Celebrating the Advertising Award winners of 2020

We are excited to unveil this year's winning advertising work – there are more than 230 winning entries across 74 categories, including new categories like COVID Response, Corporate Responsibility, Brand Activation and Ideation.

[D]espite a really tough year for all of us, there was an incredible amount of strong work and great thinking. It is clear that creativity has not been locked down by the pandemic.

JULIE MARKLE, EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR, BLEUBLANCROUGE, TORONTO, ON

A huge thank-you to our 16 Advertising Award judges who took time from their packed schedules to score the entries.  

A round-of applause also to our 2020 Awards sponsors for their ongoing support: VISTEK and our association partners CAPIC, GDC and RGD.

For 30 year's Applied Arts has been the benchmark for creative excellence. Our judging process remained unchanged. Entries to the Advertising Awards are entered and judged digitally through a secure judging system.

For the process, judges are divided into groups, each viewing a different and random group of entries. Each judge reviews and scores the entries separately. Judges do not confer or discuss the work. Each entry is judged independently on its own merit. Entries are given one total score, based on three criteria.

1. Creative merit
2. Technical excellence
3. Suitability for end-use in the category it was submitted to

We know that this year has been tough and that the industry never worked harder. Despite the challenges, the quality of the work remained strong. Huge kudos to the 2020 Advertising winners for continued excellence.

2020 is a difficult year, and hats off to the ones who managed to come with great material in this context.

FRANÇOIS VAILLANCOURT, GENERAL MANAGER, EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR, CUNDARI, MONTREAL, QC

Over the next week, we will take a closer look at the winning work, notably from some of our new categories. For now, here's a look at our newly awarded Young Blood category winners.

Congratulations to the 2020 Young Blood Category winners

The Young Blood sub-category is open to professionals that have less than five year's industry experience - that - level of experience is taken into consideration when judging.

Austin Parkin, writer & Listya Nindita, art director, TAXI, Toronto

Coming Out, Advertising Craft Single

Coming out as LGBTQI2S can be tremendously difficult – even in 2020. According to an Egale Canada study, over 80% of LGBTQI2S individuals have felt distress and 54% haven't come out for fear of being rejected or bullied. To bring attention to this issue, we highlighted the emotional struggles that everyone experienced during the pandemic lockdown, and then drew a parallel to the much more challenging isolation that LGBTQI2S people go through when they can't come out as themselves.

Allegra Wiesenfeld, copywriter & Reid Plaxton, art director, TAXI, Toronto

Smells like Inequality, Young Blood Digital Advertising - Single

Even though it's illegal to pay women less than men, women still make 75 cents on the dollar. While discussion on Canada's gender pay gap had dwindled, people couldn't stop talking about Goop's This Smells Like My Vagina candle that cost $75. The Canadian Women's Foundation hijacked the conversation with a This Smells Like My Penis candle for $100. With no difference in functionality between the two candles, the price difference highlights the disparity between men’s and women's pay in Canada.

Elijah Kamaras-Garland, art director and Larissa Nodwell, writer – No Fixed Address, Toronto

The RioCan Mask Wall, Young Blood Advertising - Single

This summer, as COVID cases rose in Toronto, the city mandated face masks be worn indoors. We quickly realized that forgetting your mask was the new forgetting your keys. So, to help our client, RioCan, reopen their properties safely, we were inspired by the defacement of transit posters. We asked ourselves, "Could we channel this behaviour into something helpful?" Yes, was our answer. The RioCan Mask Wall let people take a mask when they needed it, while also spreading a message of community.

Geoff Baillie, copywriter, Rethink, Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver

Heinz Ketchup Puzzle, Advertising Single, and Advertising Craft Single

While social distancing and self-isolation became the norm, a nostalgic favourite began trending in our social feeds – the puzzle. So Heinz Ketchup created a puzzle to help pass the time.Famous for their slow-pouring ketchup, Heinz has created what might be the slowest puzzle ever made – 570 pieces all in identical Heinz Ketchup red.

IKEA Dog Translator, Digital Advertising, Single

Launched on International Dog Day, the translator gave dogs a voice to tell their owners about IKEA's pet beds. Translations like "IKEA dog beds put the 'wow' in bow wow" – voiced by the iconic Swedish Guy of IKEA's radio and TV commercials – helped drive a surge in online searches for IKEA pet beds. To use the translator, pet owners could simply tap the ‘speak’ button on the translator webpage to record their dog barking. 

Foamease, Advertising Single

There are an estimated seven million children affected by Juvenile Arthritis – an autoimmune condition that inflames the tissue lining of joints. Doctors recommend daily baths of at least 15 minutes to alleviate severe pain, stiffness, and swelling. The problem is, kids hate staying in the bath. To help keep kids in the bath longer, we created Foam Ease: slow-release bath bombs with toys hidden inside. The disintegration of the bath bombs takes approximately 15 minutes.

Congratulations to the 2020 Young Blood Advertising winners. We wish you continued growth and success in your careers.

To view all of the  2020 Advertising Awards winners, visit our online Winners Gallery. /VH

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2020 Advertising Winners, Advertising Awards