New One Show and ADC Awards Address Diversity

In an industry obsessed with awards, a new one debuting this year might incentivize agencies to hurry up and make good on their promises to diversify their ranks. The One Club, the nonprofit organization behind the industry’s global One Show and ADC Awards, has created a category for each that will reward work based on diversity criteria. The category is called Fusion, a name the One Club says it selected “because it represents the act of blending two or more distinct voices, cultures or perspectives to create a unified message, and a stronger new element resulting from the combination.” Now in its 100th year, the ADC Awards, which honors work based on craft, design and innovation across various disciplines, will hand out the Fusion Cube to qualified work. The One Show, which focuses the creativity of ideas and quality of execution, will give out the Fusion Pencil. How to win To win a Fusion Cube or Pencil, work must meet three criteria. First, it must meet the judges’ expectations in terms of creativity and execution. Those who submit to this category also must share the percentage of “underrepresented groups” that contributed to the work in question, although there isn't a particular quota that they have to meet in order to be considered. The One Club asks that these percentages are shared for both agencies and production companies. Additionally, entrants will be asked how they implemented “DEI principles” when putting teams together. Lastly, the work will be judged based on to what extent it considers age, gender, cognitive or physical disabilities, racial and ethnic diversity, sexual orientation and other related factors regarding the work’s casting, storyline and theme. Entrants will not have to submit figures, percentages or the like, but rather explain how they addressed these topics in the work. The One Club said that awarded work will “demonstrate that issues of DEI, in any way they might manifest in the specific market for which the work is made, have been seriously considered, addressed and implemented in the work.” Both the One Show and ADC Awards will have a dedicated Fusion jury. If none of this year’s submitted work meets the aforementioned criteria, the One Club said it will not hand out any Fusion Cubes or Pencils. Unlike the One Club’s other awards categories, Fusion does not take a tiered approach by offering gold, silver or bronze honors—work either qualifies or it doesn’t. “This will be a difficult award to win,” Kevin Swanepoel, CEO of the One Club, said. “While I think there will be a fair number of submissions, the standards are very high. Regardless of the number of entries for this first year, the most important thing is to identify and uplift those who are making huge strides in hiring a diverse team and creating diverse work.” An industry shift Fusion was created by the One Club’s management and board of directors. The organization said its inception was led by board members Cartwright president and chief creative officer Keith Cartwright, 72andSunny group creative director Sherina Florence and Amusement Park Entertainment CEO, chairman and chief creative officer Jimmy Smith. "Advertising that features racial diversity in front of the camera, but not behind the camera is neither cool nor creative,” Smith said in a statement, adding that Fusion “hopes to point the way to a better and brighter future.” It’s not the first award in the industry to address DEI in some capacity, but perhaps the most comprehensive to date. In 2015, Cannes Lions introduced the Glass Lion, an award that recognizes work that confronts gender stereotypes and inequality. In 2019, Joe Brooks and Lucía Ongay started the Gerety Awards, which distinguishes itself from other awards organizations by having an all-female jury. “We welcome—and in fact, challenge—others to come up with real meaningful awards that put purpose before profit and help move the industry forward on diversity,” Swanepoel said. “This type of awards recognition can also motivate brands to focus their agencies on the issue, and help them push agency partners to embrace diversity in hiring and content.” Other organizations in the industry have taken steps lately to encourage better representation of underrepresented communities in ads and media. For instance, in 2019, the Association of National Advertisers’ Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing formed #SeeAll, a movement that seeks to eliminate bias through the accurate portrayal of race, identity, and culture in advertising. In September, #SeeAll released a PSA starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, Billy Porter, Nicole Scherzinger and other stars that challenged the entertainment industry to increase diverse and accurate representation in programming.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Want to Win New One Club Awards? Your Campaign Must Meet Diversity Criteria

Fusion judges will look at not only the people featured in the work, but also the ones who created it

Minda Smiley

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Minda Smiley