NYF Advertising Awards Announces 2021 Genius 100 Inspiration Award, Pivot Award and Signal Award Winners

New York Festivals International Advertising Awards® announced the award winners of three unique specialty awards launched within the 2021 competition, the Genius 100 Inspiration Award, and the New York Festivals Pivot, and Signal Awards.

Triad Advertising’s (Czech Republic) campaign “For a Safe Home” for client IKEA was honoured with the inaugural 2021 Genius 100 Inspiration Award. Through partnership with local NGO’s IKEA broke the silence on the growing issue of domestic abuse and shined the spotlight on one of IKEA’s top priorities, gender equality. The award-winning entry supported IKEA’s mission to create a better life for the many. 

New York Festivals partnered with the Genius 100 Foundation to launch the Genius 100 Inspiration Award to honour outstanding purpose-driven creative work that inspires action to create impact. The Genius 100 Inspiration Award Executive Jury includes James Caan, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili and Jose Miguel Sokoloff. All proceeds from the Genius 100 Category will go to the Himalayan Cataract Project

“We are so grateful to IKEA, and the team at Triad Advertising, for creating and submitting this extremely arresting, powerful and gripping work,” states Hilarie Viener, CEO, Genius 100 Foundation. “It focuses on domestic violence which has increased exponentially during the COVID Pandemic, so much so that UN Women call it “The Shadow Pandemic”.  Considering that statistically 1 in 3 women globally experienced some form of domestic violence, pre-pandemic, it is imperative that creative work like this is spotlighted to inspire action and create impact.”

“The inaugural year of the G100 Inspiration Award brought in wonderfully impactful work from all over the globe. We look forward to continuing the partnership with Genius, putting a spotlight on inspiration and helping to raise money for incredible groups effecting really change in the world.” — Scott Rose, Executive Director, New York Festivals Advertising Awards

With the world immersed in a pandemic New York Festivals unveiled two new specialty awards launched to addresses the challenges that marketers overcame during the pandemic, the Pivot Award, and the Signal. New York Festivals Executive Jury selected 2021’s Pivot Award and Signal Award winners from entries submitted from 58 countries around the globe. 

The New York Festivals Pivot Award honours work that demonstrates the most challenging, effective, creative PIVOT of a pre-pandemic plan to a new creative plan that bravely delivers ROI within this extraordinary year.

Dentsu Japan was honoured with the 2021 NYF Gold Pivot Award for “Tuna Scope 2020” for client Tuna Scope and AI Tuna, the world's first AI capable of discerning tuna quality with the eye of a skilled Japanese artisan. With strict COVID-19 travel restrictions preventing staff from going abroad to purchase tuna, Kura Sushi succeeded in AI-driven remote purchasing of high-quality stock by sending the Tuna Scope app to plants overseas. Tuna Scope caused a major stir around the world as a digital transformation of quality judgment and a solution for overcoming the impact of the pandemic.

Stendahis’ “The Isolated Cinema” for Göteborg Film Festival was recognized with the Silver Pivot Award. In a year plagued by a pandemic and the closing of theaters, the festival’s theme was Social Distances. The Göteborg Film Festival challenged the world to apply for the only festival pass available, at The Isolated Cinema at the far end of the sea in one of Sweden’s most barren, windswept, and exposed places – Pater Noster.

Dentsu One Manila’s campaign “Ginebra Frontliner Labels for Ginebra San Miguel earned the Bronze Pivot Award.  When a nationwide lockdown and liquor ban were enforced during COVID, popular liquor brand Ginebra San Miguel halted production. To remain in the public eye the brand released reimagined commemorative labels saluting the heroic frontline workers who kept the Philippine economy afloat.

2020 was a challenging year with unprecedented issues. NYF launched the Signal Award to honour brave campaigns that cut through the noise with the strongest signal addressing issues faced during the year.

Verizon Creative Marketing was honoured with the 2021 Gold Signal Awards for “The Met Unframed” for Verizon. During COVID The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York was forced to close for the first time in over 100 years. Verizon partnered with the museum to reopen its doors virtually by bringing The Met to everyone.  Over 30,000 sq. ft. of museum space was rendered into 13 never-before-seen galleries with 46 interactive works of art, providing visitors with a 360-degree experience and the incredible feeling of being inside The Met. Together, Verizon and The Met built a first-of-its-kind art museum, supercharged it with 5G, and redefined what it means to visit a cultural institution in the 21st century.

“Through the use of art and technology, we hope we were able to bring a little bit of light into a dark year we'd probably all rather forget. To win the gold Signal award is really a tremendous honour for us and our friends at The Met and Unit 9," said Marc Sobier, executive creative director, Verizon.

Wunderman Thompson Italy’s “Social Distancing Whopper” for Burger King Italy earned the Silver Signal Award. The campaign introduced the “Social Distancing Whopper” with 3 times the onions. This outside of the box communication and action gave people an "alternative" solution for keeping people at their distance during the social distance mandate, onion breath.

Bronze Signal Award winner Wunderman Thompson Singapore’s “Born This Way” is part of a broader global Lux campaign. The campaign was launched to inspire 50 million women by 2025 using content, partnerships, and activations to help them rise above everyday sexist judgements and express their beauty and femininity unapologetically. The winning campaign captured global attention and raised massive support for Caster Semenya’s right to compete in the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

To view all the 2021 New York Festivals Advertising Awards winners, click here.