D&AD winners announced with a record number of Black Pencils awarded
This year’s D&AD Professional Awards, held last night at Battersea Evolution, returned the highest number of Black Pencils ever awarded as socially progressive, ethical and innovative advertising and design took centre stage.
Two honours were handed out by the White Pencil jury for the first time, further highlighting the calibre of this year’s crop of winners.
Martin Riddiford and Jim Reeves’ ‘Gravity Light’ was recognised within the design category, with ‘Sweetie’, a powerful and provocative campaign praised by the UN for its role in helping children’s charity Terre Des Hommes identify more than 1,000 online sexual predators, awarded for advertising and marketing communications.
Six different nations took home the night’s seven pencils, with the Netherlands scooping two. 52 Yellow Pencils and two White Pencils were also handed out.
Tim Lindsay, chief executive of D&AD, commented: “When we launched the White Pencil in partnership with Unilever in 2012, it raised a few eyebrows. To introduce the first new pencil in D&AD’s fifty-plus year history was a bold move; how would the industry respond to it? Would the calibre of work be the innovative, groundbreaking variety we were looking for? Not just charity, NGO or public service campaigns, but work that truly demonstrated you can 'do well by doing good'; where the commercial and CSR agendas properly intersected.
“So to see not one, but two, Black Pencils awarded to White Pencil category entrants is a significant indicator of the direction the business is moving in. Across the board we’ve seen a real desire from our juries to recognise and reward ideas that are original, beautifully executed and that make a positive difference to people’s lives.”
Earlier this year D&AD opened its archive to the wider creative community, allowing anyone to see the best work in D&AD history over the last 52 years.
Take a look at last night’s Black Pencil winners here:
Sound of Honda / Ayrton Senna 1989’ by Dentsu Tokyo for Honda
Improving Safety and Comfort on Train Platforms’ by Edenspiekermann for NS/ProRail
The Most Powerful Arm by Finch for Save Our Sons
The Making of The Most Powerful Arm Ever Invented from Most Powerful Arm on Vimeo.
Digital Design - Technological Innovation (Australia)The Epic Split by Forsman & Bodenfors for Volvo Trucks
CSPD 2012 Annual Report’ by WAX Partnership for Calgary Society for Persons with Disabilities
Gravity Light by Therefore
GravityLight: lighting for the developing countries from Therefore on Vimeo.
White Pencil – Design (United Kingdom)