At the D&AD Awards Ceremony on 22 May, 652 Pencils were awarded to industry-leading creatives. This year saw the highest number of entries into the D&AD Awards since 2007, with 12,387 submissions from 78 countries. Four of the 652 winners received Black Pencils — the highest accolade in the creative industry.
The winners of this year’s Black Pencils are:
- Dentsu Tokyo and the My Japan Railway campaign built around the idea of restoring a sense of human connection with railways in Japan
- Marcel and the VFX led campaign WoMen’s Football, which highlighted gender bias in football
- Apple and VisionOS, the design of its groundbreaking operating system
- McCann Poland and WhereToSettle for Mastercard, a smart-data platform helping Ukrainian refugees find shelter and work.
In addition to these Black Pencils, the D&AD awarded 4 White, 66 Yellow, 180 Graphite, 391 Wood and 7 Future Impact Pencils. The 2024 Companies of the Year were also revealed:
- VML New York: Advertising Agency of the Year
- Raw Materials: Design Agency of the Year
- DIVISION: Production Company of the Year
- AB InBev: Client of the Year
- Serviceplan: Independent Network of the Year
- Ogilvy: Network of the Year
- Jessica Walsh: Recipient of the President’s Award
D&AD Trustee Kwame Taylor-Hayford commented on this year’s winners, noting:
The awarded work for me reflects our industry’s resilience and bravery. In the face of so much change, the creativity awarded at the show demonstrates beautifully how we are expanding our remit far beyond communication, creating products, services, initiatives that drive brand growth, societal change and human connection.
Featured image: D&AD