Australia scores seven finalists at shortlist stage of the ADC 105th Annual Awards; +61 and Universal Favourite lead with two finalists each

April 23 2026, 9:48 am | BY Ricki Green | No Comments

The global Art Directors Club has today announced the finalists entries for the ADC 105th Annual Awards, including seven from Australia.

 

Founded in 1920, the ADC Annual Awards is the world’s longest continuously running awards program recognising global excellence in craft and innovation in all forms of advertising and design.  

Leading the Aussie pack with two finalists apiece is +61 and Universal Favourite. +61 has two finalists for client Telstra, one each for “Codemates” and “Into Art”.  

Universal Favourite has two finalists both for brand/communication design work on behalf of Saintly.

Australia scores seven finalists at shortlist stage of the ADC 105th Annual Awards; +61 and Universal Favourite lead with two finalists each

With one finalist each is Bear Meets Eagle On Fire for Telstra “The Girl and Ghost”, Denomination Sydney for Cape Hauy “Cape Hauy Whisky. Made in Tasmania.”, and SPAN Sydney for M. Ellen Burns/Burns Books “SKIMPIES”.


Globally, Area 23 New York leads the way with 21 ADC 105th finalists, followed by McCann New York with 20, Squarespace New York with 19, Klick Health Toronto with 18, and Google Creative Team Mountain View with 16.

This year’s esteemed ADC 105th Annual Awards global jury selected a total of 668 finalists from 39 countries and regions.  The complete searchable list of finalists for is available here.

All finalists will win coveted Gold, Silver, or Bronze ADC Cubes, or merits, which will be presented during Creative Week 2026 at the ADC 105th Annual Awards ceremony on May 13 at Capitale in New York.

Creative Week 2026

Now in its 17th year, Creative Week is a premier annual gathering for the advertising and design industries to come together and celebrate the creative excellence showcased in The One Club’s leading global awards shows: ADC Annual Awards, The One Show, and Young Ones Student Awards.  

Other Creative Week 2026 programming includes The One Club AI Creative Challenge, exclusive Executive Creative Summit 2026, Client Pitch Competition, in person and virtual Portfolio Reviews, Type Directors Club TDC Lettering Walk, and informative daily Morning Buzz panels.

For details and to register, please visit the Creative Week 2026 website.

This year’s global ADC 105th Annual Awards branding campaign was created by Dentsu Inc. Tokyo.

 

Register for FREE HERE and receive the Campaign Brief Daily Bulletin and/or the global Best Ads Best of the Week Bulletin.              Subscribe to Campaign Brief Magazine.

#More Creative News   #No paywalls   #No annual membership fees

Subscribe to Portfolio & Reel for current listings of Australian and NZ ad agency and production company leadership and key personnel