It’s that time of year again.
No, we’re not talking about the onslaught of agency holiday cards (stay tuned for that one, though). We’re talking about Merry Critmas, the generous helping of criticism a group of senior creatives in the U.K. offers to junior creatives and ad students. Now in its third year, the initiative calls on young creatives to submit their portfolios to be torn apart with criticism.
This year they even created this music video of a drunk Santa wishing the industry a Merry Christmas. Cool.
At the Merry Critmas website, you can sign up to either “Get A Crit” or “Give A Crit” depending on whether you’re looking to give or receive criticism. There’s also an option to “Get Roasted by Father Critmas Himself” if you’re brave enough.
Among those dishing out criticism this year are Ogilvy Group vice chairman Rory Sutherland, Tribal Worldwide executive creative director Victoria Buchanon, R/GA vice president, executive creative director Mike Rigby, Havas executive creative director Tom Richards and Bank of Creativity executive creative director Nick Entwistle. Merry Critmas will then match you with a nearby creative to either give or get a load of crit. After all, nothing says the holidays like brutally honest feedback, right?
“It took me years to break into advertising with no contacts, little help and no idea what I was doing. Now as a Creative Copywriter, I still have pretty much no idea what I’m doing, but it’s a pleasure to be able to pay it back and build a transformative campaign with impact, longevity and reach,” Merry Critmas co-founder David Felton said in a statement. “In the age where most ad campaigns are scrapped within a year and client-agency relationships don’t seem to last much longer, to be part of a movement now in its third year is my proudest achievement to date.”