"High time for change"
Widespread Criticism of Creative Competition Leads to Five Demands for the Art Directors Club Switzerland
Massive criticism of the creative competition leads to five demands to the Art Directors Club SwitzerlandThis year's awards of the Art Directors Club of Switzerland (ADC) have aroused the displeasure of Frank Bodin*. He sees the ADC's judging process as a creative illusion and calls for changes to the creative competition in a letter to the ADC board and WerbeWoche.According to its statutes, the ADC wants to improve advertising by judging it. This already questionable causal relationship raises the question of the quality of the judging process and the signal effect of the results on clients and young creative talent. If, as was the case this year, six out of a total of nine gold awards (groundbreaking advertising according to the ADC!) are economically irrelevant and very few of them have even the slightest chance at the advertising festival in Cannes, the 2002 result must be regarded as a disaster. Hence five demands to improve the jury and the credibility of the ADC. And this should perhaps make a contribution to improving advertising in Switzerland.
Demand 1: The ADC improves advertising by having a qualified jury.
According to the ADC statutes, up to 25 percent of all submitted works can be awarded bronze, 25 percent of these can become silver, and 25 percent of silver awards can become gold. This is a purely quantitative criterion and therefore total nonsense. Because judging primarily requires the ability to make decisions, i.e. qualitative criteria. The ADC does not define binding criteria, nor are many members in a position to formulate such criteria (this year there was not even agreement on the definition of the category "trade advertisements" [B2B]: of the 26 awards, 11 works are actual public advertisements). Is it primarily the idea that is honored or the still good appearance of the work? How do the criteria of a design jury differ from the criteria of an advertisement jury? How do you distinguish a fresh idea from a slightly less fresh one? There are hardly any criteria such as "1. innovative strategy, 2. fresh idea, 3. excellence in execution, 4. relevance for the target group addressed, 5. new standard in the advertising category".
Therefore: 1. qualitative criteria must be discussed and formulated for each category - criteria that are also published and set an example in the industry. 2. the system must be more sophisticated than the members: in a first round, the ADC members draw up a shortlist of precisely 25 percent of all works (mathematical average) as before; in a second round, a main jury of 23 members to be selected (each agency may only be represented once) then assesses the shortlist of all categories and awards bronze, silver and gold according to qualitative criteria; only the award-winning works will be included in the book, which will be thinner but more substantial in future.
Demand 2: The ADC improves advertising by applying international standards.
It is an affront that internationally award-winning works repeatedly fall by the wayside or only receive bronze. No jury in the world is fair, but if a jury is self-righteous and repeatedly ignores international standards, it disqualifies itself. The special case of Switzerland does not stop at the creatives either: no ADC jury presents as many awards as ADC Switzerland. And why is the ADC so vehemently opposed to the introduction of internationally proven jury rules (requirement 1 corresponds roughly to the Cannes procedure, only the mathematical average there is significantly lower)?
Therefore: "Advertising made in Switzerland" can only become a quality label if international criteria are taken into account. This is the only way Switzerland can perform better in Cannes. And only in this way will the Swiss advertising market be able to assert itself in global competition and not degenerate into a country of adaptation.
Demand 3: ADC improves advertising by recognizing relevant work; introduction of the category "Under CHF 25,000 and self-promotion".
A brilliant idea doesn't care how much or how little money it was placed for; nothing against creative achievements on a small scale, which as you know I also cultivate, but the inflation of the work produced en masse for the ADC is neither a sporting joke nor really big. Above all, they send the wrong message to young creative talent (how many juniors in our industry can come up with a funny erotic ad, but never a decent campaign?) and have long been damaging the ADC's actual cause and image with advertising clients. I assume that around 40 to 50 percent of this year's 232 awards were not even based on a media budget of CHF 10,000 or the placement was paid for by the advertising agency itself (including some work from our company...). This means that almost 50 percent of all awards are not relevant for the advertising industry.
Therefore: introduction of the new category "self-promotion and low budget" (under CHF 25,000 or at least under CHF 10,000). Borderline cases that do not wish to be classified in this category must provide evidence to the contrary by means of a media plan that the work has a media value of at least more than CHF 25,000. Anyone who wins an award in this low-budget category in the future has earned it hard and all the more honorably! And: these awards will be returned to the corresponding original category at the awards ceremony (audience ads, film, etc.), so that the procedure is compatible with the ADC of Europe. With the result that one or the other loses many bronze awards in one fell swoop, but the ADC gains credibility.
Demand 4: The ADC improves advertising by rethinking the admission criteria.
We know: Many ADC members, and therefore ADC jurors, have been involved in above-average work under above-average leadership. We also know that probably the majority of members are or were capable of developing a good campaign, but that does not mean they are capable of recognizing a good campaign. We also know that most members come from the same agencies, and the more members an agency has, the better its chances of winning a medal.
That's why future new members not only have to prove their involvement in fresh campaign ideas, but also be a personality; they therefore present their work in person to the admissions committee, where it quickly becomes clear how someone is standing - and thinking - despite having wet hands.
Claim 5: The ADC improves advertising by changing the ADC.
The creative Swiss currency - namely the ADC - can no longer be a yardstick at the moment. I am correspondingly disappointed, as I am one of the more ardent ADC preachers. My faith in the ADC has been shaken, as has my former pride in being a member. Improving the image of our clients is our bread and butter - but the club of leading creative minds has had an image problem for years. Correctly, these demands were sent to the ADC board in advance, in the hope of a signal. Not for the first time, the official response is completely unsatisfactory. It is also no secret that discussion in a wider public is not desired and is seen as a threat.
That's why excellent advertising is always different. It's high time the ADC finally changed. Frank Bodin
* Frank Bodin is a member of ADC Switzerland and CEO of Euro RSCG Switzerland.
Demand 1: The ADC improves advertising by having a qualified jury.
According to the ADC statutes, up to 25 percent of all submitted works can be awarded bronze, 25 percent of these can become silver, and 25 percent of silver awards can become gold. This is a purely quantitative criterion and therefore total nonsense. Because judging primarily requires the ability to make decisions, i.e. qualitative criteria. The ADC does not define binding criteria, nor are many members in a position to formulate such criteria (this year there was not even agreement on the definition of the category "trade advertisements" [B2B]: of the 26 awards, 11 works are actual public advertisements). Is it primarily the idea that is honored or the still good appearance of the work? How do the criteria of a design jury differ from the criteria of an advertisement jury? How do you distinguish a fresh idea from a slightly less fresh one? There are hardly any criteria such as "1. innovative strategy, 2. fresh idea, 3. excellence in execution, 4. relevance for the target group addressed, 5. new standard in the advertising category".
Therefore: 1. qualitative criteria must be discussed and formulated for each category - criteria that are also published and set an example in the industry. 2. the system must be more sophisticated than the members: in a first round, the ADC members draw up a shortlist of precisely 25 percent of all works (mathematical average) as before; in a second round, a main jury of 23 members to be selected (each agency may only be represented once) then assesses the shortlist of all categories and awards bronze, silver and gold according to qualitative criteria; only the award-winning works will be included in the book, which will be thinner but more substantial in future.
Demand 2: The ADC improves advertising by applying international standards.
It is an affront that internationally award-winning works repeatedly fall by the wayside or only receive bronze. No jury in the world is fair, but if a jury is self-righteous and repeatedly ignores international standards, it disqualifies itself. The special case of Switzerland does not stop at the creatives either: no ADC jury presents as many awards as ADC Switzerland. And why is the ADC so vehemently opposed to the introduction of internationally proven jury rules (requirement 1 corresponds roughly to the Cannes procedure, only the mathematical average there is significantly lower)?
Therefore: "Advertising made in Switzerland" can only become a quality label if international criteria are taken into account. This is the only way Switzerland can perform better in Cannes. And only in this way will the Swiss advertising market be able to assert itself in global competition and not degenerate into a country of adaptation.
Demand 3: ADC improves advertising by recognizing relevant work; introduction of the category "Under CHF 25,000 and self-promotion".
A brilliant idea doesn't care how much or how little money it was placed for; nothing against creative achievements on a small scale, which as you know I also cultivate, but the inflation of the work produced en masse for the ADC is neither a sporting joke nor really big. Above all, they send the wrong message to young creative talent (how many juniors in our industry can come up with a funny erotic ad, but never a decent campaign?) and have long been damaging the ADC's actual cause and image with advertising clients. I assume that around 40 to 50 percent of this year's 232 awards were not even based on a media budget of CHF 10,000 or the placement was paid for by the advertising agency itself (including some work from our company...). This means that almost 50 percent of all awards are not relevant for the advertising industry.
Therefore: introduction of the new category "self-promotion and low budget" (under CHF 25,000 or at least under CHF 10,000). Borderline cases that do not wish to be classified in this category must provide evidence to the contrary by means of a media plan that the work has a media value of at least more than CHF 25,000. Anyone who wins an award in this low-budget category in the future has earned it hard and all the more honorably! And: these awards will be returned to the corresponding original category at the awards ceremony (audience ads, film, etc.), so that the procedure is compatible with the ADC of Europe. With the result that one or the other loses many bronze awards in one fell swoop, but the ADC gains credibility.
Demand 4: The ADC improves advertising by rethinking the admission criteria.
We know: Many ADC members, and therefore ADC jurors, have been involved in above-average work under above-average leadership. We also know that probably the majority of members are or were capable of developing a good campaign, but that does not mean they are capable of recognizing a good campaign. We also know that most members come from the same agencies, and the more members an agency has, the better its chances of winning a medal.
That's why future new members not only have to prove their involvement in fresh campaign ideas, but also be a personality; they therefore present their work in person to the admissions committee, where it quickly becomes clear how someone is standing - and thinking - despite having wet hands.
Claim 5: The ADC improves advertising by changing the ADC.
The creative Swiss currency - namely the ADC - can no longer be a yardstick at the moment. I am correspondingly disappointed, as I am one of the more ardent ADC preachers. My faith in the ADC has been shaken, as has my former pride in being a member. Improving the image of our clients is our bread and butter - but the club of leading creative minds has had an image problem for years. Correctly, these demands were sent to the ADC board in advance, in the hope of a signal. Not for the first time, the official response is completely unsatisfactory. It is also no secret that discussion in a wider public is not desired and is seen as a threat.
That's why excellent advertising is always different. It's high time the ADC finally changed. Frank Bodin
* Frank Bodin is a member of ADC Switzerland and CEO of Euro RSCG Switzerland.
