DDB and Y&R score Yellow Pencils at D&AD; Graphite Pencils won by Colenso BBDO and FCB
The 56th D&AD Professional Awards Ceremony took place tonight (26 April) in London, where three Black Pencils – the highest accolade in the creative industry – were awarded.
DDB New Zealand scored a Yellow Pencil and a Graphite Pencil for Re:Scam, and Y&R New Zealand was awarded a Yellow Pencil for Heinz ‘Geoff’.
Graphite Pencils (equivalent to Silver) were awarded to FCB New Zealand for Health Promotion Agency ‘The Lost Night’ and Colenso BBDO Auckland for Pedigree ‘The Child Replacement Programme.
Says DDB NZ CEO, Justin Mowday: “It’s fantastic to see New Zealand agencies placed so highly this year at D&AD, and for DDB NZ to lead the way is really gratifying. D&AD is one of the few award shows we still enter, because it’s the most thoroughly judged and therefore the hardest to be recognised at. What’s particularly pleasing is seeing our work awarded across a range of cutting-edge disciplines for some forward-thinking clients.”
Adds DDB NZ chief creative officer Damon Stapleton: “I prize every pencil we’ve been given because they’re very hard things to win. To pick up seven in one go is an awesome effort. I want to acknowledge the fantastic teams both at DDB and client-side that worked on Re:scam and Fight for Territory. These were innovative campaigns that required a combination of world-beating creativity and technical expertise – and they’ve now been acknowledged as world-class.”
Host/Havas, Sydney claimed a Black Pencil ~ plus one Yellow Pencil and three Graphite Pencils ~ for its Palau Legacy Project ‘The Palau Pledge’ which requires visitors to Palau to sign a passport pledge to act in an ecologically responsible way on the island.
Saatchi & Saatchi New York took home a Black Pencil for the ‘It’s a Tide Ad’ campaign, which took over the airwaves during this year’s Super Bowl.
McCann New York was awarded a Black Pencil for Fearless Girl, the bronze statue of a defiant young girl facing the iconic ‘Charging Bull’ on Wall Street, commissioned to highlight State Street Global Advisors’ gender diversity index fund.
In total, 721 Pencils were awarded during D&AD Judging 2018. The number of Pencils awarded by level are as follows:
Black Pencil – 3 Pencils
Yellow Pencil – 74 Pencils
Graphite Pencil – 156 Pencils
Wood Pencil – 488 Pencils
Says D&AD CEO Tim Lindsay: “This has been an outstanding year for creativity. We received entries from 50 countries across all continents, attesting to the truly global nature of our programme and the impact of D&AD in stimulating and celebrating talent from around the world.
“Three Black Pencils have been awarded, two of which use creativity as a means to create a better world. But we’ve also seen a marked focus on humour and playfulness. Design and advertising can be used to encourage debate and engender social discourse, but it can and should also entertain. Also, sell stuff. In the current social and economic climate, we need all of the above.”
President’s Award
This year the President’s Award goes to Colleen DeCourcy and Susan Hoffman from Wieden + Kennedy.
D&AD President Steve Vranakis commented: “Every D&AD President gets to choose one of their creative heroes to give the President’s Award to. They’re always giants of our industry, hugely awarded, respected by the whole community, great achievers, groundbreaking creative practitioners and much-loved leaders.
“This year we celebrate the extraordinary achievement in advertising of not one, but two such leaders: Colleen DeCourcy and Susan Hoffman. Together, they co-chief and creative-direct one of the world’s finest creative agencies, Wieden + Kennedy, an agency we all know, love and respect. I am hugely honoured to recognise their achievement and their outstanding contribution to creative excellence.”
Country ranking by number of Pencils won:
