One Show 2021 Juries Will 'Only Judge the Work' in New Campaign - Not the Creatives’ WFH Life

A witty new campaign to promote The One Show 2021 call-for-entries says creatives shouldn’t be concerned about what others might think of their chaotic work-from-home life of the past year because the show’s juries will 'only judge the work'.

The new film, banner and social media effort is the first work created by Milk & Honey United Sydney, a new independent communications company cofounded by Andy DiLallo and Steve Jackson, two of Australia's most recognised creatives. 

Balancing humour with sensitivity to the pandemic situation, the campaign depicts how creatives may have cared less about appearances and indulged in offbeat activities during their year of working from home, but in the end we all empathise with one another and managed to create some great work.

Leading off the campaign is 'Lockdown Day Whatever', an artfully crafted :45 film set to an original string-laden score with lyrics about what a different year it’s been and how somehow we made it through. The film was shot by the award-winning director Paul Middleditch, PLAZA, Sydney.

The film opens with a nod to the now-famous Burger King 'Moldy Whopper', which won Best of Show, four Best of Disciplines and 18 Gold Pencils overall for INGO Stockholm, DAVID Miami and Publicis Bucharest at The One Show last year.

The camera slowly pans to find an array of other mouldy items — a fruit bowl, dirty dishes, loaf of bread with cheese and tomato — before finally landing on an open container of mouldy yoghurt in a nearly empty refrigerator.  A man picks up the yogurt container, looks inside and, instead of throwing it out, shrugs and casually eats a spoonful. The spot closes with the line 'We’ll Only Judge the Work'.

Banner ads, shot by award-winning photographer Ian Butterworth, Sydney, include 'Life Under the Desk', revealing the chaos of WFH not visible to colleagues and clients on a zoom screen, as well as executions depicting extreme toilet paper hoarding, innovation in mask wear and parental coping mechanisms. 

The campaign also includes a series of TikTok-style social videos showing offbeat lockdown behaviour that 'won’t be judged', such as excessive grocery washing, mock subway riding in the bathroom, make-shift at-home toilet paper manufacturing and attempted champagne drinking from a pour attached to a moving garage door mechanism. 

“Many of us have probably eaten and drunk too much, and exercised and cleaned up around the house way too little,” said Milk & Honey United’s Steve Jackson. “But amidst this utter madness, somehow we’ve still managed to create some magic.”

“Everyone has had to deal with months of lockdowns and working from home, and often ended up doing unusual things to cope or entertain ourselves,” said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club. “This campaign is a lighthearted way for us to let creatives know none of that matters because One Show juries will only judge the work, not them.”

“We couldn’t be more honoured to have been entrusted with creating this One Show call for entries campaign,” added Andy DiLallo, Milk & Honey United. “As the first work for our new venture, it will always hold a special place in our hearts.”

After providing the creative community with last year’s largest global awards show and definitive international and regional creative rankings, The One Club for Creativity is now accepting entries for The One Show 2021.

Entries can be submitted now, with fees increasing after each deadline period. The regular deadline is 12th March, the extended deadline is 19th March and the final deadline is 26th March 2021. The list of the global jury for The One Show 2021 can be viewed here. To ensure the safety of jurors during the continued pandemic, all judging will be conducted online for the second year in a row. No physical entries will be accepted this year, eliminating shipping costs for entrants.