D&ADon’t give a shit

Last week saw the 2011 D&AD Awards.

I know I’ve written before about this organisation losing its way, but last Wednesday seemed to plumb a new depth.

Amongst the people I know in advertising, I’m aware of only two who attended the ceremony. Many didn’t even know it was happening – in fact a CD of a top ten UK agency was quite surprised when I mentioned the results to him the following day.

On Thursday I tweeted: ‘This just in: last night’s D&AD has just been named the least-given-a-fuck-about awards do of all time.’ It was retweeted by other CDs, including previous winners.

Maybe it’s just an impression I’ve got based only on my circle of friends and acquaintances, but (modesty aside) that is quite a lot of the UK’s creatives. Did you go? Did you care? Was it any good?

I was never interested in attending, but this feeling was compounded by the fact that, as an entrant, D&AD had my phone number and used it to cold call me several times to ask if I was coming, and if not, why not? Funny, in the old days I’d have given my left nut to go, but now I’d rather… What was I doing last Wednesday? Watching TV, maybe?

To me, that seems to confirm that D&AD is now a dim, dribbly irrelevance that went from being an organisation of great power and respect to one that barely registers with the people who used to revere it. And from what I can tell, the next generation of creatives cares even less.

Quite an achievement.

(By the way, to continue my ongoing detachment with the organisation, I’m selling all my old annuals. If you want any or all of the Books from 1982 to (I think) 2008 (missing 1987), send me an email at bwmkay@gmail.com.)