I, the Jury

A longtime judge’s advice for writing really good advertising award entries

Another year of advertising awards shows are upon us, and as someone who has judged my share of them in the last 25 years, I am going to give you a peek behind the curtain to help you benefit from what I know.

Once upon a time, award show judging was done in person. You would go to some big fancy agency, look at the entries with your fellow judges, talk about them, and then vote on what should win. You would get lunch, a goodie bag, and an invite to the posh awards show ceremony they would throw afterwards. It was awesome.

But that’s not how it works anymore. Most award shows are now judged completely online, by people who will never meet or interact with each other.

What usually happens is that I agree to judge a show, and then a month or so later, when I have pretty much forgotten about it, I get an email with a link to like 25 entries for me to judge. This usually happens right when I’m working on a project with a very tight deadline.

The first thing I do is put it off the judging so that I can finish my work. Then, with the deadline almost here, I dive in, hoping to get through the judging as quickly as possible, while still giving each entry its due. And I’m sure that I’m not the only one doing it like this. That’s why your entry needs to be really, really good.

Taking into account what I have learned over the years, I have put together this inside view of the process so that you can understand how your work is being judged, and increase your chances of taking home some of that shiny award hardware:

Follow the rules.

If you go over the word count the award show will either eliminate your entry or cut it down themselves. Same with video length, so don’t risk that.

Answer the questions correctly.

Make sure you understand what is being asked. When in doubt, send the show a query before writing your answer.

Consider entering a less popular category.

Everyone wants to win in an exciting category. Instead, consider entering an unsexy one. There will be less competition there and a better chance for you to stand out.

Communicate like you are having a conversation.

There is no group voting anymore. There is just a single person sitting in front of a computer. So think about your entry as a conversation, not a presentation.

Write less. Way less.

The word limit is the most you can write. Edit your work to give it a clearer focus, and to endear yourself to the time-challenged judges.

Show the problem, aha solution, and triumph.

Bring a sense of drama and urgency to the telling of how you helped your client overcome a problem, and be the hero of the story.

Make sure your solution pays off your objective.

If they don’t align then there’s no clear criteria to judge the effectiveness of your work by, and your entry will not make the cut.

Have one person write the entry.

Your entry should not read like it was written by a committee. And it is painfully obvious when it was just cut and pasted from other documents.

Images and video are a must.

If video entries are allowed submit one. If you don’t have a video make one. It doesn’t have to be fancy; it just has to convey the energy and excitement of your campaign.

Lose the buzz words du jour.

Every brand last year “endeavored to connect in an authentic way.” Ditch the clichés and talk in a way that sounds authentic to you.

Don’t rely solely on metrics to prove your success.

We all work in marketing, so we know that your numbers are inflated like a Thanksgiving Day float. Instead, talk about how you reached your audience in a meaningful way.

Remember, we read a lot of entries.

Last year I read three different entries that claimed to earn the most media views from a Super Bowl activation. The result is that each claim canceled the other out.

Know that judging is a game of elimination.

The task isn’t just to find the best entries, it is also to eliminate most of them. If you submit a boring, incomplete, or poorly written entry you will be voted off the island.

My Quasi-Legal Disclaimer: These are my observations and may not match those of other judges, though I bet they do. Like the fine print says; your mileage may vary.

^{Photo by Joe Shields on Unsplash}