Thank you to everyone that made last Wednesday a success. All the photos from the night can be viewed on our facebook page. With all the winners on our website.

One frustrating side effect of the UK awards shows going global is that on the night no one you know is there. So it all ends up a bit formal. And, if you ask me, all the other shows are a bit corporate.

That’s why you want to be at the Creative Circle night next Wednesday.

The Creative Circle is for UK creative people by UK creative people. From the good and the great, like Sir John Hegarty and Dave Trott, to up-and-coming students given tickets on concession.

It’s a creative bash, a night not just centred around the awards and who's picking them up, but a chance for all of us to get together and be together.

Catch up, chew the fat, flirt, drink and dance the night away.

Paloma Faith will be playing, The Roundhouse is a great venue surrounded by the filthiest and best of late-night London life.

Going into the future we aim to make it the only big night on the UK creative scene.

And that starts next Wednesday at The Roundhouse.

Come and see what we’ve got lined up.

Be there.

Some beautiful letterpress work from the amazing Danny Flynn.

I’m sorry to have to tell you this but if you entered work for the Creative Circle it’s very unlikely you’ll win. 

For the last 3 years an average of over 25 Golds have been handed out each year. This year it’ll only be 16. That’s one per category. No Golds for “best use of” this or “most promising” whatever. 

There will be one Gold of Golds, awarded to an overall winner, and a Presidents Award.

That’s it. No more no less.

But here’s the good news. It's going to mean something when you get one. In fact they're going to mean more than ever before. And when you stand it on the shelf next to your pencil and your Cannes Lion, it’ll hold its own. It’ll look right along side them and not behind them.

I remember back to different creative directors I had and, the ones I most respected were always the ones who blew out the most work, who made the game harder. 

I hated them. These people filled the day with moments of pain and misery. But they changed me.

Sure some of them did that in an encouraging way and some just told you the work was crap. But ultimately, however they did it they were doing me a favour at the time.

I always respect the creatives now that give it another shot, even after 3 or 4 attempts at presenting to client with no result.

It always pays off. More often than not the work gets better. But, and this is the important bit, the creative gets better every time.

I think a Creative Circle award needs to stand for more. So we're pushing hard and that means less awards. We're not handing them out for fun. 

We're certainly not going to hand out loads so more people enter. That might make us more popular, and earn us more money in the short term, but it kills us long term.

The view has to be worth the climb. An award is only an award if it feels like one. And if every Tom, Dick and Harry leaves the room with one then what’s the point?

Sure, you’ll be pissed off if you don’t win one, but at least you won't have to sit through an endless stream of people who do. 

And if you do win one, you’ll feel great, really bloody great.

 

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