Three Reasons To Skip The One Show and ADC Annual Awards
By Brett McKenzie on Feb 24, 2022
Are Pencils and Cubes worth the hassle?
We are into the final stretch of the calls for entry for The One Show 2022 and the ADC 101st Annual Awards, with just one remaining deadline next Friday, March 4. Maybe you’ve already entered, or perhaps you’re putting your submissions together.
Or maybe you’re looking to forget the whole thing altogether.
We can totally see that last one; in fact, we have three good reasons why shouldn’t even bother entering either award show.
You’re trying to stay under the radar.
Ah, international creative of mystery, huh? We can’t say we blame you. Winning a One Show Pencil or ADC Cube is bound to get you noticed. Potential clients, new talent, people looking to collaborate — why, even winning a Merit Certificate will have people checking out your website or Instagram to see what else you do. Who needs that stress, amirite? The government’s already tracking your brainwaves, you don’t need anyone else following you or your work.
This man was just minding his own business last year, when all of a sudden he entered The One Show and became the #1 ranked creative in the world. Try as we might, we can’t return his anonymity.
You like keeping your competition hypothetical.
See that piece that won Gold last year? A joke, right? I mean what were those judges thinking? Of course if you had entered, you totally would’ve done better. And all of those rankings! They only placed so high in them because you and your stuff weren’t there to knock them down a peg. That’s the beauty of not actually competing against your peers: like Robocop versus Hulk Hogan, the matchups only occur in your dreams.
AMV BBDO beat out FCB New York for the top spot on our One Show and ADC combined rankings in 2021. Imagine how high you'd rank — and by not entering, you can keep it imaginary!
Because the past is best left buried.
That’s the thing about The One Show and the ADC Annual Awards: they’re basically archiving work that you’ve already done! You stopped thinking about that stuff the moment the check cleared, never mind thinking about a full century of work like ADC just did last year. Who wants their creations to be admired a hundred years from now? You’re the type who knows there’s nothing to be gained by looking back on your work or on the work of predecessors in this industry. Full steam into the future, that’s the ticket! Now if only they’d let you enter work that you’re thinking about making…
ADC Hall of Famer Rene Clarke won Gold with this illustration, created for Crane Paper. That was a full century ago. The moral of the story is: if you don’t want people admiring your work in 2122, don’t enter it in 2022.
...AND HERE'S ONE GOOD REASON TO ENTER
Because win or lose, big multinational network or a scrappy one-person team, 57 submissions across multiple disciplines or a single project that’s near to your heart, when you enter The One Show and the ADC Annual Awards, you’re supporting a not-for-profit organization that truly champions the creative community.
From our Saturday Career Workshops, where high schoolers are shown where their creative gifts could take them, to the globe-spanning Portfolio Night, where young talent vie for their first big break. From the raucous rockstars of Young Guns, to ELEVATE’s mentorship of female and female-identifying future leaders. From 10-plus years of demanding diversity with the Where Are All The Black People? conference, to the first-of-its-kind ONE School. And from retreats for those navigating the next phase of their careers, to a Hall of Fame that venerates our industry idols. All of this and so much more are supported primarily by your submissions into The One Show and ADC.
So steer clear of the spotlight, duck the competition, and avoid reflecting on your past work. Or lend your support to an organization that works hard every day to make our industry a tiny bit better.
The final deadline for both The One Show 2022 and the ADC 101st Annual Awards is Friday, March 4, 2022.
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