X & Y Axis

Trying to get this humble pie down me but it is just so, so hard. Adam and I were nominated in the Axis awards student category. Essentially making us one of the three most pimping it, up and coming creative teams in NZ at the moment. I think that deserves a fuck yes, and a friendly “we have wisdom and we wish to share it”.

So what do awards mean for creatives and agencies? Well, essentially awards help build profile for everyone involved. They create notoriety for agencies and teams alike. And of course they award excellence in the creative field which is always nice since after slaving for countless hours on a campaign, staying up till well past 1am, continually doubting yourself, and wondering if it is really worth it, a good old fashioned pat on the back goes a long way. Especially if that pat on the back resembles a shiny new trophy.

So what happens at industry awards? Well, I’ve been to a few industry award ceremonies now and a few industry functions and all I can say is snap. Look at it this way, the advertising industry has X amount of dollars running through it each year. Translate 90% of that X amount and you roughly get the amount on the bar tab at each of these functions. The remaining 10% goes to the best tapas style finger-food you’ve ever had. For the evening you glide around the room from bar to platter whilst rubbing shoulders with some industry big dogs (of which I’ll soon be one, sorry I can’t resist).

Next, the awards part. Usually accompanied by some sort of industry-in-joke centred video. Which I must say is quite insightful and actually funny. This part of the evening is probably not for Ben, who stands at the back of 21st party speeches and whispers ‘bro this is so cbf’ to anyone near him, but if you can enjoy it then this time is a good time to congratulate peers and fellow creative’s for their work. If they beat you, accept it and applaude, if you won, then dance up on that stage and go collect your giant novelty cheque for ONE BILLION DOLLARS!!! You crazy bastards.

Finally after all the awards have been handed out and new grudges have formed, the bar tab opens up again! Heeeeeeey! At this point of the evening most people slip out under the cover of a looser crowd moving to the back of the room where the bar is. If not, and they choose to stay, it’s usually pretty dam lifeless and at this point you’re more loitering than a guest. So go on, enjoy the time with the people around you and laugh slightly as the people who serve you and have to clean up after you leave wait around. (chill out, chill out, Adam and I have done our fair share of Hospitality and Catering, it’s the circle of life).

So wancers. To conclude. Advertising awards, get them, go to them. The two ways one can earn an award are, Scam ads (Ads made purely for the purpose of winning awards) or by good old fashioned on-the-money and on brief creative solutions. Sadly, the scams usually have it but should never be dwelled on or over-used, use them as career starters for notoriety, not career supports. Finally, try to be a creative’s plus one to award ceremonies, you’ll get all the benefits, without having to talk to anyone. On that note I’m single……. Ladies *tips hat*