D&AD 2017: 5 Black Pencils awarded; Yellow Pencil for Dads#ShareTheLoad

The 55th D&AD Professional Awards saw 5 Black Pencils being awarded – the highest accolade in the creative industry. In total, 733 Pencils were awarded during D&AD Judging 2017, which included – 5 Black Pencils, 62 Yellow Pencils, 180 Graphite Pencils, and 485 Wood Pencils. 

‘We’re the Superhumans’ claimed two Black Pencils, one each for 4Creative and Blink - the creative team and production team, respectively, who created the film to promote Channel 4’s coverage of the 2016 Paralympics. 

As well as being named the most awarded advertising agency at the Ceremony, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne also took home a Black Pencil for their ‘Meet Graham’ campaign, which aims to promote better road safety by imagining how the human body would need to evolve to better survive on the roads. 

Black Pencils were also awarded to INGO Stockholm for their ‘Swedish Number’ campaign for The Swedish Tourist Association – which gave people the chance to talk to a Swedish person on the phone about the country – and to Serviceplan for their work with Dot Incorporation, creating the world’s first Braille smartwatch. 

Black Pencil awarded work 

‘We’re the Superhumans’ by 4Creative for Channel 4/Paralympics (Film Advertising) - United Kingdom
‘We’re the Superhumans’ by Blink for Channel 4/Paralympics (Film Advertising Craft) - United Kingdom
‘Meet Graham’ by Clemenger BBDO Melbourne for Transport Accident Commission Victoria (PR) - Australia
‘The Swedish Number’ by INGO Stockholm for The Swedish Tourist Association (Direct) - Sweden
‘DOT. The first Braille Smartwatch’ by Serviceplan/Serviceplan Korea for Dot Incorporation (Digital Design) - Germany 

Most awarded 

Clemenger BBDO Melbourne was crowned the Most Awarded Advertising Agency of 2017, winning 16 Pencils overall, including 10 Pencils for its Meet Graham campaign – one of which was Black. 

Studio Sutherl& are the Most Awarded Design Agency this year, winning eight Pencils overall, including two Yellow – one for their work creating limited edition Agatha Christie stamps for Royal Mail and another for their work with Somos Brasil. 

Results by country 

For the first time ever, the United States has topped the country rankings, with the United Kingdom coming in second. 

United States - 182 Pencils
United Kingdom - 164 Pencils
Australia - 54 Pencils 

D&AD CEO Tim Lindsay commented, “What an outstanding year for creativity. Five Black Pencils, all hugely deserving of the Award. What unites them is a clear desire to create a better world, whether it’s promoting diversity, safety or inclusivity, but what is really fantastic is that they win this coveted award for their craft. Proof that creativity as a force for good lives outside of a single category but has become an all-encompassing theme.” 

He further said, “For the first time ever, the United States is the country taking home the most number of Pencils. In fact, the top of the country rankings comprises countries from across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa, reminding us that D&AD is a truly global organisation, encouraging and awarding talent from around the world.” 

India at D&AD Awards 2017 

Indian agencies bagged a total of 16 Pencils this year, which included 1 Yellow Pencil, 3 Graphite Pencils, and 12 Wood Pencils. 

Dads #ShareTheLoad (Integrated Case) won a Yellow Pencil in the Integrated & Collaborative / Earned Media/ Large Business category. Overall, the Dads #ShareTheLoad campaign by BBDO India for P&G’s detergent brand Ariel, won 5 Pencils, which included 1 Graphite Pencil and 3 Wood Pencils besides the Yellow Pencil.

Savlon Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks fetched a Graphite Pencil for Ogilvy & Mather in the Innovative Product Design category. 

J. Walter Thompson India also secured a Graphite Pencil for its Blood Banking campaign done for the Indian Red Cross Society in the Service Design category. 

Most awarded client 

Nike
Channel 4
Apple 

Most awarded production company 

Blink
MJZ
Somesuch x Anonymous 

President’s Award 

This year the President’s Award winner is Michael Johnson, Creative Director at Johnson Banks, Ex-President of D&AD and Black Pencil winner. 

Commenting on this Award, D&AD President Bruce Duckworth, said, “Michael’s reputation for creative excellence is massive, he represents so much of what I respect about great design and great designers. He manages to distill complicated issues and simplifies them into solutions that you can’t argue with. They’re just right. He does the kind work that you can’t help but notice, the kind of work that I look at and wish I’d done myself. For this reason and for so many others, I am giving this Award to him.”