Recognition
AKQA’s best-ever showing at coveted D&AD awards, winning 12 at this year’s ceremony
A jury of over 400 creative professionals selected 22 entries for shortlist, with 12 of these ultimately winning a coveted D&AD pencil, in AKQA’s most successful year at the awards.
International AKQA projects have won two Yellow, five Graphite and five Wood D&AD pencils. Grey were also awarded one Graphite, four Wood and one Next pencil. These have been won across the Digital, Physical, Art Direction, Entertainment and Impact categories. The D&AD awards celebrate the best of creative excellence in design and advertising and are one of the most respected awards in the industry.
Chief Creative Officer Hugo Veiga said: “In the year where the future stood uncertain like never before, we’re proud to see how our teams harnessed the power of creativity to create a more empathic, sustainable, inclusive or simply more lighter and fun future.”
Yellow pencil
Netflix, One Story Away
The shortest distance between two people is a story. They are a window into someone else’s world, where for an hour or two, you can walk in their shoes and see life in a completely different way. For Netflix’s first ever brand campaign, AKQA created One Story Away, a global celebration of the power of stories set across 27 countries.
To show the perception-shifting power of storytelling while also keeping a consistent visual approach, we turned the iconic Netflix playbar into a timeline that represents all that you learn, feel, and experience during a story. The work ran in 27 countries with flagship placements including New York’s Times Square, Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing, London’s Piccadilly Circus, and Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip.
The work was also awarded two Graphite pencils for Art Direction, Outdoor and Press & Outdoor, Poster Campaigns.
Yellow pencil
The Blue Light Movement, Blue Light
The Blue Light Movement emerged during the pandemic, as the number of violent cases against women rose. The poem was inspired by real testimonials and is interpreted by a peripheral Brazilian poet Luz Ribeiro, who brought her personal experience to the short story.
The film was hand painted by artist Pegge using watery elements to represent liquids that walk hand in hand with domestic violence issues: alcohol and tears. The Blue Light Movement was created to shine a light on this invisible part of society.
Our deepest respect for the teams that were recognised across eight studios from four different continents.
Graphite pencil
H&M, Looop
Through Looop, H&M is on a mission to bring circularity into the heart of the retail experience. To echo a fashion atelier and celebrate the craft and process at the core of the Looop technology. A striking yarn installation acts as a way finder to guide customers into the space, where Looop is housed in a giant glass box designed by Universal Design Studio.
The work was also awarded a Wood pencil in the Direct, Innovation category.
Graphite pencil
Nike, Air Max Cloud
When sneakerheads were in lockdown, we unlocked the up transforming windows into a Nike shop. People access nike.com, point their phones to the sky and find virtual cloud versions of Air Max 90 and 2090. These digital folders allowed sneakerheads to buy the drops and watch product demos in the form of new music videos from Brazilian rap icon Djonga, and funk superstars Mc Soffia and NGKS. This project turned air into a safe and interactive medium for creativity and an ongoing platform for digital Air Max drops.
Graphite pencil
Beck’s, Frequency
Studies from Harvard and Oxford prove that high frequencies make our taste sweeter while low frequencies make it more bitter. To get people to taste the difference between Beck’s bitter flavour and other beer brands, we asked people to try Beck’s by drinking the competition while listening to the Beck’s Frequency, a low 73Hz frequency designed to make beer taste more bitter. Through a digital experience at becksfrequency.com people could hear tracks mixed by top DJs and change the taste of beer.
Wood pencils
Code of Conscience
Code of Conscience uses open-source mapping data from the United Nations World Database on Protected Areas – updated monthly by NGOs, communities and governments – in conjunction with existing GPS tracking technology that’s installed in construction vehicles, to autonomously restrict deforestation crews from entering protected zones. A small, low-cost chip has been developed to equip the code into older, non-GPS models, and the software is available for free to everyone on CodeofConscience.org
Deezer, Silence
The one-minute film was created for the release of rapper Emicida’s album AmarElo. Entitled Silêncio, the track translates music into an audio-visual language. The sound was based on Schumann Resonance (SR), a common frequency to all living beings that sparks a collective state of mind. Silence was a song created to inspire reflection. Emicida’s album represents a new moment, seeking reconciliation and connection; silence enables clarity of ideas. Available only on Deezer, all streaming income from the track will be donated to the Socio Ambiental Institute, supporting traditional communities in Brazil.
Olafur Eliasson, Earth Speakr
Commissioned to commemorate the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the work illuminates the unified reality of a shared future regardless of language or latitude. Earth Speakr gives a voice to both kids and the planet, inviting today’s decision-makers and global leaders to listen. The work enables kids to personify objects and leave messages in the world using their facial expression via the free app. Adults can view the messages in AR, as well as place collections anywhere in the world.
Nike, Air Max Create
Nike Japan released a collaborative AR colouring zine filled with UGC, allowing sneaker lovers to make their own unique mark on Air Max through an exclusive content experience; Nike Air Max Create. By scanning a black and white colouring book outline of the new shoe silhouettes, users can customise their Air Max in the air, in real-time. An AR model of each shoe hovers above the page, rendered live as the user colours the physical zine pages.
