How the Advertising & Design Club of Canada Was Saved Over the Course of a 24-Hour Webathon

 

 

 

Zak> As a young creative, the first industry event I ever attended was through the ADCC, Canada’s oldest ad and design club. This non-profit organisation has been around for 72 years. It has a special place in all our hearts. For many creatives in Canada, the ADCCs are their first exposure to the excitement and thrill of the industry. It’s an incredible organisation that has supported up and coming young talent for decades. It was our turn to support them.

 

Zak> As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the heavily relied upon funding that supports future generations of creative talent had all but disappeared. When reality set in that this year could possibly be the last for the ADCC, Michelle Ovcaric (executive director) and Andrew Simon (ADCC president) reached out to me and asked if Zulu could help save the ADCC.

 

Andrew> The ADCC, a non-profit organisation, has always been in strong financial standing. As Covid-19 became a reality, we made the difficult decision to cancel the 2019 ADCC Awards show out of sensitivity for the economic hardships that the industry was facing. We did this with full knowledge that as a non-profit that relied on the associated revenue from the show, we would be faced with a significant financial shortfall.

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew> We developed a plan to address the financial shortfall. An important part of that was to create a ‘Save the ADCC’ creative campaign. We reached out to Zulu because they are a world-class creative agency with strong advertising and design chops and they’ve been a great supporter of the club in the past. 

 

 

Zak> I reviewed many, many concepts with our team. Many were typical and expected advertising ideas. Some played off award-winning iconic ads and design pieces from ADDC’s 72-year history. One campaign highlighted the first ADCC award wins of people’s careers and played off the notion ‘you never forget your first’. While these concepts were insightful and historical, there’s no way they’d result in people opening up their wallets. We needed something that had an element of community and fund-raising. We did end up using many of these ideas in our promotional materials. 

 

 

Zak> One of our teams showed a reel of ‘70s telethons and proposed the notion of a webathon.  I loved it right away and directed all the teams to create ideas under this umbrella. Everyone contributed fun, irreverent engaging ideas that would keep the ad and design community engaged and entertained throughout 24 hours. Since the pandemic started, not only have agencies been apart but the entire industry hasn’t collectively gathered for nearly half a year. By hosting a 24-hour webathon, we believed it could bring our country’s industry together, if done right. We packaged all the ideas under this one platform. It was the only idea we presented to Andrew and Michelle and they approved it on the spot. They were brave, supportive and great to work with.

 

 

Zak> After we sold the idea, yes, admittedly there was a moment of panic. How the hell could we pull it off in 24 hours? At one point, someone suggested that we maybe only produce 12 hours, but we knew we needed to go for the full 24 hours. It was definitely painful, hard and stressful for everyone, but we all got tingles as the content started to play and the love started pouring in across the industry. Some individuals donated as many as three times.

 

Zak> We simply asked. Very few turned us down.  I was moved by the generosity of many of the global leaders. 

 

(Note to reader! Check out the 'Bogusky & Droga video: On Saying No' section. It's discussed at the 51:47 sec mark.)

 

 

Zak> It was definitely a logistical exercise and production feat. Fortunately, we have Zulubot, our internal production and editing arm that played a huge role. It took lots of planning and very little sleep to pull it off.

 

Zak> Too many to mention. But watching the whole community come together was very special. That said, it was pretty funny to watch Andrew read the annual to his daughters, his guinea pig Tulip, and fall asleep on air. My personal highlight was spending two hours with Alex and David. It was captivating to hear two legends who’ve helped shape the industry as we know it, share their secrets on getting to great work and growing great vegetables. 

 

Zak> It was fantastic to hear two guys who helped shape modern advertising catch up and talk about both their journeys. They had only ever met a few times before and you could sense a mutual admiration and respect for each other. The biggest challenge was how to edit two hours of amazing content into one hour. One pearl of wisdom stuck out. As both Alex and David mentioned, as you’re approving work or creating it, ask yourself “why would anyone give a shit?” Because along the way, things may get watered down and if you don’t keep asking yourself that question, what could be left is the final word in that sentence.

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew> Perhaps the most challenging part of this whole experience was convincing my eight- and 11-year-old to put on onesies and let me read one of our award annuals to them in bed. Talk about a tough audience. At one point I was showing them a Gold winner and my daughter said, “Merit at best”.

 

 

 

 

 

Zak> Our industry is generous. And we all shared the common goal to keep the ADCC from closing their doors for good. We aimed the message at everyone from veterans of the industry to the younger ad and design generation to all do their part and give what they could. We created a social media campaign that promoted the event in the weeks leading up to it.

 

 

Zak> We are a smaller market than others out there, and so I guess our paths do cross more often as people move agencies, meet at functions, conferences, award shows, etc.  That gives us an advantage of getting to know more people and creating healthy community ties. And although we’re all very competitive, at our core, I guess it’s true, Canadians are basically nice. 

 

Andrew> I think you’re absolutely right. I cannot express in words how special our Canadian creative community is. Yes, Canadians are naturally nice people but it goes beyond that. The ADCC has inspired and celebrated our country’s greatest talents over our 72 years of existence and it’s incredibly heart-warming to see so many of these folks, newbies and veterans, return the favour.

 

 

Zak> We’ve all missed the interaction with our peers during the pandemic and this once-in-a-lifetime event literally brought our local and global industry together.  It hit the right note at the right time. Over the past few days, we’ve all received dozens of emails and texts from people across the industry. Everyone loved coming together. Who knows, we might make this an annual event.

 

Andrew> With challenges come opportunities. Ever since the pandemic started, we’ve looked for new and innovative ways to continue to raise the bar of creativity. An example of that is our Zoom series ‘In Conversation with…’ in which I pick the brain of a different creative leader each week. It’s generated a sizable audience on a consistent basis. Working virtually has opted up new possibilities and as nutty as it sounds to pull off a 24-hour webathon with top talent from around the world, forced isolation made it possible.

 

Zak> After the first few hours, I was thinking we weren’t going to make it. Only a few people had donated. But as the hours progressed, we all made powerful pleas to get people off their wallet. I was humbled, thankful and so proud to be a part of a moment in ADCC history, and the Canadian industry’s history – when we all came together. We all needed this, especially after the last four months.

 

 

 

 

 

Zak> Do not try this at home.

 

Andrew> Can’t wait to do it again next year!