Advertising and design has a lot of awards. A lot. Adforum lists 170 award shows from around the world. The Drum lists 15 award shows (at time of writing). They are big business, and they are here to stay. But are they are good thing? Do they benefit the industry? Maybe it’s worth having a proper think about them. I have listed 10 pros and 10 cons, in true sit-on-the-fence style….
10 reasons to love awards:
1. Awards provide a benchmark, a standard
2. Awards provide good PR for agencies
3. Awards promote healthy competition
4. Awards provide social occasions for the industry
5. Awards bodies provide award funded training / talks / events
6. Awards help clients choose an agency
7. Awards provide individuals a way to further their careers
8. Awards annuals provide constant inspiration
9. Awards provide PR which reaches outside the industry into mainstream press
10. Awards spread good work globally
10 reasons to hate awards:
1. Awards promote unhealthy competition and rivalry
2. Awards take money from agencies that could be used to hire new staff
3. Awards hold the industry in stasis – the same ideas win awards every year, so we are keep doing the same ideas.
4. Awards make the industry look self-congratulatory
5. Awards are everywhere – it’s now easy to win something somewhere
6. Awards judging suffers from cronyism
7. Awards take money and resources which could be used for training and proper events
8. Awards aren’t a barometer of creativity – some of the most successful creatives & agencies are not known for awards
9. Awards push agencies towards award ideas rather than relevant ideas
10. Awards make the industry look unprofessional; like we care about glory rather than selling
2 Comments
11. Everyone loves getting pissed on expenses in a suit.
New title: 11 reasons to love advertising awards. 10 reasons to hate them. Thanks Mr. Palmer.