ADC announces Annual Awards jury chairs, new awards

The 2009 jury chairs for each category include:

• Advertising - David Nobay, creative chairman, Droga5 Australia, Sydney, Australia
  
• Design - Geneviève Gauckler, illustrator/graphic artist, Paris, France
  
• Interactive - Brendan Dawes, creative director, magneticNorth, Manchester, UK
  
• ADC Hybrid - John C Jay, partner, executive creative director, Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, OR, US
  
• ADC Design Sphere - Steff Geissbuhler, partner, C&G Partners LLC, New York, NY, US

The new elements for the 88th Annual Awards programme include the debut of the ADC Black Cube for best-in-show in Advertising, Design and Interactive; the new ADC Bronze Cube (supplementing the existing Gold and Silver Cube awards); and cumulative awards for Design Firm of the Year, Advertising Agency of the Year, Interactive Agency of the Year and Network of the Year, based on winning point totals for the year.

“The ADC Annual Awards honour the best work that leads the industry forward, so it's critical that we have chairs and jury members who know the new dynamics of the marketplace,” said Ami Brophy, CEO, Art Directors Club.

“Each jury chair's own work is recognised to be at the vanguard of their respective fields. All but one of them have served as past ADC jury members, so they are well versed in our rigorous evaluation process and high standards, and will continue to elevate the tradition of the ADC awards.”

Brophy went on to explain that the new ADC Black Cube was added by popular demand. “In recent years, an increasing number of jury members remarked that the high quality of work awarded warranted a best-in-show designation,” she said. “With the ADC Black Cube, we will now shine a spotlight on the single piece of work the juries deem to be the best of the best.”

She also noted how the addition of the ADC Bronze Cube and cumulative awards bring the programme in line with industry norms, and allows the ADC to recognise the specific companies and networks that are attaining excellence on a broad scale.

Call for entries for the ADC 88th Annual Awards will open later this year, with winners announced in 2009 during the gala awards ceremony at the ADC Gallery in New York. Winning work will also be part of a world exhibition tour, and be published in the Art Directors Club Annual 88, allegedly the longest running archive of leading creative work in global advertising, design and visual communications.

For more information on the Art Directors Club and its awards, go to www.adcglobal.org.