Q&A – What is the core of Award Winning Creative?

participation-trophies

By Jeff Goss, CEO/Creative Director

Q: What is the core of Award Winning Creative?

A: Award, which award? Many awards are meaningless because the standards are so low (everybody gets a trophy). Others are an ego-stroking fest among “creative elites” congratulating one another for work they created more for themselves than the client and client’s customer, often more art than advertising. Awards for achieving engaging, compelling creative communications that intercept prospects in their daily activities, generating a sale or inquiry, are awards worth pursuing.

The core of winning an award for these achievements: expression of a product feature; benefit or experience in a manner that makes one laugh, smile, think, and feel; executed with the design philosophy “If it’s not adding, it’s taking away” is the formula. It’s like Howard Gossage said: “People don’t look at advertising; they look at what interests them, sometimes it’s advertising.” I have been asked many times what products/brands you would like to work on. I used to rattle off iconic brands. Now I say, “It’s the client that makes the ad, not the product.”

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Below are The Goss Agency's top 3 picks from the Cannes Gold Lions Awards:

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