The ADC Annual Awards claims to be the world’s longest-running awards program for creative excellence. Each year, it launches a bespoke campaign to attract entries, and this year sees one of its most eye-catching yet – quite literally.
For the design awards' 104th edition, the branding and graphics promote the idea of the program as a way for agencies and creatives to gain recognition by industry experts with the concept “Be Seen by the Best Eyes” (see our round up of iconic brands for more inspiration).
The striking visual communication is the work of the newly formed MullenLowe Design Studio (MLDS), which was briefed to craft a campaign that speaks to all creatives alike, including freelancers, independent studios, and large agencies. The centerpiece is a series of nine surreal but amusing animated shorts that feel like Pixar meets 90s MTV.
Created in collaboration with the animation studio ROOF Studio Brooklyn, the animations are bold and disruptive, drawing eyes to the awards' own brand while, in turn, inviting creatives to make work that demands to be seen. There are also 40 poster executions and social and digital assets that blend quirky humor with surrealism and nostalgia.
The emphasis is on the discerning eyes of the awards' jury, suggesting that they evaluate work more deeply than other, with the same attention to detail with which it was created. To emphasise that, there are 275 unique jury posts, each showing a juror’s own eyeball.
“This campaign was a chance for us to craft a love letter to the industry we love so much,” say Fabio Brigido and João Paz, Heads of Design at MullenLowe Design Studio. “It’s a celebration of bold, ambitious work and an invitation to the creative community to show us something we’ve never seen before. That’s what inspires us, and that’s what this campaign is all about.”
Part of The One Club for Creativity, the ADC Awards cover advertising, digital media, graphic and publication design, packaging and product design, motion, gaming, experiential and architecture, photography, illustration and apparel design. You can learn more at the website adcawards.org
For more inspiration, see our exploration of the Squid Game branding and the new Microsoft Office logo.
