I like the Effies.  Effie Awards are given out for, ta-dah, effective advertising and marketing programs.  I also like the Direct Marketing Associations Echo Awards — a show that awards those who quantify sales results. Cannes and the One Show are at the high end of the spectrum, with the Tellys at the other, in a long array of other hardware shows that tend to be more fashion than anything else.  I love art and creativity, please don’t get me wrong, but prefer sales with my marketing.

The Effies are like the sports in a way, in that people are rewarded when score is kept. Did the work generate value, sales, and market share?  And how much?  To the winners go the spoils.

I am often reminded of keeping score when I see “We’re here” advertising,” work that simply tells consumers what one does.  We’re here advertising is lazy and a blight.  A print ad today by the very reputable NYU Langone Medical Center proclaims through a one word headline “Whole.” Beneath this is the delicate, italicized and parenthetic word “hearted.”  The picture is of a physician holding a baby. Two sentences of copy mention the hospital does pediatric and adult cases, the doctors are accomplished and work for one of the nation’s top heart programs.  We’re here!   With nothing to say, they favor the say very little approach to readership.

What in the name of Einstein, is the measure of success here? Off to the Tellys. Peace!