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Dominique
Trudeau, ECD,
Taxi Montreal.
FAME SEEKER
Dear Dom,
The award season is here again and I need to get as many
trophies as possible. I hope you can share your wisdom so I can
brief my creatives ASAP. Oh, and my general manager wants
to cut the awards expenses. He tells me it’s a big scam. What
should I say to him?
In need of fame
Dear In need,
First, tell your GM he should manage a depanneur.
Awards exist so that, as an industry, we aim for
the exceptional. Without them, excellence in
advertising would become an act of randomness.
Tell him an award-winning agency attracts clients
and money. It attracts talent, it creates momentum.
If he doesn’t buy this, quit your job. You have no
time to waste there.
Now, about you: Are you absolutely sure you
really desire all those (let’s say it) ugly trophies? It
will cost you – and not just your GM’s money.
If you are ready to lose your mental and physical
health and trade family time for fast-food illed
evenings at the ofice, here are a few tips to get you
on the red carpet in Cannes.
A) Always look for an opportunity to go for the
Gold, or even better, the Best of Show. Nothing
less. It should be your sixth sense.
B) One shot at it is not enough.
C) Never trust your irst idea. It’s been done.
D) Get the right talent for the idea, even if it’s not
who found it. That’s always tricky.
E) Get the right talent for the craft. Don’t imitate
something. Go for the real thing or bust.
F) Stop thinking small. You can be bigger than life.
G) Have many friends. It takes a lot of people and
goodwill to accomplish greatness.
H) Rework your script, your art direction. Good is
not good enough.
I) Stop looking at annuals. They are not manuals.
When advertising feeds on advertising, shitty
work happens.
J) Be a maniac about your award entries. A sloppy
job can erase all your chances.
K) Be a child of your time. Technologically or
socially. Rock our industry’s boat. It pays.
L) Last but not least: advertise your creative prior
to the jury sessions. Juries have so little time
to decide. Be sure they’ve seen your work in
3,000 blogs – it will be much easier for them to
shortlist it.
Hope that helps. Good luck.
Dominique
Martin Shewchuk,
creative chairman,
JWT.
LACKING TROPHIES
Dear Martin,
I have presented beautifully simple Gold Cannes Lion-calibre
ideas but they inevitably get compromised through revisions and
I miss out on the wins. How do I cut my teeth with the big boys
when people keep ruining my work?
No metal
Dear No metal,
If you see the idea heading down that path,
volunteer to start again and go for Bronze. The
good news is that two weeks after the Cannes
Festival most people back in Canada won’t even
remember what colour Lion you won.
In the absence of a Gold Lion, the Bronze can
even look kind of gold-ish... Here’s a quick test:
1) “The Rant” for Molson; 2) “Prisoner” for Vim;
3) “Apologies” for Viagra; 4) “Antiquing” for Viagra.
Which two won Gold? Which two won Bronze?
Take fashion shows that proile haute couture
designs never again seen off the runway – the press
gives labels cachet so designers’ “off the rack”
clothes fetch a premium price.
Clients feel the same way. Even if they are
nervous about approving ideas that could win Gold
Lions they still want to work with the teams that
have. Further, your credibility at every stage of
your career is calculated based on the awards your
creative work wins. “Multiple Cannes Lion award
winner” on your CV is still very impressive.
Finally, while it’s ideal to win awards for real
work for paying clients, creating work strictly for
the purpose of winning at awards show is valid too.
Martin
Answers
1) Bronze 2) Gold 3) Gold 4) Bronze
March 2013
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