D&AD announces winners at New Blood Awards 2017

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LONDON – At a buzzing ceremony in London, D&AD revealed the winners of the 2017 New Blood Awards.

The winners wowed the judges with their creative talents and tonight received the most special of creative accolades: a New Blood Pencil. Whittled down from thousands of entries with entrants from over 40 countries, this year’s awards once again reflect the best in young global creative talent

173 Pencils have been awarded in total, with one Black Pencil, three White and 32 Yellow among the coveted accolades. Winning entries spanned colourful works of art, hi-tech solutions, fought for important causes and exhibited pure craft.

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The only Black Pencil this year was awarded to “Mm-hmm” in response to The National Autistic Society brief. Student creatives Hannah McNally and Martha Halliday from Kingston University drew on personal experience to create their winning film. Speaking about their winning project they said, “We know there are many joys and sorrows to autism, much like the ups and downs of life. Therefore, we did not want to sugar-coat the daily thoughts and concerns of the carers. We feel the hard-hitting message we are giving must be expressed more; to showcase the help and understanding The National Autistic Society provides families and individuals when they face the transition into adulthood.”

D&AD President Bruce Duckworth commented, “The word on everybody’s lips when it came to the Black Pencil winner was ‘beautiful’. An emotive and intelligent campaign, Mm-hmm united the judges almost unanimously when it came to choosing this as the winner. It was not only a great showcase of raw talent, it was produced brilliantly and with passion. You really feel like the students put everything into it.”

The full Pencil statistics are as follows:

● 1 Black

● 3 White

● 32 Yellow

● 40 Graphite

● 97 Wood

The New Blood Awards are a platform for students and other new creatives to showcase their talents on real briefs, set by real clients. No other programme offers such a comprehensive test, or a more accurate representation of the challenges that await on the other side. Brand representatives and industry experts decide what work wins a coveted New Blood Pencil, and the bar every year is extremely high.

Entry to the awards is open to anyone in full or part-time education, recent graduates who finished their course within the past two years and anyone 23 or under.

All Pencil winners were eligible to apply for the WPP New Blood Academy, where 50 graduates attend a two-week creative bootcamp. The Academy provides an opportunity to learn from the best in the business, with attendees working alongside WPP agencies on a live brief in order to secure a foot-in-the-door with a series of paid placements up for grabs. This year students will be working alongside creative luminaries as well as working on a live brief in their final week.

Meet the Class of 2017 here.

Winning Work:

The Black Pencil Winner

National Autistic Society – “Mm-hmm”

Winners: Hannah McNally and Martha Halliday

College: Kingston University

“A compassionate and emotional piece of storytelling that uses a beautiful animation style to give the viewer a real life insight.”

– Tom Purser, Head of Campaigns and Public Engagement, the National Autistic Society

The White Pencil Winners

Monotype – Fabric of the Nation

Winner: Sian MacFarlane

College: Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design