Dead Ad Society Announces Winners of Inaugural Awards

Dead Ad Society, an awards show dedicated to resurrecting bold, unproduced ideas, has announced the winners of its inaugural show. On November 14th, hosted by comedian Joyelle Nicole Johnson, industry creatives gathered to honour concepts that, despite their brilliance, were previously left unrealised. The winners of the first Dead Ad Society Awards are: 

Gold: 'Dig' 

Entered by: William Spencer 

Credits: 

• Copywriter: William Spencer 
• Art director: Mitch Ratchik 
• Creative directors: Lisa Topol and Samira Ansari 

Silver: 'Horse-Sized Duck' 

Entered by: Dana Buckhorn and Tanner Thompson 

Credits: 

• Creative team: Dana Buckhorn and Tanner Thompson 

Bronze: 'Existential Crisis' 

Entered by: Justin Lee 

Credits: 

• Creative director/copywriter: Justin Lee 
• Art director: Joao Unzer 
• Executive creative directors: Pete Johnson and George Decker 

Judging Panel: 

The entries were evaluated by a distinguished panel of industry leaders: 

• Mike Byrne: Founding partner and global creative chief at Anomaly, recognised for leading the agency to multiple Agency of the Year titles and numerous industry accolades. 
• Juliana Cobb: Creative leader at 72andSunny New York, with a portfolio including award-winning work for brands like Starbucks, GE, and AT&T. 
• Amir Farhang: Senior vice president and creative lead at The SpringHill Entertainment's brand consultancy, Robot, with a background in directing and creative leadership at agencies such as Wieden+Kennedy and BBH. 
• Elena Knox: Executive creative director at BBDO NY, with experience developing global campaigns for brands like Google and Amazon Music.
• Sean McBride: Chief creative officer at Arnold, known for his leadership on brands including Ocean Spray and Progressive Insurance. 
• Tara Lawall: Chief creative officer at Rethink New York, writer, and two-time published author, with work recognised at major industry awards including Cannes Lions and The One Show. 
• Ryan Paulson: Chief creative officer at Dentsu Creative NY, with a history of leading creative for brands like Samsung Global and Verizon. 
• Sam Shepherd: Chief creative officer at Uncommon New York, recognised as the #1 executive creative director in the world by D&AD and The One Show. 
• Dave Laden: Emmy award-winning director at Hungry Man, with a portfolio including award-winning ads for brands like Planet Fitness and Taco Bell. 
• Will Dempster: Head of production and partner at Mischief @ No Fixed Address, behind some of the industry's most disruptive and effective work. 

The first-place concept, 'Dig', will be fully funded, produced, and directed by the renowned production company Hungry Man. This production is supported by industry sponsors including SAG-AFTRA, The Mill, Work Editorial, Sonic Union, and Synapse Virtual Production, ensuring top-tier talent and production quality.

Caleb Dewart, managing partner, Hungry Man said, “The Dead Ad Society show exceeded my already optimistic expectations. Our host, Joyelle Johnson, was brilliantly hilarious. The actors we cast to perform the shortlisted scripts were some of the best comedic actors in New York. They were able to turn even the most difficult to perform scripts into masterpieces -one of the scripts had almost no dialogue and involved a horse-sized duck head butting a woman in an open field…that script won silver because it was genius but also because the actors did an amazing job interpreting it. We had a packed house and the crowd really fed off the energy of the actors. The gratitude from everyone who showed up - from the actors to the jurors to the nominees to the people that showed up just to see what it was all about, was overwhelming. The goal was to have an event that celebrated unfettered creativity in advertising and I think we achieved that. My hope was to move the meter 1% in the conversation around the importance of craft in the work we do and I think we made that happen.”

Ryan Paulson, chief creative officer, Dentsu Creative NY said, “I was really impressed by the level of writing we saw from the finalists. A really high level of craft. The show was a collective advertising catharsis. Like a great funeral. A funny funeral. The kind where lots of your friends are there and you can drink during the service. And at the end of this funeral some people got a dead fish trophy.”

Juliana Cobb, head of creative, 72andSunny New York, said, “When Caleb from Hungry Man told me what the Dead Ad Society was going to be all about, I was all in. I loved the idea of giving people’s brilliant ads another chance at life. And the awards show was the living embodiment of unfettered creativity. The event was held at the immersive theater space McKittrick Hotel and the shortlisted ads were performed live in front of an audience by a great improv troupe. That’s how we judges made the final call on the winner - and I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in a long time. In the end, it felt like it wasn’t just about resuscitating a creative ad, it felt like resuscitating creativity itself. Dead Ad Society is the awards show for our time, a shot in the arm for an industry constantly lamenting the death of creativity.”

Tara Lawall, chief creative officer, Rethink New York, said, “Such a brilliant idea and a rare event where our industry can come together and just have a great time celebrating hilarious, unhinged creativity. This is the only advertising awards show where a first place golden fish trophy would be awarded for a film for where a man buries his best friend alive for a cracker brand.”