D&AD Awards: Clemenger BBDO Melbourne most awarded agency in the world winning one Black Pencil and six Yellow Pencils; Yellow Pencils to Leo Burnett Melbourne and Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney; Australia ranked #3 country in the world

The 55th D&AD Professional Awards Ceremony has just wrapped up in London, where Clemenger BBDO Melbourne was crowned the most awarded advertising agency in the world at D&AD 2017.

Campaign Brief’s reigning Agency of the Year took home a Black Pencil (plus another for Agency of the Year), five Yellow Pencils and two Graphite Pencils for their Meet Graham campaign, which aims to promote better road safety by imagining how the human body would need to evolve to better survive on the roads. Nichola Patterson, formerly of Propeller and now national managing director of PR Edge, was responsible for the campaign’s PR. 

Clemenger BBDO Melbourne also took home a Yellow Pencil and Graphite Pencil for Bond’s The Boys’ contributing to the agency’s overall total of 16 Pencils.

Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney won a Yellow Pencil and three Graphite Pencils for Toyota ‘LandCruiser Emergency Service’, while Leo Burnett Melbourne scored a Yellow Pencil and a Graphite Pencil for Headspace ‘Reword’. And R/GA, Sydney won a Yellow Pencil for Google ‘Through the dark’.

Graphite Pencils were awarded to Marcel Sydney for Tiger Beer ‘Air-Ink’ and TBWA Melbourne for ANZ ‘GAYNZ’. 

For the first time ever, the United States has topped the country rankings with 182 Pencils – with the United Kingdom coming in second with 164 Pencils and Australia third with 56 Pencils.

However, at the pointy end in terms of Black and Yellow Pencils, Australia equaled the UK, scoring two Black Pencils (including the AOY for Clems Melboune) and nine Silver Pencils compared to the UK’s two Black Pencils and nine Yellow Pencils. The USA scored 17 Yellow Pencils and no Black Pencils.

We’re the Superhumans claimed two Black Pencils on the night, one each for 4Creative and Blink – the creative team and production team (respectively) who created the film to promote Channel 4’s coverage of the 2016 Paralympics.

Black Pencils were also awarded to INGO Stockholm for their Swedish Number campaign for The Swedish Tourist Association – which gave people the chance to talk to a Swedish person on the phone about the country – and to Serviceplan for their work with Dot Incorporation creating the world’s first Braille smartwatch.

Clemenger BBDO Melbourne creative chairman James McGrath told CB this morning: “Well you called it early before anyone else, by choosing us as CB AOTY, it is a great privilege and humbling for us to join the incredible lineage and legacy of D&AD. We are thrilled to be D&AD agency of the year, we want to thank our creators and makers of course but most of all our clients, whose bravery and genuine belief in solving real world problems inspires us.”

[Perth-based Paula Taylor, D&AD regional director APAC, is at the awards – pictured below at left. No doubt she will be sending the Pencils back to Clemenger BBDO tomorrow.]

In total, 733 Pencils were awarded during D&AD Judging 2017. The number of Pencils awarded by level are as follows:  

Black Pencil – 5 Pencils

Yellow Pencil – 62 Pencils

Graphite Pencil – 180 Pencils

Wood Pencil – 485 Pencils

Says D&AD CEO Tim Lindsay: “What an outstanding year for creativity. Five Black Pencils, all hugely deserving of the Award. What unites them is a clear desire to create a better world, whether it’s promoting diversity, safety or inclusivity but what is really fantastic is that they win this coveted award for their craft. Proof that creativity as a force for good lives outside of a single category but has become an all-encompassing theme.

“For the first time ever, the United States is the country taking home the most number of Pencils. In fact, the top of the country rankings is comprised of countries from across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa, reminding us that D&AD is a truly global organisation, encouraging and awarding talent from around the world.” 

This year the President’s Award winner is Michael Johnson, Creative Director at Johnson Banks, Ex-President of D&AD and Black Pencil winner.

D&AD President Bruce Duckworth commented: “Michael’s reputation for creative excellence is massive, he represents so much of what I respect about great design and great designers. He manages to distill complicated issues and simplifies them into solutions that you can’t argue with. They’re just right. He does the kind work that you can’t help but notice, the kind of work that I look at and wish I’d done myself. For this reason and for so many others, I am giving this Award to him.”