The One Club for Creativity is celebrating 50 years of its One Show creative competition with a campaign that features favorite ads from industry veterans, as well as an announcement of the early bird deadline.
The One Show is observing 50 years of honoring global creative excellence with a call for entries campaign from Design Army, an agency out of Washington, D.C. The campaign, “What’s Your One?” digs into the reasons people entered the industry and what inspired them.
Online ads use vibrant imagery to pose a series of questions, including “What’s the one that made you famous,” “…made you jealous,” “…you love but no one else cares about,” and others to spark memories of great campaigns of the past.
Executions feature top global creative leaders, including dozens of members of The One Club’s national and international board of directors, answering those questions in quick-cutting 30-second videos and in a grid takeover on The One Club’s Instagram page.
The campaign launches with ads from an initial group including Duke Group ecd Suhana Gordhan, who highlights Guinness’ “Surfer,” as an ad she wishes had done; Edelman CCO Judy John who is proud of her work on #LikeAGirl; WPP global CCO Rob Reilly citing a Range Rover ad as the inspiration for his career, and Design Army cofounder and CCO Pum Lefebure, who recalls the Benetton ad of a nun kissing a priest as inspiration for a career in advertising.
Lefebure, who is also vice chairperson at The One Club, said seeing the “United Colors of Benetton” campaign for the first time at age 16 made her immediately realize she wanted to be creative director.
“Everyone has their one,” she said in a statement. “The one ad that inspired them to get into the creative business. The one ad that marks the highlight of their career. The one ad they didn’t do but inspires them to push their creativity further. The truth is, at the end of the day we are all still chasing the next one, and the ‘What’s Your One?’ campaign celebrates our never-ending creative journey by focusing on the moments, ideas, and dreams we all have while creating the next one.”
In the coming months, more ads featuring Jose Molla, Fernando Machado, Margaret Johnson, Keith Cartwright, Greg Hahn, Sherina Florence and others will be highlighted in the campaign.
The ads involve some knowledge of the campaigns to truly get the quick hit inspirations of these ad veterans, but the bold typography, music and graphics propel further examination of the ads.
The One Show’s 50-year milestone is showcased in special logo branding, which combines a celebration of the past with a forward-thinking, youthful spirit meant to inspire the next 50 years of creative excellence.
“This is an engaging campaign that effectively combines the past and future of creative excellence,” said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club in a statement. “It celebrates what’s made The One Show the industry’s most relevant, prestigious and meaningful awards program in a smart, youthful way that looks ahead to our next 50 years.
Ultimately, the campaign encourages people to enter The One Show 2023, and entries can be submitted now, with fees increasing after each deadline period. Super-early entry deadline for the best savings is November 4, early entry deadline is December 16, with the regular deadline January 27, 2023. The extended deadline is February 17, 2023, and final deadline March 3, 2023.