The 2024 Diversity In Advertising Award is challenging brands to create fully inclusive campaigns which can tell the story of their usual campaign narrative or also portray the issues around accessibility within advertising. In judging the entries, both the Channel 4 shortlisting panel and the main judging panel will be referring to the following judging criteria;
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Criteria 1: Inclusive by design as a focus
This year, the award is seeking to improve inclusive advertisement by using practices that make your campaign more accessible to more audiences with a specific focus on those with visual or hearing impairments.
The creative needs to reach a more inclusive audience and can be based on your standard campaign narrative.
The creative could also challenge a misrepresentation/stereotype, or seek to educate on a reality for the people featured within the ad but it must remain inclusive to those watching.
As always, we’d also want to encourage you to think about the diversity of your character(s), such as ethnicity, disability, age or gender.
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Criteria 2: Clarity, impact and uniqueness of the creative idea
The idea for your campaign should be articulated clearly and concisely. We need to clearly understand what the TV ad might look like, what viewers are expected to take away from it and how your specific product/service is being communicated authentically within the creative. As with any advertisement, creative concepts which feel fresh, innovative and grab audiences attention are welcomed.
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Criteria 3: Creative inspiration and development
It has been proven that diverse representation behind the scenes and substantial engagement with the communities featured during concept development will lead to more authentic portrayals of people in advertising. The judges would like to understand how your entry has been conceived and developed, what engagement you have undertaken with the community you are representing, and whether your project team is inclusive of people from a range of diverse backgrounds. Highlighting any key insight that has informed your creative execution is welcomed.
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Criteria 4: Performance against brand objectives
The Diversity In Advertising Award exists to encourage better representation of diverse communities within mainstream advertising. However, for this to become long-lasting change, we want to see this inclusion in the context of a successful marketing campaign – and as such, your campaign idea must set out to achieve your specific brand marketing objectives, just like any other marketing campaign you run would. Please also detail how you think the concept will deliver successful results for your brand.
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Criteria 5: Feasibility and fit with the media context
The winning ad will feature in national linear TV airtime, across our video-on-demand service and also on our social platforms. The £1m+ prize covers media value, but not production for the main ad executions. Therefore, the judges will need to understand whether the advertisement concept is feasible for you to produce, and whether it is likely to pass all the legal and compliance requirements to be able to play on air. For example, ideas which require specific talent involvement should address the feasibility of securing said talent. Plus, the judges will be considering whether Channel 4 and its audience provides an appropriate home for this messaging.
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Criteria 6: Legacy and Amplification
The pitched idea needs to be a core 30-second spot, but additional amplification ideas around a longer-launch spot or different spot lengths are welcomed.
Additionally, the judges would like to see some consideration of how the campaign could be enhanced to live beyond the initial TV spot(s), and how the campaign and subject matter might be reflected in your organisations broader culture and values. Ads that will be used across other media must also have an inclusive element in its design.
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Criteria 7: Sustainability
As a broadcaster, we know we can inspire change through our content, raise awareness of the importance of the climate emergency and promote behaviours that can have a positive impact on our planet. We’d like to understand how your campaign will showcase environmental sustainability onscreen, normalising sustainable ways of living e.g. Transport; use of electric cars, or travelling my public transport or Food; vegetarian dishes, local & seasonable produce, growing own food.
This is in addition to the sustainability requirements for the production of the commercial, which are a condition of winning the competition and can be read in the full terms.
