The big winners at the inaugural Gerety Awards

Winners of the inaugural edition of Gerety Awards were announced amid much fanfare recently.

Grand Prix were awarded to LOLA MullenLowe for ‘Hidden Flag’, McCann New York for ‘Changing the Game’, VMLY&R Warsaw for ‘The Last Ever Issue’ and two Grand Prix were awarded to AMVBBDO for ‘Viva La Vulva’.

BBDO New York were awarded agency of the year with 2 Silvers, 4 Bronze and 8 Shortlists.

BBDO Worldwide were awarded Network of the Year with 2 Grand Prix, 1 Gold, 3 Silvers, 4 Bronze and 17 Shortlists.

There were three Shortlists for India - BBDO India’s work for Ariel – ‘Sons #ShareTheLoad’ received two Shortlists in the Integrated category. VMLY&R received a Shortlist for ‘India Dega Aashirvad’ in the Product & Packaging Design category.

Winners were given a unique trophy created by artists Carla Bossi and Francesc Fusté from Txt Arte in Barcelona.

Jury Speak

Kainaz Karmakar, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy India (West):
“Very few times in life you get the opportunity to be a part of real change. Gerety Awards is more than a show. It’s a statement. It’s a step. The first all-women jury for an advertising show. I feel lucky I could sit in that room.â If I had to talk about the work I saw and the work that stayed with me, the number one piece was ‘Viva La Vulva’. It hit my heart as a writer and as a woman. The love in the idea and the execution, makes it rise above many other greats. When I am voting a piece for a Grand Prix, in my mind it has to be something that pushes the profession ahead. Creative people should be pulling it out as an example for their teams and clients. It is the kind of work that even competition agencies can't help admiring.”

Tista Sen, Regional Creative Director, Wunderman Thompson South Asia, India:
“The Gerety Awards in spearheading an all new way in which creative work is perceived. Judging work with women across the table is a whole new learning experience. The entire experience was fun, insightful with a nuanced discussion. And yes, we all fell in love with advertising all over again.”

Lize Karaboga, Managing Partner, Ultra, Founding Partner, newton.ddc. Turkey:
“I believe we are witnessing tumultuous times in which we have to recognise at face value the depth of certain issues we are facing. Now, more than ever, advertising’s power is needed. From the start of the Gerety Awards, I felt honoured to be part of an initiative putting forward a different perspective in order to make a difference. As a grand jury member, I had the chance to see these two paths cross; great advertising aimed and destined to leave a mark on our world and a great initiative determined to award these much needed great ideas.

Hence, I do not think that it was a coincidence that we saw many brands tackling greater issues related to inequality, diversity and pollution. W+K Amsterdam’s Caster Semanya Nike campaign is a great piece of work that challenges how we define definitions. The Microsoft X-Box Adaptive Controller Campaign is the essence of what brand experience can mean. Finally it is really great to see the industry moving forward.”

Ann Elin Hvidsten, Managing Director/Creative at BCW Oslo:
“Being a Gerety Awards jury member has been truly inspirational. The quality, but also the diversity in the work that has been awarded, shows why initiatives like the Gerety Awards can drive our industry forward.”

Jade Tomlin, Creative Director, Tribal DDB, UK:
“I feel like it was being part of history, the first all-female jury in the industry – ever! I don’t feel bad about that at all knowing the past has had the same for the opposite gender. It was great that everyone’s opinions were heard and shared, a very different experience to previous judging rooms. I found it uniquely brilliant, a fresh way to tackle gender inequality. It was very different in the sense that people actually listened to one another! I mean listening to understand rather than to reply.”