Or at least they shouldn't mean anything to you as a client. I don't say this
because I haven't been able to win any - in seven years I won more than 50
regional and national awards, including "Best of Show" in the Toledo
Society of Communicating Arts competition four times. Awards are good for
the designer's ego, and to help get young professionals noticed in the community,
but too often pieces that win awards fail in the marketplace. And, conversely,
pieces which do an effective job for the client rarely win awards.
The reason is that effective marketing programs often use straightforward
and basic elements with minimal cutting edge design; or they rely on complex
and subtle messages to specific audience segments which are not adequately
expressed in a flashy poster or highly graphic ad. On the other hand, judges
of design competition have only a few seconds to inspect each piece before
deciding "in or out." This means that only the simple and flashy
pieces have a realistic chance of catching the judge's eye. I know this from
experience, having judged many competitions, including the Michigan Addies
for several years.
However, awards still seem to convey credibility in the marketplace, so I
include the following record of awards received in my first seven years of business, after which I no longer entered awards competitions.
First Year
Art Directors Club of Toledo
Gold Award/Booklets
Gold Award/Illustration
Gold Award/Experimental
Gold Award/Slides
Second Year
Art Directors Club of Toledo
Gold Award/Illustration
Silver Award/Film
Advertising Club of Toledo
Special Award for Outstanding Concept and Execution (Film)
Calvin Productions, Kansas City
Ten Best Films of 1968
Third Year
Toledo Society of Communicating Arts
Best of Show (Direct Mail)
Gold Award/Direct Mail
Silver Award/Editorial
Merit Award/Booklets
Merit Award/Packaging
Merit Award/Direct Mail
Merit Award/Booklets
Merit Award/Annual Reports
Advertising Club of Toledo
Merit Award/Booklets
Merit Award/Booklets
National Society of College & University Public
Relations Departments
Merit Award/Posters
Fourth Year
Toledo Society of Communicating Arts
Best of Show (Experimental)
Gold Award/Slides
Gold Award/Slides
Gold Award/Experimental
Silver Award/Slides
Silver Award/Campaign
Silver Award/Campaign
Merit Award/Booklets
Merit Award/Slides
Advertising Club of Toledo
First Award/Trade Ad
Second Award/Booklets
Fifth Year
Toledo Society of Communicating Arts
Best of Show (Film)
Gold Medal/Film
Silver Medal/Radio Series
Merit Award/Television Series
Merit Award/Booklets
Advertising Club of Toledo
Excellence Award/Direct Mail
Excellence Award/Promotion
Honor Award/Multi-Media Campaign
Honor Award/Radio
Honor Award/Radio Series
Honor Award/Television Series
Sixth Year
Advertising Club of Toledo
Silver Medal/Corporate Identity
Special Citation/Television
Special Citation/Posters
10 Bronze Certificates
Curtis Paper
Paper Usage Award
Strathmore Paper
Paper Usage Award
Financial World Magazine
Silver Oscar (Annual Report)
Meade Library of Ideas
Inclusion in Annual Report Exhibit
AAF, Ohio Region
Second Place, Television,
Regional Honorable Mention, Radio
Columbus Film Festival
Gold Certificate
Institute of Outdoor Advertising
71 Best of '71 Outdoor Ads
Seventh Year
Toledo Society of Communicating Arts
Best of Show (Direct Mail)
Gold Award/Direct Mail
Special Citation/Television
Silver Award/Television
Advertising Club of Toledo
Gold Award/Packaging
After seven years of awards competition, I retired from advertising shows, although I remained active as a judge, particularly in the Michigan ADDY Awards.
