FRANCE – DDB Worldwide’s Chief Creative Officer Amir Kassaei shocked the world of advertising when an article written by the award-winning ad executive was published on Campaign US earlier this month.
Entitled “The end of false recognitions”, Kassaei announced that this year, agencies under DDB will be “pulling back from award shows”.
“Our DDB agencies are among the most-awarded agencies in the history of advertising. We’ve won more Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity than any other network on the planet. Almost every DDB office around the world is among the most-awarded agency brands in their markets. And that is a huge problem. Because that is not what matters,” Kassaei writes.
He also sniped at award shows where “ad people award ad people’s irrelevant solutions for problems which often do not even exist.”
“Too many of us in the industry have bought into the idea that winning awards is proof of creative effectiveness, so much so that we’re willing to sacrifice our integrity to get them. And in turn that has lessened the integrity of the awards themselves.”
The breathtaking case study videos showcasing the elaborate work that was put into a single campaign that own the stage during festivals weren’t also spared.
“If you believe that the proof of your real talent is that you came up with a funky case video for an idea that did not have anything to do with the real world and was not even created for a reason other than to please a jury at an award show, then you are not talented.
He continues, “If you are coming up with social ideas which pretend to solve the world’s biggest problems or help disenfranchised people, but, in fact, are only being done to win an award, you are cynical and perhaps even criminal.”
That being said, Kassaei forewarns the public that they will be seeing “less work from DDB at some of the shows” but also hints that they are not completely closing their doors.
We may be saying goodbye to the made-up empty titles like Agency of the Year, Network of the Year or whatever. But when we do receive these recognitions, you can be sure it is only because we were the best with the best work and not because we were the network with the most prototypes or who spent the most money.
Kassaei reiterates that from this year on, DDB will be pouring their efforts on what all agencies should be focusing on in the first place–selling the products of their clients.
Because we care more about selling our clients than ourselves. Because we care more about emptying our clients’ shelves than filling our own with trophies. Because we care more about real talent that connects with real people than people with portfolios full of false creativity and awards which do not really mean anything.
adobo magazine tried reaching out to the team behind the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, fondly called as the “olympics” of advertising and Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity but the Lions Festivals organization, however, refused to comment.
