Inside the Jury Room: The Immortal Awards' North American Jury Reflects on 3 Amazing Global Finalists
For the North American round of Immortal Awards judging, a collection of the industry’s top creatives and leaders in the world of production and post - from both the US and Canada - came together to judge the 11 regional Finalists from both countries.
Supported by and hosted at the Chicago offices of Whitehouse Post, the judging took place on November 3rd and resulted in three Finalists being put forward for the upcoming global final, where work from across the world will be judged together for the final time.
You can check out the three NA finalists - including work from Apple, Decathlon and Heinz - here.
Those on this year’s NA jury were: Jordan Doucette, chief creative officer at Dentsu Creative Canada; Mike Dubrick, chief creative officer and partner at Rethink; Neil Heymann, global chief creative officer at Accenture Song; Graham Lang, North American chief creative officer at TAXI; Britt Nolan, president and chief creative officer at Leo Burnett Chicago; Myra Nussbaum, president and chief creative officer at Havas Chicago; Andrés Ordóñez, chief creative officer at FCB Chicago and LA; Tania Sethi, chief production officer at Hogarth North America; and Matthew Wood, partner and editor at Whitehouse Post.
Speaking to LBB after the North American round of judging had been completed, Matthew Wood, partner and editor at Whitehouse Post - the hosts of the NA jury in Chicago - was pleased at the event's combination of representatives from across the continent and said, "It was great that the Canadians got to Chicago for the North American finalists and did not get stuck in a snow storm, as they did rather well!"
Also speaking after the judging, Myra Nussbaum, president and chief creative officer at Havas Chicago said, "I loved when people evaluated the work based on whether they’d share it with their creative departments. It’s a great litmus test to know if something deserves an Immortal Award. Will it live on in the next generation of advertising or is it just a great idea for now? That was the question we asked ourselves over and over and ultimately made our decisions fairly easy."
She noted that two brands had continued to showcase their creative excellence throughout the judging process: Nike and Apple. While seeing these two giants' work stirring envy among the jurors, she further remarked how she was "a little surprised" by how only three projects eventually reached the NA jury's standards for "amazing" work that could be deemed Immortal. "That surprised me but I partially think we’ve all been so distracted by AI, the economy, global warming and war that it’s been hard to make great things," she said. "Hoping the magic comes back in ’24!"
