Inside the Jury Room: Immortal Awards Ramps Up with a Notably More Fruitful Year for Germany

A selection of Germany's most respected advertising minds gathered in a leafy Berlin suburb last week to judge the country’s local round of the 2022 Immortal Awards. 

The crop of jurors from all corners of Germany convened at the luscious offices of Zauberberg Productions, a converted house in Berlin’s former East, complete with a desirable garden. Tasked with hand-picking the best of Germany’s creativity were: Frank Siegl (managing director and partner, Zauberberg Productions), Kristine Holzhausen (managing director creative, DDB Düsseldorf), Marielle Wilsdorf (chief creative officer, GGH MullenLowe),  Meike Kornrumpf  (executive producer, Antoni), Ricardo Wolff (executive creative director, Innocean Berlin), Sabine Kuckuck (creative director, Thjnk), Tanja Grubner (global marketing director, Essity), Till Diestel (chief creative officer, Serviceplan Germany) and Werner Klemm (CEO, Rekorder).

“Having hosted our first ever German jury online last year, it was wonderful to be able to host this year's event in person and we couldn't have picked a better spot to host it in,” said Paul Monan, awards director at Little Black Book. “A huge thanks to our partners Zauberberg Productions for hosting the day. Germany is an important market for us, with incredible work being done that we believe doesn’t always get the global attention it deserves. Our jury's job was to select a body of work that they believed to be the best from Germany and can compete with the best of the rest globally. We thank them for their passion and dedication and wish their selection good luck in the next round.”

The debate was diligent but positive overall - the five (very worthy) Finalists is a 500% increase on Germany’s 2021 score of one, something in itself to be celebrated by the industry at large. The amount of well-crafted, big brand 30- and 60-second films were notable and welcomed by the jury. More serious topics and world-bettering ideas were also ever-present, tackling such issues as climate change - specifically the devastating floods that Germany experienced in 2021 - and the complex emotions experienced by parents after miscarriage.The five finalists, which were whittled down from an 18-strong shortlist, represented the kind of variety synonymous with advertising in 2022. Emotional storytelling, meticulous film craft, social good, and even a bit of humour all feature.