Inside the Jury Room: 20 Becomes 10 as the Immortal Awards’ North American Jury Chooses Global Contenders

Friday, November 4th saw Canada and the United States go head to head as the North American regional round of judging for the 2022 Immortal Awards took place. 

Supported by jury partner Whitehouse Post and hosted at the New York office of The Mill - global partner of the Immortal Awards - jurors pored over the finalists from Canada and the US, which had previously been elevated by a panel of local judges. 

The North American jury consisted of Chuck McBride (founder and chief creative officer, Cutwater), David Rolfe (global head of production, WPP & Hogarth), Jaz Rongokea (head of production, The Mill New York), Lora Schulson (North American head of production, 72andSunny), Matthew Wood (partner and editor, Whitehouse Post), Meg Farquhar (EVP executive creative director, DDB Chicago) and Zak Mroueh (founder and chief creative officer, Zulu Alpha Kilo).

"The North American jury session was a culmination of a fantastic week in which our Canadian jury and US jury had selected the best work from their markets, with the very best then selected to go through to our final, global round of judging,” said Paul Monan, awards director at Little Black Book. “The work on the day had already been through two rounds of judging and the standard was incredibly high. Our jury had the unenviable task of further filtering the work to what they believed would best represent the region in the next round, competing with the best of Europe, LATAM, MEA and APAC.”

This particular judging day saw the level of conversation and bar for entry go up a notch compared to the Canada and US sessions. These local legs were tough but each and every project faced further scrutiny as the US work was pitted against the best of Canada. The result is a relatively short but super strong reel, with six entries from the US and four from Canada.

The Immortal Awards 2022 North American Finalists are:

Apple - Escape From the Office (submitted by SMUGGLER and WORK LA)

Apple iPhone 13 Pro - Hollywood in Your Pocket: Detectives (submitted by O Positive)

Black Business and Professional Association, Toronto Metropolitan University's Diversity Institute, Canadian Congress on inclusive diversity and workplace equity, Pride at Work Canada - The Micropedia of Microaggressions (submitted by Zulu Alpha Kilo)

Call of Duty - Warzone in Paradise (submitted by 72andSunny LA)

Coors Light - Chillboards (submitted by DDB Chicago, adam&eveDDB and Carbon)

Kraft Heinz - A.I. Ketchup (submitted by Rethink)

Penguin Random House - The Unburnable Book (submitted by Rethink)

Royal Ontario Museum - Immortal (submitted by Broken Heart Love Affair and Moonlighting Film Production Services)

Sandy Hook Promise - Teenage Dream (submitted by BBDO New York and SMUGGLER)

WhatsApp - One (submitted by Company 3)

During US judging, one theme that emerged was the amount and strength of the ‘tech’ film work on the shortlist. The two films for Apple and one for WhatsApp that made it through to the regional round also proceeded further to the global, final round of judging. 

A chunk of the North American jury’s discussion was focused on craft. Particularly pertinent was the Royal Ontario Museum installation film ‘Immortal’, which ultimately impressed the jury with its sense of scale and the sheer magnitude of craft. What’s more, the jury wanted to ensure a blend of traditional categories and media were represented across their selections. Largely big brand work has gone through with a small crop of PSA/NGO projects. Films of varying lengths are complemented by varying campaigns across digital, outdoor, experiential and PR.

“A huge thanks must go to our North American jury partners, The Whitehouse,” adds Paul, “and our global partners, The Mill, for hosting the session and letting us bring this wonderful jury together in person."