D&AD reveals juries for 53rd Annual Professional Awards
D&AD has revealed the global line-up of creatives set to take part in the 53rd edition of its Professional Awards. In keeping with tradition, the D&AD Awards will be judged by some of the international creative communities’ highest profile members, including:
- Eric Kallman, Executive Creative Director at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (Integrated & Innovative Media)
- Rei Inamoto, Chief Creative Officer at AKQA New York (Mobile Marketing)
- Harriet Devoy, Creative Director at Apple Europe (Branding)
- Jonathan Kneebone, Co-Creative Director at The Glue Society (Film Advertising Crafts)
- PJ Pereira, Chief Creative Officer at Pereira & O’Dell (Digital Marketing)
- Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director at Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai (Press Advertising)
- Kai-Lu Hsiung, Managing Director at RSA/Black Dog Films London (Branded Film Content & Entertainment)
- Eike Konig, Owner/Creative Director at Hort (Graphic Design)
Entries for the 53rd D&AD Professional Awards are already open with a 10% early-bird discount offer for submissions received before November 20th. The eligibility period for the 2015 Awards has been extended to include work that ran from 1 January 2014 through to 28 February 2015. In addition, a number of category and sub-category updates have been made in response to the evolving creative landscape.
A new category has been introduced for Branded Film Content & Entertainment. First appearing in 2011 as a sub-category, TV, film, online and documentaries, it will now be judged by a standalone jury, in addition to a new sub-category for Tactical Branded Film Content & Entertainment.
Meanwhile, the White Pencil – Creativity for Good award has proved a resounding success at the D&AD Professional Awards. With the ambition to encourage more entries from big businesses, the category now distinguishes between work for NGOs and brands across both advertising & marketing communications and design. Service Innovation is further a new addition, introduced to recognise service products that seek to build brands and businesses by doing good.
To celebrate those pushing the boundaries of technology, innovation sub-categories have been added to Packaging Design, Product Design and Radio Advertising. Innovation in media is also recognised through the revamped Integrated & Innovative Media category.
TV & Cinema Advertising category is renamed to Film Advertising and features a new Tactical sub-category for film advertising. There is a new sub-category Casting for Film Advertising introduced within Film Advertising Crafts and lastly, following its successful re-addition at the 2014 Awards, there are two new sub-categories introduced within Music Videos: Direction and Production Design.
The role of creativity and the value of design in our society has never been greater. Whether as vehicle for social change, enriching quality of life or finding the means to do well by doing good, we’ve seen some truly impressive innovation from across the advertising and design industries in recent years as boundaries are pushed and limits tested. After a remarkable 2014, we’re all looking forward to seeing what 2015 brings in the field of creative excellence.
Tim Lindsay,
Chief Executive D&AD
Brazilian graphic design and animation studio Lobo will be creating a special promo film to support the call for entries for the 2015 Professional Awards. Set to premiere in November, ‘Wish You Were Here?’ is an off-kilter tribute to D&AD, reintreprating, reimagining and ‘mashing up’ highlights from over five decades of Pencil winners.
We didn’t want to simply create a collage of pieces, or a ‘retrospective reel’ (…) Our goal was to offer a creative reinterpretation of the Awards’ heritage, scrambling the material into something completely new and at the same time reminiscent of the original ads. Therefore not a single reference can be found in its original form: our idea was to swap techniques, characters and narratives between the pieces, all the while keeping a coherent visual identity throughout.
Loic Dubois
Creative Executive Producer Lobo
D&AD only awards work of the highest standard, meaning that the quantity of top Awards given fluctuates year on year. The scrutiny and rigour imposed by the internationally acclaimed judges is legendary, and ensures that only the very best work receives a covered D&AD Pencil.
Judges award work at four levels:
- Wood Pencil (formerly In Book): Our equivalent to a bronze award. The best in advertising and design from the year, worthy of a place in the D&AD Annual.
- Graphite Pencil (formerly Nomination): Our equivalent to a silver award. Standout work, beautifully executed with an original and inspiring idea at its core.
- Yellow Pencil: The iconic D&AD Yellow Pencil, awarded only to the most outstanding work that achieves true creative excellence.
- White Pencil: Awarded to Yellow Pencil-worthy work that demonstrates the power to affect real and positive change in the world through creative thinking.
- Black Pencil: The ultimate creative accolade, reserved for work that is ground- breaking in its field. Only a handful of Black Pencils are awarded each year, if any.
Most Awarded Pencils are also presented to the top advertising agencies, design studios, production companies and clients of the year. This award is calculated using a weighted system with points awarded for each Pencil won.
All awarded work appears in the D&AD Annual, released annually in September and is available to purchase exclusively through D&AD.
Work entered into the 2015 D&AD Awards must have been commercially released between 1 January 2014 and 28 February 2015 and been produced in genuine response to a client brief. It must not have been entered in previous years. Submissions should be made in their original language by 18 February 2015. The Awards cost from just £85 to enter this year. All entries received by 20 November 2014 will save 10% on the cost of entry. Freelancers and sole traders that are members of D&AD are eligible to receive a 20% discount.