“Love, Lawyers & The Government” was a winner at the inaugural Campaign US BIG Awards, presented at Fishbowl in New York City on December 1, 2021. The PSA – created via TBWAChiatDay New York, directed by Speck + Gordon, and edited by Graham Turner – supports Family Action, whose mission is to advance legal and lived equality for LGBTQ+ families. Turner was at Cabin Edit when he cut the project. He joined bicoastal Union Editorial as editor/partner in April 2021, where his recent work includes projects for HP, NFL, Nissan, and Toyota.
Campaign US launched the BIG Awards to recognize the best creative advertising work produced in the past year across media disciplines, client sectors and creative formats. But unlike other creative awards, this crop of winners was selected by a jury of up-and-coming creatives with three to five years of experience in the industry. The goal of the program was to involve emerging talent in setting the creative bar, create a valuable and unique mentorship experience and identify new perspectives on the work in the process.
The Best Brand Film winner, “Love, Lawyers & The Government,” employs a touch of humor to convey the circuitous journey to parenthood for many LGBTQ+ families. In the PSA, a child poses the “where do babies come from?” question to his adoptive dads. Though one dad tries to keep it simple, what rolls out is a littany of legalized discrimination, immense bias, and disproportionate financial outlays that ultimately requires clarification from friends and the couple’s lawyer.
“I was excited to contribute to a spot with such an important message,” said Turner. “Shining a light on some of the hoops the LGBTQ+ community needs to jump through to have a family is a necessary step toward breaking down and streamlining the process.”
The members of this year’s jury, who debated entries live on a virtual judging day with the guidance of a group of senior industry creatives, were featured in a profile called Meet the Next Generation on Campaign US in October. “Advertising relies on awards programs because they are one of the only solid means to judge creativity, but without enough thought put into them, they can continue to nominate the same people and honor the same work,” said Alison Weissbrot, editor of Campaign US. “The Campaign US BIG Awards flipped that narrative on its head by involving a diverse group of up and coming talent into the jury room. Congratulations to all of the winners for being recognized by the future of our industry at the Campaign US BIG Awards.”
View the winning work Love, Lawyers & The Government HERE.
About Union
Union Editorial has offices located in Los Angeles, New York, Austin, and London, where it maintains an alliance with Marshall Street Editors. The company also develops and produces original content. Other Union companies include Hunter, which provides finishing services, vfx, graphics and mix for commercials, features and gaming. Union is presided over by Partner/Managing Director Michael Raimondi alongside Executive Producer Joe Ross and Head of Production Dani DuHadway in LA, Partner/Managing Director Caryn Maclean alongside Executive Producer Melissa Lubin in NY, Executive Producer Vicki Russell in Austin, and Logan Aries, Executive Producer of Hunter. The Union roster is comprised of Partner/Editors Jim Haygood, Einar Thorsteinsson, Jay Friedkin, Sloane Klevin, Marco Perez, Merritt Duff, Graham Turner, and Chris Huth, editors Daniel Luna, Laura Milstein, Jason Lucas, Karen Kourtessis, Kevin Ray, Nicholas Wayman-Harris, Rachael Waxler, Zach Kashkett, Andrea MacArthur, Amanda Perry, Justin “Q” Quagliata, and Rick Lawley, as well as select projects with Teddy Gersten, Tim Thornton-Allan, Matt Chesse, John Mayes, Spencer Ferszt, Paul Plew and the Marshall Street roster.
