JEFF GOODBY'S ANDY'S DIARY: THE FINAL DAY

The legendary Jeff Goodby, co-chairman, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, provides the CB Blog with the final day of exclusive diary installments from Final Judging of The ANDY Awards in Mexico.
Campaign Brief Australia/NZ, Campaign Brief Asia and Bestads are international media partners of the ANDY Awards, which undoubtedly has the world's hottest jury, chaired by Mark Waites, creative partner of Mother.




You hear that the ANDYs are special because they're the first major show to be judged every year. People say the results here will "set the tone" and somehow affect what's picked in all the other shows.
I don't think this is the case. I've been on those other juries, and we never cared a whit about what won earlier.
If anything, the later juries tried to avoid following the lead of the other shows.
There are indeed a couple things that make this show special, however.
First and by far the most important difference is the quality of the judges here. Looking the list over, a friend of mine in New York said, "If a bomb ever hit the judges' room, advertising would be fucked for years to come." While that might be a bit of an overstatement (Droga, who's not here, would simply declare a benevolent dictatorship and carry on), the talent in this place is truly ridiculous.
I learn a lot about the work from my own company when I hear it discussed -- and sometimes cruelly dismissed -- by this group. I said so to our chairman, Mark Waites from Mother, who said, "Yeah, it's strange to see a bunch of people who are used to getting their own way every day of their lives suddenly have to defer to other people's opinions."
Besides the judges, the other thing that makes the ANDYs special is the fact that this terrific group of judges is asked to adjudicate every single category in the show. At other shows, there are multiple juries, so you find the big names heading up juries of less seasoned characters.
Here, an all-star jury looks at all the work. It's a tougher crowd, for sure.
So where did it all come out?
Well you know I can't tell you. But I can mention my favorite things in the show: that Surfrider Foundaton campaign with the beach trash being sold in supermarket foam trays ("It's like the ocean is throwing our trash back in our faces," Prasoon Joshi said); a campaign that introduced a new Oasis album by having street musicians in New York play their songs even before the album came out; a moving TV spot from the Discovery Channel that celebrates, well, being on Earth ("Boombayatta Boombayatta"); Droga 5's cell phone incentive program in New York schools; a Mentos "Kiss Cam" on line.
They'll all do okay.
I can also mention some things that I thought were perhaps a bit overrated: Sarah Silverman's "Great Schlep" web film for Barack Obama; a singing dog for Volkswagen; a "Stop the cycle of violence" banner ad that you'll probably see more of in the shows this year.
They'll all do okay too.
In the larger sense, shows like the ANDYs are at a bit of a crossroads these days, I think.
They are strapped with an avalanche of work that doesn't really fit into the categories they've created (and thus certain work ends up winning in multiple categories and seeming better than it really is). Long form things don't really get the scrutiny they deserve - because they're just too, well, long. Good entry films can make okay work seem great, and bad entry films can waste a great campaign. And while there are fewer things that are
out-and-out fakes, there are entries that push the boundaries of what "real work" means. An FM radio station campaign, for instance, featured ten very beautiful executions in expensive color illustration. You had to wonder how they'd ever have the money to run such things, though.
Beyond that, there was a wider discussion about the ultimate purposes of the work and whether what is essentially charity work (like "Million") should be compared to Burger King web experiences. Advertising
people are always a tiny bit ashamed about whether we're really doing God's work, making us all a bit quick to glom onto campaigns that seem to have a higher calling. How do you keep everything on a level playing field? It will be a big question in years to come.
All in all, though, I think you'll like the show and hopefully find it inspiring, outrageous, and controversial.
And remember, as I tell my own people: If you could see the judging process, you'd be less elated about winning, and less deflated about losing.
Thanks for following this, if you did.