The American Advertising Awards (ADDYs), is the advertising industry's largest and most representative competition, attracting more than 25,000 entries yearly from local ad club competition winners. The national American Advertising Awards is a three-tier competition. Tier one takes place at the local level, with each club across the country receiving and judging entries from their local members. At the second tier, local ADDY winners compete against winners from other local clubs in one of fifteen district competitions.
Finally, district ADDY winners are forwarded to the third and final tier, i.e., the national finals of the American Advertising Awards, which this year took place on June 3rd in Nashville at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. No surprises, it was a spectacular event.
So, with the 2022 ADDYs now behind us, what top three observations can we make about this year's national winners?
Observation 1: Creative 'Big' Ideas
The first observation is that the standard of work represented by the winners is truly fantastic. This probably should come as no surprise, with the gold winners representing the best of the best from 25,000 plus entries, they should be pretty good right! That said, what particularly stood out is that most of the ‘big-ideas’ are a) clever, b) relatively simple, but c) brilliantly executed. It just shows that if you allocate a little bit of time to thinking outside the box for the core' big idea', then it just becomes a matter of ensuring that each element of the execution is managed to the highest standard so that the overall concept is delivered faultlessly. Below are the winners of the Best of Show and the Judge’s choice awards. For all award winners, click here.
Observation 2: Small Agencies are Winners Too
The first observation is that the standard of work represented by the winners is truly fantastic. This probably should come as no surprise, with the gold winners representing the best of the best from 25,000 plus entries, they should be pretty good right! That said, what particularly stood out is that most of the ‘big-ideas’ are a) clever, b) relatively simple, but c) brilliantly executed. It just shows that if you allocate a little bit of time to thinking outside the box for the core' big idea', then it just becomes a matter of ensuring that each element of the execution is managed to the highest standard so that the overall concept is delivered faultlessly. Below are the winners of the Best of Show and the Judge’s choice awards. For all award winners, click here.
Observation 3: Big-Name Clients
The third observation is that while not all the agencies are big group agencies, most of the clients for whom the work was created are fairly big-name clients. On the one hand, this is good news. It's nice to see big-name clients utilizing the services of independent ad agencies to get their creative work done. On the other hand, it's a shame that we do not see more medium-sized or smaller companies feature in the awards. It makes you wonder whether smaller companies do not have the appetite for outside-the-box creativity? Or if it's a matter of budget, is it that great creative can only be delivered with big budgets?
Observation 3: Big-Name Clients
The third observation is that while not all the agencies are big group agencies, most of the clients for whom the work was created are fairly big-name clients. On the one hand, this is good news. It's nice to see big-name clients utilizing the services of independent ad agencies to get their creative work done. On the other hand, it's a shame that we do not see more medium-sized or smaller companies feature in the awards. It makes you wonder whether smaller companies do not have the appetite for outside-the-box creativity? Or if it's a matter of budget, is it that great creative can only be delivered with big budgets?
What's Your Next Big Idea?
As we make our way through half this year, have you created or begun thinking about what your next big idea and creative project will be to submit to the ADDYs? Take a look through the winners book from our local ADDYs or check out the national winners page to get some inspiration for that next project. If you’re looking for support or need a creative hand, reach out to club members or shoot us a message at info@aaf-polk.org.
This article was written by AAF Polk County member John Robins.