ADC 104th Annual Awards Opens with Campaign by MullenLowe Design Studio

The One Club for Creativity has opened the call for entries for the prestigious ADC 104th Annual Awards, supported by the striking 'Be Seen by the Best Eyes' campaign by newly-formed MullenLowe Design Studio.

Founded in 1920, the ADC Annual Awards is the world’s longest continuously running awards program to recognise global excellence in craft and innovation in all forms of advertising and design.  

Entries can be submitted now, with fees increasing after each deadline period.  Regular deadline is January 31st, 2025, with extended deadline of February 14th, 2025, and final deadline February 28th, 2025.  

“Be Seen by the Best Eyes” campaign

This year’s ADC Annual Awards call for entries campaign was created by MullenLowe Design Studio, the recently launched group within MullenLowe US.

The studio worked from the premise that while there are numerous platforms to showcase an artist's work, none compare to the ADC Annual Awards. The eyes of judges selected for the show’s jury are a carefully curated group of the industry's very best from around the world. The campaign cuts straight to the heart of that idea: an invitation to bring your best work forward and get it seen by the most discerning eyes in the business.

The studio crafted a series of surreal and humorous animated shorts, visually striking and absurd, to highlight the importance of creating work that simply can’t be ignored. These shorts play on the idea of 'Be Seen by the Best Eyes,' a metaphor for the discerning gaze of industry jurors.  

The campaign launches with a character story of an ADC Cuckoo Cube covered with many small doors.  After a beat, the cuckoo goes off with a cacophony of sound and spectacle as dozens of different-sized eyeballs spring out of the cube in unison.

“What sets the ADC Annual Awards apart is their ability to gather the absolute best in the industry to review your work. While creatives have countless platforms to showcase their talents, there's nothing quite like being seen by seasoned experts,” said João Paz, head of design, MullenLowe Design Studio. “Our campaign brings this idea to life by featuring those keen eyes as the centrepiece of our design, along with the stories behind them. We’re adding a surreal twist, infused with a touch of funky 90’s nostalgia, as a nod to ADC’s storied legacy.” 

The agency is well-qualified to develop the campaign. MullenLowe US was the top-ranked ADC 102nd Agency of the Year, winning Best of Discipline honours in both Illustration and Brand/Communication Design disciplines for the “Something to Offend Everyone” campaign on behalf of Brooklyn Film Festival. The agency was also awarded an ADC 103rd Gold Cube for its recent global rebrand.

To bring the effort to life, MullenLowe Design Studio partnered with award-winning boutique animation shop ROOF Studio Brooklyn, co-founded by Guto Terni and Young Guns 9 winner Vinicius Costa.

"This project is the perfect opportunity to dive back into full experimentation,” said Terni. “I began my career crafting MTV vignettes in the 2000s, and it’s such a relief to reconnect with that avant-garde spirit. The 'Be Seen by the Best Eyes' campaign has a strong concept with freedom for visual craziness, and I absolutely love that. "

New for 2025

Among the changes for the ADC 104th Annual Awards are:

- Pharma/Health/Wellness has been added as a new discipline.

- Publication Design has been divided into two disciplines: Book Design and Magazine/Newspaper Design.

- Product Design and Packaging Design now have their own dedicated juries (both disciplines were previously judged by the same jury).

- The Typography discipline is now called Typography/Lettering.

ADC 104th  Annual Awards Jury Presidents will be announced in October and the full jury announced in December, with judging taking place in March 2025. Finalists - all entries winning Gold, Silver, Bronze or Merit - will be announced early April, with winners unveiled at the ADC 104th Annual Awards ceremony during The One Club’s Creative Week 2025 in New York in May.

Tiered pricing

A special tiered pricing structure makes it easier for smaller agencies, studios and freelancers to participate. Larger agencies and brands pay the standard entry fee; smaller shops get a discount on entries (amount varies by discipline), and freelance creatives and one-person shops are eligible for an even greater reduction in their entry fee.

For more information on the ADC 104th Annual Awards, please visit the entry website

The One Club for Creativity – home of The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) awards, ONE Asia Awards, Type Directors Club and competition, TDC Ascenders, Young Guns, Young Ones Student Awards, Next Creative Leaders, ONE Screen Short Film Festival, and more – is the world’s foremost non-profit organisation whose mission is to support and celebrate the success of the global creative community. Revenue generated from entries to its global awards shows goes back into the industry to fund programming under the organisation’s four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality, and Creative Development.