Earlier this year, for the first time, AdNews changed from having a traditional news cover, to having a cover image, a move that we think is much more in tune with AdNews and the creative industry we serve.
As an experiment, throughout the year, we've offered a handful of our cover slots over to agencies to design the creative. And now we want you to vote on which was the best. Vote Here!
Each agency was given a brief based on the cover feature for that issue, a tight deadline and free rein to come up with some ideas they thought reflected the theme.
AdNews then chose the idea we thought best reflected the editorial and tasked the agency to create it.
Now we want you to choose which one you think was the best. Whichever agency's effort gets the most votes by the 5 December, will be named the AdNews 2014 Cover of the Year. The agency will be recognised at the AdNews Agency of the Year awards in March and the work will be showcased in The Annual, our flagship final issue of the year alongside some of Australia's top CMOs and media personalities. It's out on 12 December.
Read about the creative concepts below and Vote here!
Jan 24 – The Wreath Vote here!
Creative Agency: The Glue Society (James Dive and Jonathan Kneebone)
Photography: Toby Burrows
Would anyone come to your brand’s funeral?
The relationship that people (‘real people’) have with brands is being examined. And it appears that if a fairly hefty percentage of brands disappeared into the ether, most people wouldn’t give a toss.
A lot of marketing and advertising is so self-indulgent or self-important or self-interested, it is starting to have a whiff of political spin. In other words, we’re switching off. So the idea of how people respond to a brand’s death was something that we found fairly inspiring.
Celebrating a brand’s funeral with party string or baking a colourful cake felt quite appealing.
But the expression that typifies sheer disinterest ‘I wouldn’t even come to your funeral’ felt like something that was potentially more powerful. Rather than celebrating, or caring even, a sense of not giving a toss felt stronger. We decided the most graphic and potent image to symbolize this was a wreath of dead flowers. There’s a sense of neglect about the image. And that sense of very deliberate apathy (if such a thing is possible) made it feel like it was the right creative solution for us.
Feb 21 – Finger Vote here!
Agency: Havas Worldwide Australia
The feature article looks at what percentage of online conversation is actually about brands. As it turns out, it’s not as great as you might think. While brands and products are all chasing the ‘likes’ and the ‘shares’ with the belief that they count for something, the truth is that consumers have other things that they’d much rather talk about. This flies in the face of most of what we’re told about marketing and advertising for brands in the social arena. So to depict this total paradigm shift, we took the well known Facebook symbol and changed it to more accurately represent the audience’s feelings about brands online. Granted, this may be a bit of an over-the-top assumption based on the article, but it will probably get more attention than your brand does online. And if you don’t like it, just look at it for a bit longer.
May 02 – Content Factories Vote here!
Creative Agency: DDB Sydney
Executive Creative Director: Dylan Harrison
Deputy Executive Creative Director: Cam Hoelter
Senior Copywriter: Matt Chandler
Senior Art Director: Ben Pearce
Senior Art Buyer: Leesa Murray
Illustrator: Gail Armstrong, Illustration Ltd
Branded content. You can spend hours arguing its virtues and evils, so we thought this month’s issue should start off by asking a question. Each day we are being increasingly inundated with branded content. But is it the sign of a thriving new industry, or just marketing pollution?
May 30 – 3D Printing Vote here!
Creative Agency: M&C Saatchi
3D Printing: Vert Design
3D printing. It’s everywhere. People are printing cars, food, internal organs. But something worth printing starts with someone having an idea. So we decided to 3D print a creative. No matter what technology comes along, a great idea has to come from somewhere.
July 25 – Glass and a Half Vote here!
Agency: Whybin\TBWA (Rob Hibbert and Wanderin' Pat Malone
Process was pretty straightforward. We read the background to the article. That often helps. Then we used our brains to think of something. In this case, we recalled those silly apps like the beer drinking one where you use your phone to make it look like you’re having a glass of beer. Cadbury. Glass and a half. Done.
Sept 05 – Glass Cleaner Vote here! 
Agency: GPY&R Brisbane
Joint CDs: Andrew Thompson and Brendan Greaney
Senior Art Director: Andrew Leftley
Retoucher: Santi Drame
Transparency in adland is a tricky concept to get across. Media negotiations, margins, trading desks…they’re all messy, complicated and leave a nasty smear on the industry. So we thought we’d clean it up a little. Just one wipe and bam, the bullsh*t’s gone!
Oct 17 – The Force: LA Vote here!
Creative Agency: BMF Advertising
Creatives: Nev Fordyce and Lincoln Grice
Illustration: Huey Wong
Movie franchises have become the mainstay of Hollywood studios. They can reap huge profits and attract crowds the world over. With the revival of the Star Wars franchise imminent, Darth Vader arrived at our door to have his latest portrait rendered by us.
Want to have a chance to design the cover next year? Send an email to AdNews editor Rosie Baker and let us know you're interested. rosiebaker@yaffa.com.au.
If you want to be involved in The Annual this year, there's still time. Contact Belinda Harris or James Yaffa to talk about the opportunities. belindaharris@yaffa.com.au or jamesyaffa@yaffa.com.au
Make your Vote here!
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop me a line at rosiebaker@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day. Need a job? Visit adnewsjobs.com.au.