Boardroom View

Letter from Mark Waites, ANDY Honorary Chairman

Mark Waites, Joint Creative Director, Founding Partner, Mother London
May 06 2008

The ANDY awards has always prided itself on the quality of the jury it attracts. 2008 was no exception with a stellar cast that flew from around the globe to meet in beautiful, if rainy, Sydney, Australia.

France, Thailand, USA, UK, Japan, Liberia (yes) and of course Australia were all there reflecting the international nature of the ANDY’s.

Their job? To recognize and reward only the very best our industry had produced in 2007. And we can be very proud of that industry –although, I’m not sure what that industry is any more. Where as once we judged one TV commercial against another we now judge integrated campaigns that play out across many different media. Instead of discussing the merits of a one off stunt we’re now debating the impact of staged events that are hosted all around the World. There were online products and real products. Work that won’t just affect a company’s bottom line but work that will make a genuine difference in parts of the world suffering terrible poverty. It’s only going to get more interesting from here on in.

And we have you to thank for all that. Over the course of a week we all had our eyes opened to the possibilities of what we can do next. If you picked up an ANDY in 2008, thank you. Whatever it took to get that special piece of work to the show it was all worth it.

I’d like to thank the jury members for all their efforts. Everyone parked their egos at the door and allowed for a week of frank, lively and fair judging.

Finally I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the ANDY committee. Without their energy, commitment and passion there is no ANDY awards. Once again the judging was run to perfection. What a fantastic team.

Warm regards,

Mark Waites