The D&AD Awards screening in Toronto

Last night I attended the D&AD Awards screening in Toronto.
To say I had a good time is to put it mildly.
Once again, Ihaveanidea (and its sponsors) did a great job.
For those of you in the remaining cities - San Francisco, Miami, and Los Angeles, you should go. Simple as that.

Here are some observations from the evening…

Winning a Pencil takes big budgets. Much of the work involved was not produced on a shoestring. If your goal in life is to win one, you really should not work at the little boutique with clients like “Joe’s Diner”.

The timeframe between being 22 and 39 years of age goes by in a flash. For one of the first times in my life, I actually felt old.
With this in mind, I was shocked at how few senior creatives came out. The majority in attendance were young. Juniors and students. I would think that a show celebrating some of the best work in the world would bring the creative teams out in droves.
Somebody made a comment about this to the tune of “If they aren’t in the show, they don’t bother”. I’m hoping there isn’t some truth to this.
Watching a reel of great work (for a very low price) when you are in the industry makes sense to me. Especially when acquiring one of the annuals to peruse is next to impossible.

I had a lot of respect for those that came out. I know I’m going to get some flack for saying this but truthfully, I saw way more enthusiasm in the people I met last night than I did at Portfolio night.
At Portfolio night, I felt I met some students that went through their programs because they thought it was a good idea rather than a lifelong desire to be in this industry.
I’ve met many young wannabes trying to break in over the years. The passion isn’t always there.
Last night, for all those in attendance, I sensed very strongly that the passion IS there. These are kids that want to soak up everything. They want to be in this industry. They want to know what wins, what’s considered great work. They WANT to be inspired.
There was a lot of energy in the room.

I applaud those that came out…and for those hoping to break in, I wish you all the very best of luck.

After some drinks, I hopped a subway home around midnight.
As I analyzed the ads above my head, chuckling at a few, I once again remembered that this industry is supposed to be fun.
And that’s what last night was all about.