Karsh\Hagan senior copywriter, Matt Ingwalson, sent me an innaugural copy of The 50, Denver’s new awards annual (as a way to promote 2008’s show).
I’m glad he did. I rarely look at award show books these days, but this one pulled me in. First off, there’s no Best of Show, just 50 big ideas, one after the next. And there are no categories, which I appreciate. A big idea is a big idea. Who cares what media it’s expressed in?
Integer, Cactus and Factory Design Labs dominate the book. Crispin has no presence, which tells me they didn’t enter. Perhaps, that will change this year. I’d like to see them embrace their new home, and it would be good for the locals to mix it up with them.
Having worked at Integer twice, I was at once surprised to see how nice some of their winning entries look and pleased to see my friend Krishna Williams name next to several of their winners. Here’s one of Integer’s and Krishna’s winners:
It’s hard to tell from the trailer if the film is any good, but selling Coors on branded content is good.
As for Cactus, their work is much improved since I last looked. Factory Design Labs is a firm I know little about. But I’m now interested in knowing more.
Thanks for the link.
By the way, you’re right that CP+B opted out of the 2007 show. We asked them to enter, but they decided against it. I understand why they’d skip the local show. But I hope they send in some work in 2008.
if you think factory’s old reel was interesting, i’d recommend you check out their new one at http://www.factorylabs.com
they are a good shop making some big (yet quiet) moves in the industry. ie: winning north face and their work on Audi.
I really like the “50 best ideas” structure for a show. In my opinion, a great way to make awards more current and relevant.