This article first appeared in AdNews in-print. Click here to subscribe to the AdNews magazine or read the iPad edition here.
Beating hearts, talking testicles, hidden messages in porn and bold feminist movements. This year’s Agency of the Year winners are wildly varied. The ideas across the board were nothing short of brilliant - a glowing testament to the health of this industry despite the ever more challenging world it operates in.
2015 was an interesting year. One not without controversies. The AdNews Agency of the Year Awards judging process was no different. As always, some tough calls were made. Some great work and great agencies didn’t make the cut and the revelation of the winners will, I’m sure, prove contentious to some.
Making it as a finalists in this year’s awards is a stellar achievement, perhaps more so than any previous year due to the sheer volume of entries this year, (there were more than 360, a staggering 25% uplift on last year). That growth is not from reams of new categories invented simply to line the coffers. We added just one new category and I believe by keeping the Awards we hand out tight it remains meaningful. We don’t want to undermine the value placed on our awards by the market by diluting them in a money grab.
The rise in entries says a lot about the esteem in which the AdNews Agency of the Year awards are held but also in the quality of the work in market and the sophistication of the agencies producing it.
There is a broad sense of awards fatigue, and I know that it’s a time consuming process to enter, so I thank everyone that did. A big thanks also to our judges who took the time out to whittle down the shortlist. Judges were faced with the challenge of evaluating a vast quantity of very high quality of work, but also the challenge of how to define work and agencies in the ever evolving world of advertising and media. What is branded content? What constitutes a customer experience agency?
What sets apart an ad from a campaign from and what does it mean to be truly game changing? These are the questions that get battled on a daily basis and the awards judging process only heightens it. We live or die, as agencies and brands do, on our reputation.
Every step is we take is watched carefully and scrutinised. When it comes to the awards we hand out it couldn’t be more true. I’m proud to be able to recognise these finalists and winners as the best in the business.
And so to our Agency of the Year. The Monkeys. Selecting the AdNews Agency of the Year is a big call to make and it was as much about what The Monkeys stands for in this industry as the work it produces that crystallised the decision. It’s an agency that is reshaping itself and the way it works with clients, while keeping its independence.
It was also refreshing to see some of the interesting work coming out of other small indie shops. It feels as though there is a wave of small intriguing agencies coming through that have the potential to be the next Monkeys. Here you’ll find a showcase of the winners and the finalists – take the time to celebrate it all.
This article first appeared in AdNews in-print. Click here to subscribe to the AdNews magazine or read the iPad edition here.