Inside the Jury Room: The Competition Heats Up in the UK Round of the Immortal Awards

Under the watchful eye of a gigantic Paddington Bear, a carefully selected group of UK advertising experts filed into Framestore and Company 3’s impressive London HQ to judge the UK round of the Immortal Awards, 2022.

Gathered in one of Framestore’s premium screening rooms, a favourite of Hollywood directors, the assembled avengers of advertising included: Alex Grieve (Global Chief Creative Officer, BBH), Daniel Bonner (Global Chief Creative Officer, Wunderman Thompson), Helen Weil (Head of Advertising, Framestore), Jose Miguel Sokoloff (Global President, MullenLowe Group Creative Council), Lynsey Atkin (Executive Creative Director, 4Creative), Margaux Revol (Strategy Partner & Head of Brand, AMV BBDO), Matt Fone (Owner, Riff Raff), Natalie Graeme (Founder, Uncommon) and Sergio Lopez-Ferrero (Global Head of Production, Publicis Groupe).

“Following a couple of years of online judging, it's a wonderful feeling to be back in the room this year with our juries,” said awards director Paul Monan. “The in-person discussions are often enthralling, sometimes tough but ultimately are all centred around a simple question - is this work good enough to represent the market on a global stage? With a real blend of client, creative, production and post heads in the room, we see debates that thoroughly cross-examines both idea and execution of every piece. With such a high standard of work being produced in the UK, this jury day is normally one of the hardest conversations and this year was no different. I must thank our jurors for their dedication to the task at hand - it was no easy feat whittling it down to the final five!” 

It was an afternoon of rigorous debate and high emotion as the team whittled down the shortlist. Tasked with curating a selection of work that would represent the best of British at the regional finals, they were exacting and passionate. While discussing the work, a number of themes and trends emerged. For example, the difference between advertising made with its audience in mind versus advertising made to impress other ad folk. There was also a return of ambitious ‘big productions’ among the finalists, and a number of memorable PR-driven campaigns.

In the end, the group narrowed a shortlist of 19 down to five, representing a spread of British advertising, from gorgeously crafted storytelling to innovative thinking - and notably for an industry consumed with novelty, campaigns that represent continuity and creative evolution.The five pieces will go on to the regional final to compete against the best of Europe on November 14th.

The finalists are:

Bodyform/Libresse - #periodsomnia (Submitted by AMV BBDO, Somesuch, Time Based Arts and 750mph)

Burberry - Open Spaces (Submitted by Riff Raff, Mill London and 750mph)

CALM x ITV - The Last Photo (Submitted by adam&eveDDB and Radford Music)

Dove - Toxic Influence (Submitted by Ogilvy UK)

Frontline19 - Hopeline19 (Submitted by adam&eveDDB and tenthree)