Nike’s Colin Kaepernick-starring “Dream Crazy” out of Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore., was the big winner at The ADVERTISING Club of New York’s 55th International ANDY Awards, taking Bravery and Best in Show GRANDY honors.
A two-minute spot, “Dream Crazy” features star and not so prominent athletes striving to excel. It also touches on the controversy of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial inequality and instances of police brutality. Kaepernick was the first player to protest in this manner during NFL games, leading to his, some contend, being banished from playing professional football.
Kaepernick first appears on camera midway through the commercial. As his face is revealed, a reflection of an American flag is visible on a building facade behind him. At the start of the ad, Kaepernick says, “If people say your dreams are crazy, if they laugh at what you think you can do, good. Stay that way because what nonbelievers fail to understand is that calling a dream crazy is not an insult. It’s a compliment.”
He later declares, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.”
Lance Acord, Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki and Christian Weber of Park Pictures directed “Dream Crazy.”
Predictions
Due to its slightly accelerated timeline, the ANDY competition receives entries for work that is often hitting the year’s awards show circuit for the first time. So in addition to its own awards which were presented at a gala ceremony last Thursday (4/18) in NYC, the ANDYs released a “predicted winners” list of work that figures to fare well this season. That list includes:
- “Dream Crazy,” Nike, Wieden+Kennedy Portland, Park Pictures
- “The Boy and the Piano,” John Lewis & Partners, adam&eveDDB London
- “Viva La Vulva,” Essity: Libresse, AMV BBDO London
- “Billie Jean King Your Shoes,” Adidas, TBWAChiatDay
- “One In A Million,” Procter & Gamble: Vicks, Publicis Singapore
- “Museum of Romanticism,” IKEA, McCann Spain
- “The Time We Have Left,” The Time We Have Left, Pernod Ricard
- “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be,” Procter & Gamble: Gillette, Grey New York
- “Great Shows Stay With You,” Amazon Prime Video, Droga5 London
- “#MeToo,” Girls for Gender Equity, Deutsch
“Kicking-off the award show season, The ANDYs is once again proud to provide predictions for the industry’s leading work,” said Gina Grillo, president and CEO of The ADVERTISING Club of New York and INTERNATIONAL ANDY Awards. “This year, we hosted our second ANDYs Facebook LIVE judging, providing the community the opportunity to tune into the candid conversations from our incredibly talented jury as they deliberated the best work of the year with the help of viewers who participated in providing feedback via Facebook’s comment and ‘like’ options.”
This year’s jury was led by Nick Law, chief creative officer, Publicis Groupe, and president, Publicis Communications. and made up of 20 of the global advertising community’s most respected creative directors from organizations including: Deutsch North America, AKQA São Paulo, Facebook, Joan, McCann Spain, FCB Mexico, and Goodby Silverstein & Partners.
Coming off 2019’s LIVE deliberations (which took place in Dublin, Ireland, from March 19-21), jurors shared thoughts around the power of the conversations within the jury room and the joy of celebrating praiseworthy work. Jury chair Law said, “Winning an ANDY is not easy. Assembling a jury that can judge all the work our industry is capable of is also not easy. It is a rare jury that can judge a body of work that includes the most powerful stories, most engaging experiences, and most transformative innovations in the world.”
Another member of the jury, AJ Hassan, VP, executive creative director, R/GA, said, “The joy of the ANDYs comes from a simple dedication to transparency and borderless ideas. As a judge, it sets a higher bar that encourages diverse thinking and debate around a shared passion. Work that transcends category excellence, in favor of uncompromising creativity.”
Public Service
Additionally, three students from Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were in attendance at last week’s ANDY Awards Creative Celebration in NYC to accept The Richard T. ‘O’Reilly Award for Outstanding Public Service along with McCann New York. The students and McCann were recognized for such efforts as The March For Our Lives’ “Price On Our Lives” campaign which placed a pricetag on each life lost state by state in school shootings based on the money donated by the National Rifle Association (NRA) to politicians in order to prevent regulations over firearms.
For a full list of winners, click here.
