D&AD’s position on scam ads
D&AD CEO Tim O’Kennedy and new president Paul Brazier (pictured) outline their policy on scam ads:
We have been following the recent controversy surrounding DDB Brasil’s entry of ‘scam’ work, purportedly for WWF, and give our support to the stance the One Show has taken against this and other fake entries. We’ve been reviewing our own policies in the lead up to our next call for entries in October, and the current debate gives us an early opportunity to state our position.
We have always had strict rules concerning eligibility at the Awards and have been rigorous where scam ads are concerned. We ask our juries to be vigilant and to identify work to us if they have any concerns about its validity. Every item thus identified has been investigated by the Awards team and referred to our Executive Committee if necessary. D&AD maintains the right to exclude any fraudulent entries, along with the entering agency, from that and subsequent D&AD Awards shows, and will continue to enforce those rights vigorously. Work must have been produced in response to a genuine brief and be approved and paid for by the client. Works created solely for the purpose of entering competitions are not eligible.
For the 2010 and future D&AD awards shows, the Executive Creative Director or an equivalent officer of the entrant company will be required to validate the eligibility of every item, ensuring that work does not slip through without their knowledge. A plea of ignorance is not an acceptable defence.
We also need to take this opportunity to applaud all the more the hundreds of companies that submit authentic, groundbreaking work every year. ~We will continue to be vigilant against scam work, and will also do our utmost to shine the spotlight on the brilliant, inspiring creative work that is being produced every year. D&AD has always been committed to setting the highest industry standards and encouraging the next generation. Our independent charitable status ensures we remain dedicated to these ideals without external interference.
2 Comments
What would be insufferable to now see, is agencies in NZ pretending they are not as guilty as Brazil when it comes to advertising fakes. We all know which ones are fake. No pretenders please.
More is fake than not. Ever since the Brit Pack came over in the late 90s, I think you can safely go through Axis with a red pen and strike out 70% of the winners as being scam or done for nothing.