, awards for creativity, awards for taste/flavor? Unless the award is for academic or any other measurable achievement, the award is subjective. A way for the group who gives, and hopes to receive, the award to feel validated. Nothing more, nothing less.

Now, if we as an industry want to increase our importance to ourselves, then by all means continue the awards as usual. But, if we want to bring importance to what we do to others outside our industry (most importantly, clients and potential clients) then we need to create a hybrid system in which to lavish ourselves with praise. A subjective/objective award.

Combine the subjective (creativity, look, feel, etc) with actual metrics (increased sales, views, clicks, etc). If this new system can be created, we can offer more than just a statue to impress our clients, but actual numbers to back up what we are trying to convince them of in the first place: our work, works.

Richard Todd Aguayo - http://knpbranding.com

Lubars 1, Garfield .5

Taking Cannes as the be-all and end-all of the industry is like using a Michael Moore film to form your entire opinion on a subject. There's a lot that is good, but you can't base your entire outlook on it.

Everyone should go to Cannes. It's inspiring. Yes, you'll see creatives who think they've won the Nobel. You'll also meet some who appreciate the fleeting fame, but are anxious to get back to work and do something they love despite overwhelming forces to the contrary.

There are still dogwalker spots. There are still "directors cuts". But the few shouldn't cloud the majority. Let's celebrate, with our bullshit detectors on high alert.

And Mr. Garfield, perhaps you've just been to Cannes too many times.

This proves the perils of the Advertising industry. If leadership does not believe they can produce great creative that is EFFECTIVE based on the more challeged budgets of their Clients, then they are not doing their job. Last time I checked, the roll of Advertising is to move a Client's business - not win creative awards. If he feels that the challenged economy and lower budgets inhibits his ability to deliver great creative - then he'd in it for himself and his Agency's glory. I think the greatest work produced is that which can be produced for less AND have greatest impact. Disappointing.

There is always so much confusion as to what award shows are about and whether they have any value.

Plain and simple, award shows are about recognizing and rewarding creativity.

And the purpose of creativity in advertising -- for all of you who have forgotten or, perhaps, have never known -- is to make the ad in question stand out from the clutter.

Any ad that wins an award, be it at Cannes or some local show, has done exactly that.

Award show judges have more ads thrown at them in an extremely condensed period of time than anyone else on the planet.

And the ads that stand out in the barrage get the prizes.

In my experience, the people who pooh-pooh award shows are people who are incapable of winning any awards in the first place.

So there.

I totally agree with David about what creativity can do to help us out of our mess, so I sincerely hope his message gets out there. The entrepreneurial and creative spirit of our country is a fundamental strength we must harness -- all of us.

I also agree that creativity needs to be recognized and celebrated. Given my prior work with David, I think he'd agree that creativity comes in different shapes, and that all need to be recognized (if they're good, of course.)

Tough part is that most of us instinctively still gravitate towards the shiniest of metal objects. While the shows are heading in the right direction, how can we ask the shows to better recognize creativity in a broader sense when most of us still hover around the big flashy screens telling great stories? Change starts at home, doesn't it? You can begin by respecting and seeking out creativity in all you do.

I don't understand how creativity can decline in a time of adversity? Isn't it the opposite that should be true? What about the artists and writers who were starving in garrets, yet producing masterpieces?

If anything, it would be more fair if the award shows were judged by lay people, off the street, non-ad-industry consumers. Face it, these awards are used to get pay raises and better job offers. The award culture leads to excess and waste in pursuit of ego-soothing recognition, not necessarily great work that sells the clients product. Being recognized for your work should come from increased awareness and sales for your client. What you do for a living is get consumers to buy stuff. So, do work that sells the most stuff. Creativity comes in many forms and should not be judged except as results.