John Singleton, “AWARDS SEEKING APPLAUSE,”
Advertising & Newspaper News, September 5, 1969, p. 6.

In 1968, 32 of the major TV awards were made to 32 lucky U.S. clients through their lucky U.S. advertising agencies.

Within six months, 16 of these lucky clients had parted company with their no longer lucky agencies.

These are not the sort of odds that most agencies like to play. But every year the awards are made, and every year the agencies enter.

And the sales go down as the certificates go up.

Now I am not able to see the merit of advertising awards at all.

And so I took a very close look at the Australian Art Director’s awards just announced in Melbourne.

I had originally been invited to judge these awards but this invitation was withdrawn when it became known that our agency would not enter (and indeed I hope will never enter) advertising awards of any kind.

It is just as well that I was withdrawn, or no awards would have been given. All the lovely ads accepted for display in the lovely ads exhibition are displayed in a lovely shiny silver brochure.

No doubt some of the lovely ads are very effective. No doubt some are totally ineffective.

And in at least three cases even the agencies that entered the campaigns must know for a fact that their campaigns were disastrous in the marketplace.

Such facts bear little on advertising awards.

Now I am of the opinion that if a campaign is effective then this judgement can be mutually made (and can only be made) by the advertiser and the agency. And in each and every case I have found that the reward comes in increased billing. (And to me a dollar note is the most beautiful certificate in the whole wide world.)

I personally feel that the only possible advantages of advertising awards might be:

  1. To give identity to the anonymous creators of advertisements.
  2. To encourage good taste.

On the other hand, the disadvantage is more obvious.

“Advertising people abandon their parts. Instead of sales they seek applause.”

Claude Hopkins said it. And if he was asked about advertising awards today he would say it again.