D&AD awards 2 Black Pencils amongst 155 Craft, 269 Advertising and 1 Collaborative Pencil winners

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Following the first of two digital Award ceremonies that took place on 25 May at 7pm BST, D&AD announces 2 Black Pencils amongst Craft, Advertising and Collaborative winners. 

Since 1962, D&AD’s mission has been to stimulate and celebrate creative excellence with the belief that creativity is a key driver in commercial, economic, social and cultural success. Now in its 60th year, the Awards has grown to incorporate more than 40 categories judged by a cohort of nearly 400 of the world’s leading creative minds. The Awards recognise work that has made a significant impact and will inspire seasoned talent as well as the next generation.

This year, D&AD were proud to see a record number of entries to the Awards and the standard of work submitted reached the same exceptional level. As such, in last night’s ceremony, 2 Black Pencils, the creative industry’s most coveted accolade, reserved only for truly groundbreaking work, were awarded. The recipients are:

Samsung iTest, DDB New Zealand, Media, Mobile

  • Samsung has built a website that allows any iPhone user to try a Samsung from the comfort of their own iPhone, using iPhone devices as media placement.

The Lost Class, Leo Burnett Chicago, Direct, Film

  • To fight for common sense gun laws, Leo Burnett Chicago held a graduation ceremony for the 3,044 students who would have graduated this year if they hadn’t been killed by a gun. 

The Black Pencils were announced amongst winners from across the Craft categories, including Visual Effects, Editing, Sound Design & Use of Music, Direction, Casting, Cinematography, Art Direction, Animation, Production Design, and Writing for Advertising; Advertising categories including Experiential, Direct, Media, Digital, Radio & Audio, PR, E-commerce, Film, Press & Outdoor, and Integrated; and the Collaborative Awards which celebrate long-lasting relationships between clients and their design, advertising and/or production companies that have led to the creation of noteworthy work in recent years.

For the Collaborative Awards, AMV BBDO  was awarded for their continued work with Essity as a recognition of the outstanding craft and excellence work produced in recent years with Blood Normal, Viva la Vulva, and Wombstories.

The total number of Pencils in each category are: 

Craft: 155 Pencil Winners 

  • Animation: 21
  • Art Direction: 15
  • Casting: 26
  • Cinematography: 5
  • Direction: 19
  • Editing: 10
  • Production Design: 7
  • Sound Design & Use of Music: 18
  • Visual Effects: 15
  • Writing for Advertising: 19

Advertising: 268 Pencil Winners 

  • Digital: 52
  • Direct: 23
  • Experiential: 29
  • E-commerce: 9
  • Film: 54
  • Integrated: 11
  • Media: 28
  • PR: 28
  • Press & Outdoor: 26
  • Radio & Audio: 8

Collaborative: 1 Pencil Winner

All 424 Pencil winning & shortlisted entries are showcased on the D&AD website.

Donal Keenan, Awards Director at D&AD, commented:

“Based on the first round of judging, it is clear this year has been another outstanding one for global creativity. With a record-breaking number of applicants in 2022, it was a particularly challenging one to judge, so we are delighted to have been able to award two Black Pencils to DDB New Zealand and Leo Burnett Chicago, who have astounded us with their unique creative approaches. We are grateful to have been able to celebrate, learn from, and be inspired by the immense talent that our industry has to offer alongside the rest of the global creative community at part one of the D&AD Ceremony and look forward to the second with anticipation”. 

D&AD this year continues to platform the most exceptional work from the past 12 months, following the same rigorous judging process. Famously tough to win, there are no quotas for D&AD Awards, meaning that the number of awarded entries fluctuates each year. In some years, no Black Pencils – the highest creative accolade – are awarded. The highest ever awarded in one year currently stands at seven. 

Winning work will not only receive an esteemed D&AD Pencil, it will also be featured in the digital D&AD Annual and online archive – a definitive guide for creatives all around the world.

The Pencil winners for the remaining Craft, Side Hustle, Design, Impact and Culture categories alongside Black Pencils and Companies of the Year will be announced in the second virtual ceremony on 26 May at 7pm BST.

The President’s Award will be announced at a special in-person event in September to celebrate D&AD’s 60th Anniversary and to launch this year’s D&AD Annual. Further details will be announced shortly. 

In addition, D&AD are producing the Jury Insight 2022 series in order to celebrate the great work that has been produced over the last year. Select juries will unpack some of the winning work from the Awards, exploring what creative excellence means in 2022, as well as discussing wider themes and trends across the industry. The panel discussion will be published bi-weekly as a series throughout the summer on the D&AD website and YouTube channel.