London, November 25. – D&AD has launched a new campaign for its 2017 global under-24 competition – the D&AD New Blood Awards. The campaign was created by UK agency The Beautiful Meme, and is designed to spark debate, following suggestions that the gender debate is over.
“The facts speak for themselves,” said D&AD foundation director Paul Drake. “Only 11.5% of creative directors are female, indicating that this conversation is definitely not over.
“The same lack of representation applies to creatives from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, those from low-income households and those with disabilities. Diversity, which is key to ensuring the advertising and design industries are representing the world we live in, is far from what it could be.”
For New Blood 2017, The Beautiful Meme have devised a campaign to make everyone stop and think. Taking as its starting point a series of statements and statistics that highlight the current state of the creative industry.
“These in-your-face designs are a challenge to whoever reads them to take action,” Drake said.
“New Blood want to hold a mirror to the industry so that when faced with real statements and facts, we can all come together and start thinking about solutions.
“As an organisation we already work towards finding new ways forward, but we all need to think long term. This is a call for students to enter their work into the New Blood Awards, but this is also a call to the entire industry to wake up and realise that what they need more than anything else is new perspectives, New Blood.”
The Beautiful Meme CD Tom Sharp said: “If we see the yearly influx of new talent into the creative industries as nothing more than a perpetuation of the existing system, we do a disservice to the minds joining our industry.
Abrupt aesthetic
“Agencies thrive on change and challenge,” he said. “This is what New Blood brings. Whilst our sector debates equality and the future of creativity, the answers lie with New Blood. We need them, and the campaign itself has taken a radically different approach, leaving behind the traditional yellow and black of the D&AD Professional Awards and embracing a more abrupt aesthetic.”
Using a juxtaposition of words and polka-dot hexagonal design, The Beautiful Meme put their own unique spin on this eye-catching campaign.
On the look and feel, The Beautiful Meme CD Ben Haworth said: “The energetic and visually distinctive hexagonal polka dot graphics conceptually represent controlled takeover while past D&AD winners are masked (as the past) to bring colour and texture.
Trickster spirit
“This is framed by a flexible We Need New Blood lock up which in a trickster spirit tears up the D&AD logo,” Haworth said.
“Our aim was to elevate the New Blood brand from the younger sibling of D&AD into a cutting-edge persona at the forefront of the industry. A brand that better represents the intelligence and diversity of new talent coming through – tearing up the establishment and replacing it with new people, new skill sets and new thinking.”
“This will be a constantly evolving campaign that will continue to push out statements as they happen throughout the year to constantly spark conversation and debate. D&AD invites students, creatives and tutors to use the #WeNeedNewBlood hashtag in order to have their say.”
The roll-out will take the form of digital and social assets that will be shared over the course of the year as well as environmental designs for the D&AD New Blood Festival in July.
- New Blood briefs are available for download from www.dandad.org/newbloodawards.
- Young creatives will have until 22 March to submit their entries
- The winners will be announced at the New Blood Awards Ceremony on 6 July.
- More information: www.dandad.org/new-blood
- For updated entry information about the D&AD Professional Awards 2017: www.dandad.org
About D&AD New Blood
DAD New Blood aims to reach young creatives from as far and wide as possible to offer inspiration, learning and genuine opportunities on the way into industry. The New Blood Awards give full time students, recent graduates and under 24s around the world the chance to take on a variety of industry standard briefs set by global brands. Winning a New Blood Pencil is an instant validation of talent. The New Blood Festival gives university students the chance to flaunt their best work in the
face of the industry to make meaningful connections and land their first break. At the heart of the Festival is the UK’s biggest graduate show for visual communications courses, while a creative takeover sees multiple brands, agencies and studios open their doors for keen young minds to experience industry from the inside and find out what that dream job may look like.
About The Beautiful Meme
The Beautiful Meme believe in Tricksterism. If you’d like a copy of their manifesto posted to you then email your address to manifesto@thebeautifulmeme.com. See some pictures at www.thebeautifulmeme.com. Follow them @beautifulmemes
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