The most awarded copywriters of all time
D&AD have kindly compiled a list for us.
And here are the art directors.
Interesting lists, in that they feature quite a few retired people, and that’s despite the fact that with the recent proliferation of categories it is now much easier to win more pencils.
Oddly enough, the Craig Allen/Eric Kallman inclusion is the only evidence of this.
It seems that these days it’s either harder to put a run of many excellent years together, or people are leaving the industry sooner. I understand that John Webster (on both lists, the bastard) had a longer time to put a run in, but I don’t think he featured in an annual in the last ten years.
Another interesting trend would be the bias towards TV. TV ads entered in D&AD have always had the chance to win more pencils because their craft categories number far more than those for printed work (the Art Direction category only began in 1996).
I’d like to see another list separated into print and motion picture. I’m not suggested Craig Allen is any less of a print AD than, say, Dave Dye or Paul Belford, or that Tom Carty is any better or worse at writing than, say, Nigel Roberts or Indra Sinha, but I’d be interested to know who won the most awards for writing and art direction, not just who created one TV ad whose Pencils came partly via the skills of others.
Of course, the job of Art Director encompasses all these aspects, so this list is no more or less valid than what I’m suggesting, but there’s more than one way to skin a cat, and lists are there to be argued over.
Another list: 7/20 of those in the above lists worked at AMV, 6/20 worked at BBH, 5/20 worked at CDP, 3/20 worked at BMP/DDB (I’m counting Webster twice), 2/20 worked at Saatchis, 2/20 worked at HHCL, 2/20 worked at W&K.
Update: more D&AD all-time lists here.
Is it really easier to win more pencils now than before? Every man and his dog enters D&AD these days, so even if there are more categories you’re competing against a lot more people.
We’re lucky if we get stuff in from the UK nevermind the same individual getting more than one pencil.
Back in the day it was a much smaller competition, so it doesn’t surprise me the same names kept popping up.
Not to say they aren’t great copywriters & art directors that made the list. They definitely are, but it’s not really a comparison.
That’s a good point. It was a very British thing up until about ten years ago when foreign agencies really started to take over.
It’s still easier overall to win with more categories, after all, the standard hasn’t risen, so if you do good work it should stand out well against the crap. Make a great TV ad then put it online and enter it in digital crafts… ker-ching.
Webster’s gonna walk it. Neil Godfrey for AD and Messrs, Kuntz, Budgen and Gondry will be toughing it out for best Director. S-s-s-sorry, Tony.
Budgen will walk director.
I think Webster will take both AD and CW, as he should.
Dave Dye and Richard Flintham have won more awards than other art directors on that list.
…..the Art Directors list is meaningless. TV credits should be taken out of the equation…..where’s Waldie?
….and Dave Dye, Paul Belford, Mark Reddy, Ron Collins, John Knight………..?
….Paul Arden, Derrick Hass, etc, etc, etc.
Plus, I could never see what all the fuss was about with Neil Godfrey. If you take Tony Brignull’s contribution away all you’re left with is pretty uninspired, formulaic art direction. He was far from an innovator.
It was easier to win awards in the old days.
a) Not eveything had been done.
b) There were less planners about to shit on good ideas.
c) The creative director’s actually had some say.
d) Clients were less in thrall to research.
c) Clients were more intelligent and had experience of real life not just a marketing degree from Saffron Walden poly.
j) There were less jargon spouting idiots in marketing.
iv) There were some good account men.
D) No internet marketing eating up all the budget.
g) Creative directors were better.
l) It was a good laugh.
k) No wankers on fixies.
Geoff, your points are all true, but that doesn’t mean it was easier to win awards back then.
Everyone was working from the same advantages, so to be the best amongst everyone else was still an achievement. They didn’t just say, ‘Oh, everything’s brilliant, let’s hand out 50 Pencils this year.’ If it was that easy the work would have been ‘better’.
Neil Godfrey? An impeccable rightness of purpose, even though we love the tao of Denton, too.
No Vince Squibb, nor Nigel Rose, neither, but Waldie should have a pencil for the best stories about him.
I see your point.
May I add 19) They doled out awards to some pretty ropey old ads in those days.
I mean “A little drop of rain never hurt anyone.” Isn’t that good is it? It’s just a pun isn’t it? Or am I crazy?
And I’ve read the copy. It’s nice but not really awardy material.
I know this hardly broadens the debate but who really gives a shit. I just find all this stuff incredibly ‘small’ these days.
Doesn’t mean I should find it objectionable I suppose. I’ll go and deal with that.
@ Geoff: but it’s all relative, innit? What was good in 1964 wouldn’t be good now because we’re all completely familiar with the progress that has been made since. We’ve moved on. And we have no context for what stood out then because we’re not alive 50 years ago. That might have been really shocking. Fuck knows. It won a Pencil, I wasn’t there, maybe they were all pissed or high. It was the 60s after all.
Not sure why I’m not listed there?
@ Les: don’t get me wrong Neil Godfrey definitely knew what he was doing, my problem is that awards don’t generally recognise the genius’s that are ahead of the curve (like John Knight)….and for me Godfrey’s stuff never quite had the trouser moving quality of something like Paul Arden’s.
PS……glad you like my tao. x
PPS…..and of course where was Steve Dunn?
….actually Ben I would argue that there’s a lot of 60’s stuff that is better than some of the present vanilla flavoured award winners.
For instance from an ideas/art direction POV there aint many magazine covers out there at the moment that can match George Lois’ Esquire covers.
There’s a lot of early classic DDB spots that still stand up.
….and Alan Parker’s and John Webster’s showreels definitely contain a few crackers that would win awards if they were made today.
Despite my youthful appearance I was alive 50 years ago.
Mark, you are absolutely right.
D&AD of all people should get their credits right. The Heineken line was written not by Tony Brignull, as they state, but by Terry Lovelock.
They’ve actually got quite a few things wrong. I have a feeling the listings were created by a youngster.
@ben, a youngster who hasn’t bothered to read/research their history before writing.