The 12th annual Women’s Image Network (WIN) Awards Show is scheduled for Sept. 26 in Los Angeles. The competition was created to recognize outstanding films and TV shows that feature female protagonists or have been directed or created by women.
While the competition has built considerable cache over its dozen years, a fledgling aspect of the show is now entering its second year–television commercials. In 2004, the WIN Awards were expanded to honor outstanding TV advertising written, directed or art directed by a woman. Men can also enter the competition; work is eligible as long as it conveys a media message that empowers women.
A number of commercials earned WIN Awards recognition last year; the Grand Hecate best-of-show winner being Morgan Stanley’s “Julie” which was entered in the category, TV over :30 written and/or art directed by a woman. Julie was directed by Noam Murro of Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles, for Leo Burnett USA, Chicago. The agency art director was Sarah Block.
“Julie” showed the different financial-related concerns of the spot’s title character. Multiple Julies–each in different attire–were seated at a boardroom table situated outdoors in the middle of a field. We hear from one Julie who’s in a retirement panic, having only 17 years to go ’til she steps down from her job. Another Julie is in denial. Yet another feels the pressure of having enough money for her daughter’s college expenses. And then there’s Julie’s pipe dream, which includes adding a sunroom to the kitchen and owning a ski house in Banff. A voiceover relates, “There are a lot of sides to your financial life. Do you have someone devoted to all of them?” An end tag reveals the Morgan Stanley logo, accompanied by the slogan, “One client at a time.”
Founded by actress Phyllis Stuart, the WIN organization saw the need for an annual competition to help encourage the inclusion of women in media creation. According to WIN, although women account for more than half the population, they remain vastly underrepresented in media creation, especially in advertising where women comprise just 15 percent of ad agency creative departments. WIN also cites underrepresentation on the directorial front, noting that women make up only 22 percent of membership in the Directors Guild of America (DGA).
Spot categories in ’05 include broadcast, non-broadcast, :30, over :30, under :30, directed by a woman, copywritten by a woman, and art directed by a woman. Eligible spots must have debuted on air between Aug. 1, ’04, and May 31, ’05.
Last year, when the WIN Awards diversified into commercials for the first time, Stuart observed that the move will hopefully help “enhance women advertising creatives–and men who create ad work which empowers women–thereby encouraging the entire ad industry to create advertising that depicts women as fully dimensional, capable, contributing people.”
WIN’s organizational slogan is simply, “Fostering a world where everyone WINs.”
For further info, log onto the WIN Web site at www.winfemme.com.
