With 270 judges across 52 different countries and 4 Grand Prix, 36 Gold, 80 Silver and 65 Bronze awards, this year’s Gerety Awards bring to life both the power of the female perspective and the global impact of creative thinking.

As the back-to-school feeling of September sets in, no matter our age, some new season inspiration can be uncovered in the Gerety award-winning work. 

Nicola Kemp, Editorial Director at Creativebrief, sat down with jury members, Marjorieth Sanmartin, CCO at Philipp&Keuntje, Maria Lashari, Founder and Creative Director at 1000Worlds, and Jo-ann Robertson, CEO of Global Markets at Ketchum, to unpack some of the global trends and themes from this year’s awards. 

Creativity across borders

Jo-ann Robertson, CEO of Global Markets at Ketchum, shared that this year was an ‘exciting year’ when it came to the ‘quality of the craft’. She noted that for her, there were three prominent global creative themes in the work: simplicity, humour and longevity. 

“Simplicity, both in idea and execution,” explained Robertson, adding: “Many of the campaigns were new iterations of campaigns that have been ongoing. Creative teams finding new ways to push creative boundaries, but really being steadfast in that red thread of what the brand stands for.”

“The thing that stood out for me the most was that campaigns are no longer confined by this box of advertising, they truly live as part of culture today,” added Maria Lashari, Founder and Creative Director at 1000Worlds. She pointed to the emotional intelligence of culturally relevant campaigns that resonate in their own geographies and beyond. 

Despite technology and AI enabling creativity, Marjorieth Sanmartin, CCO at Philipp&Keuntje, noted that the four Grand Prix Gerety winners were simple ideas that were successful because they resonate with a human truth. 

She added that simplicity has become even more important in our fast-moving times. “In a world where everything is so complicated and is going so extremely fast, simplicity is what makes us appreciate the work,” says Sanmartin. With craft and creativity, the standout campaigns all found a simple way to execute a human truth. 

Technology-fuelled creativity 

At a time when we have more technology and data than ever before, Kemp raised the question: Is AI more about application than ideation?  

“AI is a powerful tool for application but we are also seeing a loss of creative thinking,” said Lashari. As the industry embraces AI tools, there is a growing risk that AI-created briefs are met with AI-powered answers and AI creative solutions. She urges the industry to consider: “How are we really cutting the loop of sameness?” She adds: “AI should be in service of ideation but never instead of.”

While AI has the power to unlock greater creative potential, the panel agreed that the Gerety Award-winning work underlined the importance of emotion, humour, tension, empathy and human truth. 

In the judging room, case studies that used AI voice-overs provoked a negative reaction from the jury, proving that people crave genuine human authenticity. Yet, some campaigns were able to use AI in unique ways, additive to a message. Whirlpool’s dancing washing machines combined true human insight and AI to add a consumer benefit, successfully balancing human insight, fun and creativity with technology. 

The power of perspective

The Gerety Awards are unique because they judge all advertising, not just advertising to women, through the female lens. At a time when female talent is leaving the industry en masse, there is so much to be done to protect the power of the female perspective. The onus is on us all to help shape a workplace that works for everyone.

Sanmartin offered advice for young women entering the industry: “Don’t let anybody make you feel less.” She urges women to ‘listen to the little girl inside of us that thinks I can do it, and I don’t care what people say.’ When Sanmartin moved to Germany, her fresh perspective allowed her to notice different things than other people and offer new thinking. “Stop thinking in barriers. What they think is your problem is your strength,” she says, adding: “Work together, progress together and learn from each other.”

In a difficult macro-political environment, women can find themselves at the sharp end of challenges. Robertson points to the fact that many women were pioneering DEI efforts that have been stripped back in an instant and left disillusioned. Yet, as the industry navigates turbulence, mergers and acquisitions throw things into disarray and clients face volatility, Robertson says, “It is important for us to lock arms when it comes to the values that we think are critical for our industry to continue to do incredible, creative and impactful work.”

Creativity thrives in constraints 

Turbulent times have not only impacted the workplace but also the work. Brands, no matter their size, are acting more like challenger brands. Amongst Gerety Award winners, earned media is becoming a must-have to ensure maximum impact.

“It’s not just smart, it's survival,” says Lashari. Post-pandemic, when budgets are shrinking, Lashari explains, “work that the world can’t ignore will always win.” “Earned media is the goal of any campaign and the only way to break through is to become part of any conversation,” she adds. Brands now must demand attention, not just buy it.

At the same time, amid the gloom and doom, the importance of landing some light relief cannot be underestimated. Humour continues to be one of the most powerful marketing tools. “It’s not going to change the world, but it can be the thing that makes people remember you from what can be quite a heavy, complex and volatile day-to-day life for a lot of people,” says Robertson, while warning that funny it isn’t always easy to master. 

In a consistently challenging market, getting inspired by the Gerety award-winning work can help oil the cogs of creative thinking. Seeking new ways to feed our curiosity and embracing inspiration can help us all to create the boundary-pushing work the Gerety awards continues to champion.