LONDON, UK — With the long-anticipated return to London of the D&AD Festival this May 09 and 10, expect a slew of creativity to once again be on display as agencies from all over the globe vie for the coveted Pencils.
D&AD 2022 President Richard Brim is the concurrent Chief Creative Officer of adam&eveDDB, and already has 72 D&AD awards to call his own. He previously said in an interview that, while he recognizes that the advertising industry needs to strike a balance between fun and purpose-driven work, “We’ve lost sight of the important distinction between an individual brand’s purpose, and every brand campaign needing to embrace a greater purpose to be successful.”
The four days of events (May 09 and 10 followed by a break before resuming on May 24 and 25) across two venues in the British capital will feature over 300 international judges, leading brands, pressing topics, progressive speakers, provocative debates, and hands-on workshops on top of the awarding of those Pencils that D&AD is known for.
The theme of “Make. Change” seems simple enough, yet for an organization that traces its roots to 1962 when a group of designers and art directors pooled their resources to raise standards within the industry, it still resonates 61 years later.
The global membership of D&AD worldwide is comprised of communities representing creative, design, and advertising. A D&AD pencil symbolizes the ultimate creative accolade, yet any surpluses of the organization goes directly into its programs like New Blood, in hopes of inspiring the next generation of creative talent while egging on creatives to build a more sustainable future.
In addition, winning a D&AD Pencil brings with it an exposure to an audience in creative industries numbering in the millions. The mere entry of an agency or brand’s work for D&AD means supporting the its mission as a non-profit organization that funds learning programs bridging the gap between education and industry. In the past year alone, D&AD Awards entry fees provided more than 180,000 vocational learning opportunities to emerging creatives.
The D&AD Festival will kick off at 10:00am at the Adobe Stage on May 09 with a talk called “Long Live the Chief Design Officer: Putting the Design Jewel Back in the Agency Crown.” Havas London Chief Design Officer Lorenzo Fruzza and Chief Creative Officer Vicki Maguire will team up to discuss the attitudinal and structural shift needed for the industry to progress.
Simultaneously, the Truman Stage will see the D&AD Design and Creative Transformation Jurors discuss how digital spaces have sparked new areas of discussion. The panelists will be KESIKI Founding Partner Shun Ishikawa, Wolff Olins Global Principal Creative Wayne Deakin, EQUITBL Co-Founder and COO Des Tapaki, Microsoft Senior Applied Scientist Dr. Kagonya Awori, and James Weldon Johnson Professor at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering Regine Gilbert.
Daniel Fisher, ECD for Dove, Ogilvy; Alessandro Manfredi, Dove and Unilever Chief Marketing Officer; and Sonoo Singh, Co-founder/Editor of Creative Salon, will talk about “Beautifully simple craft in the campaign for real beauty” at 3:00pm on May 09.
Meanwhile, the morning of May 10 will see a talk titled “TikTok’s Easy. Stop overthinking it.” TikTok Project Director Stephanie Hulbert Thomas and The Elements Music Executive Producer and Head of Creative Partnerships Dann Liebermann will explore how brands are overcoming self-imposed difficulties with authenticity on TikTok be braver and deliver more for their brands.
The festival afterparty scheduled for 5:00pm on May 10 will be hosted by Mother London.
