This month The Gerety Awards judging took place, exploring and rewarding the campaigns making a real-world impact through the female lens. 

The Gerety Awards are unique as they mark the first time juries have been brought together to select the best in advertising, not just advertising made for women, through the female lens. The awards are named after Frances Gerety, the copywriter who coined the slogan ‘A diamond is forever’.

Nicola Kemp, Editorial Director at Creativebrief sat down with members of the UK Jury, Yem Elizabeth Akingbade, Creative at The Romans, Dillah Zakbah, Creative Director at Uncommon Creative Studio, Paula Hochberg, Creative Director at Adam&EveDDB, Regan Warner, Executive Creative Director McCann London, Debbie Ellison, Global Chief Digital Officer at VML to lift the lid on some of the campaigns having a real-world impact, pushing boundaries to truly resonate with a female audience. 

The power of positivity and storytelling 

Regan Warner, Executive Creative Director McCann London and UK jury president kicked off the UK judging with a powerful reminder of the importance of positivity. Despite the unrest in the world, Warner stresses that there are many reasons to be positive about the state of advertising. 

“The Gerety Awards showcases what’s flourishing in advertising by driving meaningful conversation,” says Warner. “We can harness creativity to amplify impactful messages beyond work and inspire the industry to think bigger and bolder”.

Meaningful storytelling and selling do not need to be mutually exclusive pursuits. Debbie Ellison, Global Chief Digital Officer at VML, shared that while industry discourse suggests a shift away from purpose and toward humour, some of the most impactful work in the judging had a conscious message at the heart. She pointed to the example of DP World’s The Move to -15. A campaign, created by Edelman, which prompted a behavioural change to a more sustainable freezing temperature across an entire category. The campaign exemplifies how creative innovation can drive meaningful impact across categories. 

Embracing new perspectives

Dillah Zakbah, Creative Director at Uncommon Creative Studio shared that during the judging process, looking at work with other women and through a female lens brought a ‘deeper understanding of narrative and emotional depth’. “It wasn't about being impressed by the peacocking of the case studies with more glamour but stepping back to assess the brief and consider the challenges,” she says.

Having truly measured considerate conversation about the entries, Zakbah feels the unique female lens and quality of the judging process is reflected in the award winners. “They were considered from a human-centric view,” says Zakbah.

Yem Elizabeth Akingbade, Creative at The Romans shared the importance of acknowledging all great work no matter who it is made by. “I don't judge work based on if a woman is behind it. If the work’s great and a woman behind it that's a bonus for me. I always judge work based on craft and stickiness.”

Creating work with real world impact

Reflecting on advertising's ability to create connections and drive impact, the panel concluded that the most effective work did this either by building an emotional connection or by intersecting with culture. 

At a unique moment in time when the world is still grappling with socioeconomic unrest, emotional connection and humanity are consistent themes in the creative work. 

Yet such emotion doesn’t always need to be heart wrenching or aim to make consumers cry. “We talked more about things that made us smile,” says Paula Hochberg, Creative Director at Adam&EveDDB. She continues:  “That is what we are craving in the world we are living and it also creates a powerful emotional connection.”

Similarly, work that engages culture also builds a strong connection with audiences was another core trend. The industry is becoming more agile and reactive. Warner points to the example of Aldi as a brand that is able to engage with and create trends that make consumers come on board and act as brand advocates. “People do care about brands as much as we don’t want to admit it.” says Warner.

Kemp points to Marmite as another example of a brand that brings its campaigns to life by bringing in its consumers via its ‘love it or hate it’ messaging, creating cultural discourse.

Hochberg attributes Marmite’s success in culture to having such a strong brand which means that you can be fast and reactive. The brand can have a strong perspective on any cultural issue because it is so in tune with its values. 

Curiosity driving creativity 

Widening perspectives can only help to create better work. Campaigns that come up with authentic solutions to real-world problems are able to truly connect with audiences. Akingbade shares that “brands are embracing inclusivity to drive creativity.”

She points to the example of Dove engaging with gaming in its ‘Code my Crown’ campaign to bring to life its ‘real beauty’ message to life in a practical way. “I wouldn’t want my daughter to play a game where she couldn’t look like herself and see all her beautiful features,” says Akingbade. “By being authentic [Dove is] not only reaching a wider audience but showing that social progression we need to see in brands,” she adds.

Code my Crown is a great example of a campaign that uses gaming and technology to drive inclusivity, yet the panel noted that AI is still in its infancy and not fully present in the work. However, Ellison shared that a range of mediums made an impact on the panel. From PETA’s use of cartoon to convey difficult messaging, to BVG’s musical about public transport, the breadth of creativity in the entries showed how advertising is far more than a TVC. 

Bringing big ideas to life

The range of creative work in The Gerety Awards brings to life the capacity the industry has to use creativity to drive culture. The challenge for leaders is to create the conditions where talent can reach their full potential.

Creating the conditions where creativity can thrive and enabling teams to think differently to engage with briefs more dynamically, Zakbah champions a human centric approach. She shares that she urges her team to think in a human way. “Think about your teams as humans, how can you understand their work environment and help them to be more inspired,” she explained.

In a world where even within a single agency there is so much versatility, fostering talent and building new crafts and capabilities pushes the boundaries of creativity. “An agency repertoire needs to be deep and creative. There is no one size fits all,” says Warner. A unique, story-first approach helps to service brands in the most engaging way. “The more versatile you are, the more you’ll succeed,” she adds.

Diverse teams that encourage one another to pursue big ideas which challenge category, industry or societal expectations is key to creating the work that both resonates with the Gerety Awards Jury and audiences at large.