Great Creative Deserves Recognition

My email has been full this week of advertising that has won an award at the international Cannes ad festival.  So while everyone's mind is on award winning advertising, I want to tell you about two Ad Council campaigns that have recently been selected for prestigious awards -- not Cannes Lions -- but they make us very proud.

Our Underage Drinking Campaign won a National Silver ADDY Award.  This award, sponsored by the American Advertising Federation, represents the highest creative standards in the industry.  With over 60,000 entries annually, the ADDY's are the world's largest advertising competition.  And this fabulous creative from the Kaplan Thaler Group encourages parents to talk to their kids about not drinking.  The approach is powerful, the directing is fabulous and it is sure to be a wake up call for parents who might otherwise put off speaking to their children about alcohol.

The second award was a Silver EFFIE for our Foster Care Adoption campaign on behalf of HHS Administration for Children and Families.  The EFFIE award is one of the most coveted awards in our business as it is judged on the most significant achievement in advertising -- results!  This campaign has received over $80 million in donated media and more than 2,400 families have started the adoption process as a result of this campaign.  Created by kirshenbaum bond + partners, the campaign has already made a dramatic difference in the lives of so many children who beat the odds of being adopted out of foster care.

OK, awards don't save lives.  But the creative that wins them does.  And it's wonderful when our generous and dedicated pro bono agency teams are recognized for their talent.  Bravo!