Fifty thoughts on judging the 50th Clio Awards

Euro RSCG Singapore Executive Creative Director Victor Ng is a judge at this year’s Clio awards, sitting on the Print/Poster/Billboard/Innovative/Integrated panel. Ng is writing a daily account for Campaign Brief Asia and starts off a list of 50 thoughts on the Clio judging experience.

50 years is an eternity in advertising.

A great idea can spring out of nowhere in mere seconds; the same great idea can be killed by research in the first five minutes; a great campaign can change a brand in weeks; the same brand can also change its agency in months. Even great creative talent can be forgotten in an unfruitful year or two. But the best ads? They can be an adman’s only claim to immortality.

Erik Vervroegen reminded me over a beer that “You’re only as good as your last ad.” Agreed but my take is “You’re only as good as your next ad.”

It’s evident that success in advertising is not just measured by creativity, but creative consistency and longevity, and Clio’s excellence for the past half-century certainly deserves a coveted Statue in its own right.

In that spirit, here are my 50 chronological (and unofficial) thoughts as a judge:

50) Day One: Bishop’s Lodge, hoisted up in the beautiful highlands of Santa Fe, is a unique venue for judging a show of this magnitude. It really feels more like a creative retreat with some of the world’s finest ad people, rather than a cut-throat “how’s my network looking so far” corporate slugfest.

49) Clio Executive Director Wayne Youkhana is an inspired man who understands what it takes to do great work and, perhaps more importantly, what it takes to find them. His team also took the effort to know each of the judges and made everything tick.

48) 3,500 pieces of work, 15 judges. Morale of the Math: Keep your ideas brutally simple and clear. The best ads always stand out in a very visceral way, as if the rest aren’t even there.

47) Jury Chairman Marcello Serpa briefed us on the task ahead – first round of ‘In or Out’, next round to cull the surviving work to a shortlist, followed by statue discussion.

46) Heard: Relived sighs of relief when it was announced that the jury would be divided into three groups to judge all the work.

45) The Apple iTouch is our handy tool for judging — quick, simple to use and generally trouble-free. Plus, it’s cool.

44) Print ads are judged on long tables, which is aptly old-school. It must be a first day thing, as judges adopt a wait-and-see approach before dishing out their awesomes and fabulouses. While there are some favourites which could have already won at other shows, I was on the lookout for some fresh winners.

Stay tuned…