When people say award winners are “rigged” or “pay for play” is this credibly accurate? Of course agencies have to pay to submit but is the actual winner paid for?

like
Posting as :
works at
You are currently posting as works at

It's a lot of politics. Big sponsors one year typically end up winners and judges the next year.

likehelpful

Try winning a Cannes Lion or a D&AD pencil with a bad campaign. You won’t.

Sure, some people count on friends in juries to get a vote or two. Maybe it helps once or twice. But great work always rises to the top.

like

It's not rigged in the traditional sense.

If you enter a terrible campaign there's no money in the world that would make you win. So you still gotta have good work to show.

But there's a lot of politics involved that can make a good work win more than others, first is the amount of money behind submissions, than the agency name, than the leadership and who they know that can help sway the jury, and if that person actually have a sway or not.

lot's of things involved.

like

It’s very political. Like congress people trading their votes on bills for political favors, many of the award show judges do that as well.

like

It depends on the award. For trade publication-sponsored awards, there’s frequently a correlation between the winners, and who shows up as a significant paid advertiser in that same publication months later. For higher-prestige awards, there’s a correlation between the number of wins and the volume of submissions, so the more deep-pocketed the submitter paying for the submissions is, the more likely they are to win something by sheer virtue of numbers. Other times there’s no direct financial contribution, but there is a contribution in the form of the time invested for employees to serve on juries, as judges, year after year, building up the sweat equity that leads to the name recognition that helps earn future favors and awards.

like

Unpopular opinion:

Well, first of all, the different award festivals are not all the same. They are quite different. Contrary to what some commenters here say, Cannes, D&AD, One Show are quite different. Cannes is definitely not what it used to be. It has become increasingly corrupt, there’s tons of scam ads, especially in the lesser known categories. And I have seen some extremely questionable winners. I’ve seen people win with an exact copy of a winner from the previous year. Like literally the same idea winning two years in a row, by different agencies. It’s quite a shitshow.
I think it’s much harder to win at D&AD and I have much more respect for that award show than Cannes. Don’t even get me started on the regional shows of Asia, Middle East and Latin America. Those are just totally filled with tons of scam ads and quid pro quo votes. (I’ll vote for yours this year and next year you vote for mine type of thing. Corruption is the norm).
There’s a buttload of award shows out there and it’s a numbers game. The more entries (and the more money you spend) obviously the higher your chances of winning. But there’s always a conflict of interest in that the judges’ agencies are also competing.
Probably the most honest and less corrupt award shows, that genuinely award the best work with less bias, are the regional Addys. Not very sexy, but the judges for those shows are outsiders and not from the region being judged, so they never have a dog in the fight. They are usually less experienced ACDs and CDs who haven’t been corrupted and don’t “play the game” yet and have no favors to pay back. They just judge the work how they see it with an honest and sincere approach. They almost never know the entrants.

likefunny

Thanks. I think I won one in like… 2008. Congratulations on your lack of reading comprehension. I never said they were harder to win than a D&AD pencil. I don’t know where you got that from.

like

Of course. If I create a campaign that gets my agency a Titanium Lion, they're for sure going to give my CCO a raise.

like

Related Posts

Hiring @Trianz for mentioned positions. Please message me with the Role name and I will share the detailed job description. Thank you.

Post Photo
like
like
like

Hi all, I am looking for a job role in sales/business development manager for Gujarat, India location. Please let me know if any...

like

Hi, please help me getting 11❤ to unlock dm. Thanks!

like

LTI - Larsen & Toubro Infotech is hiring for multiple #DATA job profiles.👇
Interested can apply for below jobs opportunity, DM your EMAIL ID with JOBname
*Experience Required 4+ yrs Freshers do not apply*
Grab this opportunity...!!!
#LTI#PYTHON #TABLEAU#DATASCIENCE #QLIKVIEW #HADOOP #BIGDATA #SNOWFLAKE #ABINTO #INFORMATICA #HIRING #AWS #MATILION #AZURE #AWS #INFORMATICA #DATAGOVERNANCE #SCRUM

Post Photo
like

Looking for opportunities in Frontend as Angular or Angular + Node js developer

YOE - 4.3
Tech stack - Javascript, Angular, HTML , CSS, React, Nodejs , Typescript

Please share referrals.

like

Hi fishes,
I finished my B.E (CSE) this year. Working in TCS since 6 months on a CRM Project. CTC : 7LPA (I also had offer at Accenture for 6.5LPA)

- I know basics of many languages/ technologies : C, C++, Java, Python, HTML, CSS, Javascript, React, Azure

- Basic level Problem Solving, DSA, OOP

I am a quick learner. I am currently learning DSA using C++ & Azure.

Can anyone in Hyderabad hire me for a better package at a company where I can work in development or Cloud Role?

Thanks

like

What are people’s thoughts on Infosys for Finance consulting? A friend has an offer and is wondering what their finance consulting practice is like /if it’s worth taking?

likefunny

What are the best finance conferences in the US?

like

Can someone please help me with the scope of Advisory role in Procurement Transformation team ?
Also, how is WLB and travel requirements away from base location.

like

Audit A2 in NYFS right now. Is there any hope for me to get into FDD now, and does it even make sense for me to jump at this point rather than make senior first? I need some advice. No deal experience

likefunny

Hi Sharks,

Wanted to know your experience of applying for jobs abroad. For those who converted and joined abroad, did you apply for jobs on LinkedIn? Which platform would be the best for a senior data scientist in India. Also I get 30 lpa now, is it worth going abroad? Can we save more?

Thanks I advance!

like

What would be the average salary for a principal engineer at UNUM in Atlanta, USA?
Profile 12+ years of experience, full-stack tech-lead/sol architect

like

Onboarding new member today. He is a PhD so has lots of theoretical knowledge but knows nothing about the business at large. Any suggested reading materials I can forward to him to help ramp up?

like

Does anyone have any experience with B2B buy now pay later? While I understand number of SMEs and volume of online transactions are important drivers, keen to hear different perspectives incase I’ve missed anything vital.

like

A financial advise to all the students and youngsters buy a term life insurance before starting to invest in other instruments. A sample illustration will help you understand that it has a financial benefit plus a security to all your dependents incase of any unforeseen event in life.

DM me for more details.

Post Photo
like

I'm a long time user of mvelopes budgeting software, and we just got a notice that they're shutting the platform down at the end of the year.

Looking for a recommendation for an "envelope based" replacement. They suggested Every Dollar, but it doesn't handle credit cards well.

like

Hi All,

Ill be joining vois next mnth wd ctc of 6.54 as assistant manager wt will be my in hand?

Hello Fishes,

I am joining VOIS next week.
Just need some info regarding the asset. I have received a mail from the IT asset team in which they have mentioned the asset details and
Asset Location is : Pune_SP Infocity and Asset Status is : in operation.

So is it like i will have to collect the asset from SPInfocity phursungi ?

like

Additional Posts in Advertising

Having the clients love an idea you had to fight to present is a bittersweet win- you feel validated, but also wish your team backed you from the start...anyone else experience this?

like

What do you all think is the worst holding company and why is it Publicis?

funnylikesmart

Advertising truths #12 - Nothing good comes out of a group where there're more CDs than creatives. Either you land on a flat campaign or a terrible campaign.

like

I’m a strategist interested in branding shops like interbrand. But I hear they aren’t doing well these days since everyone claims to be a brand consultant. Also I’m curious about the work

like

I’m looking for some new things to read or listen to — doesn’t need to be ad-related. Books, podcasts, whaddya got?
I’m not really into fiction, but open to anything. Last books I enjoyed were Junior and Moonwalking with Einstein, last podcast I binged was Startup (Gimlet).

like

What about Italy? Anyone working there?

like

Ted Royer helping JL win VW. Rumor or true?

likefunny

How much of your job is actually solving a business problem with creativity, and how much of it is just providing corporate self care to wealthy clients who hate you?

likesmart

Relo bonus: how likely are agencies to pay out in bulk?

like

Anyone work at Williams Lea Tag? Do you recommend the company?

like

last night, i realized there are only 4 POC on my team.... and there’s at least 40-50 creatives. how sad.

likehelpful

So why do company merges result in mass layoffs?

like

Would you work 11-8 shift?

likefunny

Best (non-agency) company to work at in Boston??

likehelpfulsmart

Are there any other survey companies you’ve gotten quick cash from like NewtonX?

like

Calling all managers with junior, intern and mid teams: Who is taking (or is being given) the time to train their juniors on the necessary hard and soft skills? If not, what’s stopping you from providing that support?

like

What health/pharma agencies are in SF?

like

What’s the worst advice you’ve ever gotten in this business?

Mine, as an account person: “You should take more credit for the creative that’s presented.”

funny

Any creative technologists in here? How’d you end up doing what you’re doing now?

For some context: I’m always fussing around with tech, learning coding, and picking things as I go. I’m just trying to plan for a potential pivot and would love any tips or guidance.

like

New to Fishbowl?

Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
That was just a preview…
Sign Up to see all discussions
  • Discover what it’s like to work at companies from real professionals
  • Get candid advice from people in your field in a safe space
  • Chat and network with other professionals in your field
Sign up in seconds to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.

Already a user?
Login here

Share

Embed this post

Copy and paste embed code on your site

Preview

Download the
Fishbowl app

See what’s happening in your industry
from the palm of your hand.

A phone with Fishbowl app

Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile

Download app

Sign up for free to view this conversation on Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Already have an account? Log in

Sign up for free to continue using Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use(New) and Privacy Policy(New)
Messaging rates may apply

Already have an account? Log in

For account settings, visit Fishbowl on Desktop Browser or

General

Legal