With Cannes Lions Advertising Festival starting to roll, maybe the ad people enjoying the sun and booze take a few minutes out of their time to reflect on a better way to spend their talents and convince the organization and rest of the industry on creating advertising that does make a difference, instead of using it as an excuse to get a piece of metal.

Last year, on a short Twitter exchange with Marc from Osocio on the subject of awards and social marketing, i replied:

We’re in the business of changing behaviours, not winning awards.

Fast forward to Cannes 2009, and on a great collaboration with the duo from StealOurIdeas.com, Osocio presents their draft concepts on how your brand should be used for the right reasons,

Every year hundreds of PSAs are done for the wrong reasons.
Help us to create social advertising that actually makes a difference.

The next time you catch a creative doing spoof work just to win awards, forward these concepts so he or she could get a few really noble ideas.

Since Cannes doesn’t matter anymore, we’d better start thinking about a new kind of awards, that are somehow different from the usual creative masturbation, more in tune with the future of advertising.

Lisbon Ad School and Torke are announcing the first Guerrilla Advertising Awards, showcasing works in categories as diverse as ambush marketing, urban intervention, PR Stunt, ambient media or viral and interactive. And just to make sure guerrilla is for everyone, there’s an Old Croquette Awards, for senior creatives.

You can submit your work for FREE, as a team or on behalf of your agency, with winners announced the next July, 24th.

Disclaimer: I’ll be one of the online categories jurors

In the past few days i’ve been browsing through most of the entries at the One Show and Webby Awards. Maybe one day this blog will have his own “Inspiration Awards” but until then, here’s an extensive selection of my favorite nominations:

Digital Content & New Media

• R/GA’s digital signage project for Club Nokia
  
  
• Yep, iPhone was really huge in 2008. Here’s one app for A4 Driving Challenge (appstore link), developed by Factory Labs.
  
• Another landmark in digital marketing for CP+B, with the Whooper Sacrifice Facebook app.
  
• I’m a sucker for Branded Applications. Here’s ‘Find It‘ developed by Dare Digital for Sony Ericsson, right on time for the next Summer festivals. So, where’s my tent?
  
• A website about design being nominated for a Webby Award on best copy/writing is no small achievement. Design Observer has my vote.
  
• I had to mention an ARG, with a subtle but effective sponsoring by McDonalds of ‘The Lost Ring‘, developed by AKQA.
  
• The Best Job In The World. This one’s a winner. By CumminsNitro Brisbane for Tourism Queensland.
  

INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING

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This won’t be the usual retrospective on the most famous advertising festival, only a remark on the fact that this humble site featured (and even premiered) many of them.

Halo 3 and Whopper Freakout won at Integrated .

On Cyber, Uniqlock had a important win, specially for showing that blogs are a a valid online media alternative.
Other works featured here were also winners at Cyber: Absolut Machines, A Blind Call, Who is Fermin and Orange Unlimited, Red Cross Horselstest, Coke Zero, Get Out and Play, First Few Words, Flugtag Flight Lab and Bring The Love Back.

I guess i have an eye for winners. Perhaps it’s time for the folks at Cannes to invite me as a juror?