28 November 2008
	CREATIVE CIRCLE 2008 RANKINGS Pointed criticism By David Furlonger New rankings will make it clearer to identify where the real talent lies

Enjoy the accompanying table while you can. The "pursuit of points at all costs" has persuaded the SA Creative Circle to abandon the existing ranking system for advertising agencies. Instead of points, agencies will be ranked according to awards - like the Olympics, where a country's position on the medals table is determined by the number of golds. SA agencies will in future be ranked according to grands prix first, then golds, silvers and bronzes. There will be no attempt to measure the value of the local Loeries against major international awards such as Cannes and The One Show. Instead, the Creative Circle will run separate tables for each of the awards it endorses. The new format will recognise the success of both individual agencies and groups. Creative Circle chairman Rob McLennan says the current rankings, which allocate points not only to award winners but also to category finalists, are open to interpretation and abuse. Alistair King, creative director of the KingJames agency group, says the pursuit of creative points has become an obsession for many agencies. "Salaries and careers are tied to how well your agency does." The result is often "scam" advertisements - work produced specifically for awards rather than as part of a mainstream campaign. They may be broadcast late at night or published in obscure media to meet awards criteria that they be seen by the public. Artistic style is more important than campaign value. King says: "We've always said agencies should do their best work for high-profile clients, to be seen by as many people as possible. If I do something, I want it to be seen by everyone 50 times, not by 100 people 1 000 times." Then there's the fact that an agency winning nothing, but getting its ads onto lots of category shortlists, can score more points than another that wins a grand prix award. Temptation to play the system can be irresistible, says The Jupiter Drawing Room group chairman Graham Warsop. "The points system started out with the right intentions but it has become abused. There are agencies who unashamedly create scam work and flood the awards shows with entries. It's undesirable that shortlisted work in sufficient quantities can place an agency higher on the league table than a competitor who wins a gold or grand prix. The Creative League table should reflect quality, not quantity." Some in the industry argue that to downplay nonmainstream work will discourage groundbreaking advertising. Warsop says: "I'm all for the industry exploring the boundaries of where unbridled creative thought can lead, but we need to recognise there's a difference between haute couture and fashion that sells in the high street. Both deserve to be celebrated but it's nonsensical to make them compete against each other. If an agency wants to produce high-fashion work, let it. But it mustn't be confused with work for clients on budgets. We must award separately." The streamlined tables will make it clearer where the real talent lies. "If I want to hire a top creative, I want the one who got the grand prix, not the one who did a lot of secondary work," says McLennan, who is also executive creative director of Net#work BBDO. The new rankings will come into play at the start of 2009. Agencies will be expected to sign an undertaking to abide by the changes and not refer to the old points system. Andrew Human, MD of the SA Loeries, hopes the new system won't discourage agencies from adventurous work and thereby reduce Loeries entries. "It's hard to tell what the effect will be but it shouldn't have an impact on us."