Andrew Keller’s ANDY Awards Diary from Hawaii

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Screen shot 2012-03-01 at 9.09.13 AM.jpgThe international ANDY Awards’ judging has recently concluded in Hawaii and as is now an annual custom, one of the top jurors writes a spiel for Campaign Brief, an ANDY’s media partner. One of the world’s top creatives, Andrew Keller is CEO at Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Boulder and here is hisreport:

It was a telling year at The ANDYs in Hawaii this year. I think we all felt like we were coming off a year that hasn’t seen the most prolific or inspiring work from the industry. Tough to get projects going. Tough to be aggressive with shrinking budgets and changing clients. But the great news is that there was plenty to see and talk about. Lots of big trends starting to really show up. The ANDYs are a good indicator for the year as it represents the first show of the season in many ways. The other thing that makes this show special is the fact that the judges see all the work. There aren’t small categories judged by different people with different skill sets. We all sit together and decide what we believe is great.

BOB GREENBERG.jpgAnd we are lucky to have many of the same judges each year. This helps create great conversation and dialogue between a group of people that have common reference from previous years and the opportunity to have the kind of intense and open conversations that are easier with friends than strangers. We were lucky to have Bob Greenberg (left) as our jury chair. Bob is a kind, wise leader that helped us navigate the conversations that happen these days since digital and traditional, storytelling and utility, long form and banners have all collided into a stew called advertising. It’s why we love this industry. It takes the best of all the others and combines them into one happy place.

 

We also had Bob Scarpelli on our jury. Bob is such a legend in the industry. Contributing more great beer advertising to the pantheon of great beer advertising than anyone else. But his greatest gift to all of us is his kindness and respect. He’s such a great role model. It would be wonderful to have more people emulate his generous style.  Of course we had Mark Tutssel. A force of creativity and knowledge that makes sure we maintain excellence in judging. Ty Montague – a leader in new business models and a brilliant advocate of storytelling. Pete Favat- ad dude with depth and man that never misses a photo.

 

Screen shot 2012-03-01 at 5.08.00 AM.jpgThe list goes on. Smart and spectacular people from all over. Iain Tait -’nuff said, the renaissance man himself – Mark Waites. And David “Nobby” Nobay [left, with Keller in between jury duty], who guaranteed we had a good time and that every smart idea, no matter how small, got its moment in the sun. There were lots of big brains new to ANDY that added great new points of view to the conversation. Masa Kawamura, our man from the future -AKA Japan, Juliana Constantino, Calvin Soh, Colleen DeCourcy, Stephan Beringer, Viv Rosenthal, Patricia Patzold, Do Cao Nguyen from Clipper Indochine in Vietnam, who quieted the whole jury with one question – Have any of you been in war? Not a lot of hands went up for that one. And Prasoon Joshi, who I accompanied on guitar for an impromptu concert one night at dinner.

 

And we had Jimmy Smith back with us as well. He has that skill that all creative people must have, but often don’t. The ability to scream from the mountain tops – “I love that.” Finally, Jose Molla was truly in his element in Hawaii. Regaling folks with his stories of kite boarding, spear fishing and the shark attack he survived. Ultimately with a beard, Molla literally becomes “The most interesting man in the world.” Seriously, check it out.

 

There were many trends worth talking about.

 

Products as ads. More and more we found ourselves judging products. Tools, digital apps, etc. All designed at communicating a brand story. A while ago it was enough to know what makes for a great TV spot, but there are more things that count as ads than ever before. We are now over the wow of it and are asking the bigger questions – will people use them? Will it move them? It’s all very inspiring. To think that our industry is working on Google Wallet is heady stuff.

 

There were a lot of ideas that would take data and re-skin it. We did this with Pizza Tracker for example for Dominos. Took rich data and made it consumer facing. It became a story for the brand. There were a lot of interesting ideas that take all the data available on the web and convert it into a story. A great idea called Slave Tracker used information about a variety of industries to give you an idea of just how many slaves are working for you.

 

It’s worth saying how important story is. How important truths and great emotional content are. Both examples above are beginning to really stand out because we have moved beyond just the technology and begun to figure out how to tell a story in these mediums. How to create brand meaning? How to make someone really feel with these mediums? All becoming more important than ever as we’ve all talked about the changes in business – where it’s becoming key to not just say what you do, but why you do it. Brands need missions. Something bigger than just selling product. And the brands that are taking the time to figure this out and communicate it are connecting deeper with consumers. Chipotle’s flawless film goes straight for the head and heart.

 

The client/agency relationship is simultaneously at an all-time low and an all-time high. While at times it feels like there is fear and a lack of commitment on both sides, there is also deep collaboration happening. It’s hard to tell who’s writing what and whose idea is whose. This is a great thing. The ideas are better for it. The work is better for it. And most importantly, the results are better for it. As an industry we will have to see ourselves as partners, collaborators rather than just pure owners of ideas or we won’t get to that next great level.

 

So what about Kauai, Hawaii – the site of this year’s ANDY judging? Well, not that you care, but it was the exact same place I spent my honeymoon 15 years ago. The mountains, cliffs, waterfalls, lush green, sharks, surfers, whales and rainbows were as spectacular as I remembered. And, you’ll be happy to know that the one day they did let us out of our dark room to have some fun, the whole lot went out on a boat. Nearly everyone wound up seasick. I had fortunately decided not to go. I think I dodged a bullet. But please go ahead and laugh at the others.