Burger King’s Moldy Whopper and the adaptable typeface Universal Sans were among the top winners at this year’s D&AD awards.
Burger King’s Moldy Whopper and the adaptable typeface Universal Sans were among the top winners at this year’s D&AD awards.
The awards show was held online as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but was boosted with the addition of three prizes for outstanding work of the decade.
The Colombian Ministry of Defence’s Rivers of Light campaign was named as the ad of the decade.
The Design and Art Direction (D&AD) awards have been running for almost 50 years and award different levels of prizes to recognise design work from the past year.
The Black Pencil is the highest accolade, and this year four were handed out, including a competition first for typography.
The 2020 Black Pencil winners are:
INGO Stockholm/David Miami/Publicis Bucharest in PR for its Moldy Whopper campaign for Burger King.
The fast-food chain said that it’s showing mold “can be a beautiful thing” to highlight removing artificial preservatives from the Whopper in most European countries and in select US markets.
FCB Chicago in Book Design for its work on The Gun Violence History Book for Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence.
The book centres on a loophole in American law that enables gun violence and records 200 years of gun violence in the country. D&AD says that it “visually captures how there has been so much gun violence in America that if it was all captured in a book, it would probably stop a bullet”.
FCB/SIX in Digital for its Go Back To Africa campaign for Black & Abroad.
The tourism campaign turned a racist phrase — “go back to Africa” — into an “uplifting” call to action.
Family Type in Typography for developing the typeface Universal Sans.
This year’s President’s Award, chosen by D&AD President Kate Stanners, was awarded to Yuya Furukawa, CCO at Dentsu, for his outstanding contribution to creativity. London foundry Family Type is the first typography entry to win a Black Pencil. It won for Universal Sans, a variable typeface that “allows for an extensive range of customisation and unique variations”. It seeks to make “flexible and adaptive type available to a wider audience” and has an emphasis on the user to make the final edits.
Universal Sans from Family Type on Vimeo.
Overall, 618 pencils were awards. Design had a strong showing. In book design, 14 pencils were awarded, graphic design 60 pencils, magazine and newspaper design 20 pencils and in packaging design 23 pencils.
The US was the most awarded country at this year’s awards ceremony, followed by the UK and Japan in third place. The President Awards, which honours “true industry heroes” was awarded to Dentsu CCO Yuya Furukawa.
D&AD COO Dara Lynch says: “Looking forward, we will all rely on creative thinkers to help us through this pandemic, so it is vital that we celebrate and stimulate creativity at every chance we get.”
Best of the decade
D&AD also awarded three Black Pencils of the decade. The winners were chosen by public vote via Pinterest.
The Interpublic Group network’s Colombian agency, SSP3, won the “overall favourite” for its “Rivers of Light” campaign from 2012. Created for the Colombian Ministry of Defense, it set thousands of candles floating in a bid to encourage the demobilisation of FARC guerrillas.
The Craft Black Pencil of the Decade went to AMV BBDO’s “Viva la Vulva” for Libresse from 2019.
The Design Black Pencil of the Decade was won by Host/Havas Sydney for 2018’s “Palau Pledge,” which required visitors to the island of Palau to sign a passport pledge to act in an ecologically responsible way on the island.
