D&AD Awards 2016 – open for entries, PR & Media categories added
D&AD Professional Awards started the entry period for the 54th edition of the competition and, for 2016, introduced 2 new categories, namely PR and Media. Moreover, there are added, across all crafts, innovative new and re-structured sub-categories. 
Where once the function of a PR or Media department was to support and elevate a creative campaign designed by a separate agency, today the lines of creativity are blurred. Successful campaigns are no longer just crafted in the confines of creative agencies, creativity can no longer be pigeonholed in this way.
Celebrating and awarding creativity is at the heart of what D&AD does and so it makes sense to move with the times. Increasingly whole creative campaigns are being designed and created in-house by talented teams who are just as adept at harnessing the power of social media or data as they are creating their own content.
Adding new categories is an important step for us, it isn’t a decision that we take lightly, so we have brought on Marian Salzman, Chairman, Global Collective and CEO, North America, Havas PR and Tess Alps, Chairman of Thinkbox to be the jury foremen for PR and Media respectively. This isn’t a soft launch; this is a complete commitment to honouring these categories and recognising their achievements.
Tim Lindsay,
CEO D&AD
After an overwhelming response to the Book Design category in 2015, D&AD has decided to celebrate the true breadth of design that this category inspires with in-depth new subcategories. Also in design, the Product Design category is awarding contemporary innovation with new categories for 3D printed products and wearable technology. Game geeks will also have a field day with Printed Games submissions, new to Graphic Design,
Media continues to play a large role in shaping creativity and with such a diverse array of outstanding campaigns continuing to emerge in this space, D&AD has added subcategories to last year’s new Branded Film Content & Entertainment and to the Film Advertising categories. Following on from the Black Pencil winning K9FM, Radio Advertising has also expanded with a subcategory dedicated to branded audio content, as this area has seen significant growth in the past 12 months. Innovators in Digital Marketing are celebrated with the introduction of social video, confirming what everyone already knows: advertising to millennials has never been so relevant.
Full information on categories, pricing and dates can be found on competition’s website.
Open for entries are also D&AD’s Next Director and Next Photographer Awards. The Next series bridges the gap between the D&AD Professional Awards and New Blood program by identifying the best new talent and promoting them back to industry. The creative campaign for the awards will be designed by Brazilian Agency F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi.
Shortlisted directors and photographers receive international exposure for their work, mentoring from a wide portfolio of acclaimed photographers, agents, production companies and advertising agencies, plus the chance to win funding and grants towards personal and commissioned projects.
The overall winner will then be chosen from the shortlists and announced at the D&AD Professional Awards Ceremony in May 2016, taking home a coveted D&AD Pencil and earning a place in the 2016 D&AD Annual. All shortlisted entries also get a mention in the Annual.
Since 1962, D&AD has been inspiring a community of creative thinkers by celebrating and stimulating the finest in design and advertising. A D&AD Award is recognised globally as the ultimate creative accolade, entered and attended by the best creative decision makers from around the world. Set to reward, promote and enable creative brilliance in all areas of creative communication, a Yellow – or Black – Pencil remains the pinnacle in many careers.
The introduction of the White Pencil- Creativity for Good category in 2012 was a resounding success. Since its launch it has grown from a single brief to an entire movement, producing a record four Pencil winners in 2015.