Ad agency snubs Perth awards as too parochial and “dominated by scam”
One of Perth’s largest advertising agencies has pulled out of its local awards show because its boss feels the event does not raise creative standards to national or international levels and is dominated by “scam”.
Steve Harris, MD of The Brand Agency, has withdrawn support from the Perth Advertising & Design Club awards telling Mumbrella “We want to set a higher benchmark for ourselves than being happy just with Perth awards.”
The Brand Agency boss Steve Harris
In an email sent to Mumbrella, Harris stated:
Involvement in local award shows is not just about the awards. It is a way to connect with and provide support for the local ad community.
Get on the committee if you’ve got an issue and stop trying to engineer publicity out of it.
Wow an advertising agency taking the high moral ground….That’s a bit rich
I think Steve has a good point. Against what criteria do you measure creativity? The best in your agency? The best in your town? The best in your country? Or the best in the world?
At a minimum you would need to say that national awards at least are able to recognise creativity in a cultural context, but do we really believe there is such a cultural divide between each of the states that the industry needs local state awards?
As a past president and life member of the MADC I am not saying that state based clubs are not required. As My Two Cents says, they provide connections and support for the local ad community, but an annual award show is not and should not be the only way they do this.
Better to have a truly valued and recognised national creative award program like AWARD.
Meh! Awards nights are just an excuse to.. a) get pi$$ed… B) find a new job/employee…. C) Mutual masturbation in front of your peers…. D) the opportunity to deceive your clients that even though your perfectly executed campaign didnt increase sales/recognition one iota, the “ad crowd” said it was brilliant.
Ummm, i think we are missing the larger issue here: Who gives a shit? How is this news?
i wonder how many times they entered the awards for no reward?
Darren raises a good point, except that AWARD Awards isn’t a national show, and hasn’t been for years.
It encompasses Australia, New Zealand and Asia. So we don’t actually have a national show anymore.
Perhaps we should. Anyone see any value in AWARD being Asia/Pacific, when we already have so many regional (Spikes, Adfest) and international (Cannes, One Show, Clio, D&AD, NYFEST, etc) shows already?
And there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with award shows. Architects, winemakers, film makers, writers, artists, have them. Banks win awards for ‘home loan of the year’. Auto makers win ‘car of the year’.
Having the gold standard in your craft/profession out there for all to see is an important thing.
Dear Darren & Others,
What I don’t get is are clients actually impressed by industry ad awards? You would know better than most from your privileged position, so please divulge.
Personally, I cant see the point of “best creative ad” type of awards, as these are normally ourselves judging ourselves. Can you imagine a group of lawyers celebrating “best use of font”, or a group of IT people celebrating “best documented backup procedures.” No one cares about the font – only that the lawyer’s contract gives the protections it was intended to. No one cares about the IT document – only that the backups happen properly and regularly.
Similarly, and surely, isn’t the best ad is the one that helps does what it was intended to do best – ie helps sell more product for the client?
We should stop kidding ourselves that we produce great work if it doesn’t move product.
Let’s just rename award nights “official piss-ups” and then we’re all clear.
KK
The brand promise of the PADC is ‘Valuable Creativity’
We foster and promote the value of creative excellence in
advertising and design in WA. We run a tight ship and do just two things
very well.
Our first class provincial awards show and festival of ideas inspire,
showcase and reward local talent in the local context.
We celebrate agency performance and reinforce the serious
message of the value of creativity to all stakeholders. We
provide a platform for new talent to enter and progress in the
industry by providing ‘in the flesh’ exposure to ideas and
concrete challenges. We give creatives an objective local
litmus test before they proceed to the bigger stage.
We believe that great ideas plus great craft equals valuable
creativity.
There is a need to develop our industry so we can guarantee a continued supply of our critical raw meterial, talent.
Secede then. You know you want to.