[One Show 2016] The SA judges

For the last six years, the One Club has been allowing entry into The One Show on a quarterly basis in the interactive category. This simplifies the judging process as it means the work being assessed isn't outdated by the time it came to judging; it’s still fresh and making headlines in the media. Judging this way is also a simpler process as judges are not as fatigued as those who judge in one solid chunk annually, and they have more time to do so. Now, this has proven such a winning strategy that it’s been expanded and 'quarterly entry' and has been rolled out to all One Show categories.

One Club PR director Pablo Andreu says in terms of selecting those individual category judges, it’s pretty simple though not easy: They look for the best creatives. The best in various disciplines around the world. Judging the One Show is not an exercise in political manoeuvrings or polemics. It’s about the work. Period. To judge work fairly and accurately, the best creatives must review the work. So, they look for the best creatives in a given discipline, whether it be design, radio, PR, film or print.

And that judging is part of the fun. Late last year a four-strong contingent of the best of South Africa’s advertising industry was selected as category judges for the 2016 One Show awards in Mexico. These were: Alistair King of King James Group, Xolisa Dyeshana of Joe Public for the interactive category, Jenny Glover of TBWA for radio and Nathan Reddy of GRID for the design jury. King goes so far as to say he tends to avoid award nights – “Judging is the highlight for me because it gives me such a broad perspective on what is being done in the world at any given point in time. I learn a lot from that. I learn as much from what doesn’t win as I do from what does.”

Top to bottom, left to right: Alistair King, Xolisa Dyeshana, Jenny Glover, Nathan Reddy

So, while only Reddy will be attending One Show’s Creative Week, all were keen to share a few exclusive insights with us on the judging process…

1. What was it like judging in Mexico? Was there much interaction with judges of other categories? What’s your most exotic judging location so far?

Dyeshana: It was absolutely incredible – what a beautiful country! To be surrounded by the world’s top creative minds in that setting was a wonderful experience. When it comes to ‘most exotic’, it’s a toss-up for me between Mexico and Cannes; it’s right up there. We were kept separate but had time for a fair deal of interaction in our down time.

Reddy: We were kept separate but at social functions we spoke about the work. Mexico was just a sensorial experience. Great food, people and culture that added to the overload of inspiration. So Mexico was by far my most exotic, then there’s Cannes, just for its scale and global representation.

King: I’m afraid I didn’t get to see much of Mexico. I basically flew there to spend four days in a dark room judging films, and then came back. It’s kind of ridiculous when you think about it. I did steal two hours to sneak into the nearest town to buy a bottle of tequila, but that’s the full extent of my Mexican experience. The judging itself is staggered, so not all the juries are there at the same time. But we did do a little mingling with the outdoor jury over dinner, oddly enough when we had dinner outdoors around the pool. I can confirm that there is a restaurant chain in Mexico called Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, as per the Forest Gump film – that cracked me up. I’m going to Bali in July to judge the Clios, and I’ve taken a few days off to explore. I’m hoping that will be exotic.

Glover: My judging experience didn’t involve Mexico at all as radio is done online. So, not very exotic – Cannes is also the best I can do.

2. How did you isolate the work and focus on its effectiveness? As it’s some of the best globally, does it speak for itself?

Dyeshana: It definitely does speak for itself, as some of the most incredible creative work throughout the world. There was no big political agenda and all the judging was based on merit.

Reddy: The one show has become like the D&AD. If you get a merit, it's like hen’s teeth. A gold is almost unheard of. So great work just leaps out and it's universally great.

King: I found the One Show judging to be very fair and exactly as described. We had a great jury this year and I didn’t pick up any politics, which is often hard to miss. Awards are big business, so you can imagine the pressure on some people to do well. Occasionally it bubbles out for everyone to see. The best work absolutely speaks for itself. It’s normally very powerful and very hard to ignore, and that tends to be a very good indicator that it would have been effective. You’re essentially trusting the intuition of the jury to tell what works and what doesn’t.

Glover: I’m too much of a creative purist to ever accommodate politics when judging. I am guided by the simple adage ‘great ideas, well executed’ and I think this keeps me very focused. I’m uncompromising about the marriage of those two requirements and I am never seduced by executional glitter. Having clear parameters is incredibly important when judging because it’s really easy to be bamboozled and overwhelmed.

3. Talk us through your individual judging process.

Dyeshana: I generally work off my gut, so anything I watch or consume must move me in my gut. Then I look at the detail such as the craft and execution, so how well the idea was stretched or further rolled out to life thanks to the opportunities offered by technology.

Reddy: I look for immediate overall standout. Then I look at the client, the task the problem and the solution. Exquisite craft, great big idea. Relevant and ‘I wish I had done that’.

King: It’s a painful but necessary process. Unless a commercial is really bad from the outset, you tend to watch it through till the end just in case there’s a clever twist or surprise. Then you have seconds before the next ad starts. You pretty much have to concentrate for the entire day, which often goes on for 12 hours. Every now and then, one of the judges drifts off and then has to face the indignity of having their name called out for not having entered in their score, normally accompanied by an irritable "Wake the f@# up" stare from one of the other of the jury members. You do that once and never again. The judging is brutal, actually. You really do have to create something quite extraordinary to stand out from the thousands of films entered.

Glover: One Show radio is judged in stages, so the shortlist is compiled over time as opposed to a single session. This process gives you space to access and evaluate the work and ultimately allows you to think very carefully about the shortlist you’re helping curate.

4. Any favourite work you can let us in on?

Dyeshana: I definitely enjoyed the Call Brussels interactive campaign, which set out to refocus Brussels as a tourist destination after the terrorist bombings there. It’s something to look out for.

Reddy: I personally loved a packaging job. Think koi fish. Wow. Another personal favourite was the ‘no name paint’. Pure design has never been so relevant.

King: I was blown away by a few pieces. This year my favourite pieces were AT&T’s ‘IT can Wait’. It’s not a particularly lateral idea, but it is flawlessly executed and contains some of the best dialogue used in a commercial. It’s power comes from how real the film is. I also love the Harvey Nichols Shoplifting ad, which is one of the most original invitations to download a rewards app that I have ever seen. It’s really smart and beautifully done. I also absolutely love this Superbowl domestic violence PSA commercial. When I listened to it for the first time I got a renewed sense of respect for what the call centre personnel have to deal with. They really do have to read between the lines, and I was profoundly moved by that. And then I also loved this, just because it’s supercool.

5. Let us in behind the persona of your fellow SA judges: What are Alistair King of King James Group, Xolisa Dyeshana of Joe Public, Jenny Glover of TBWA and Nathan Reddy of GRID really like?

Dyeshana: Al got me through the prep as he’d been there the week before. From a radio perspective, Jenny’s the finest we have, no-one compares and it’s a privilege to have been a judge with her. As to Nathan, he’s probably the biggest reason I had such fun in Mexico as we discovered the nightlife together.

Reddy: Xol and myself did a little bonding. All the judges from SA are just great human beings at the top of their game. It was a pleasure to be judging with these fine individuals.

King: Agreed, they’re all top of their game right now. Nathan is one of the true legends of South African design and has been fronting our design industry for a very long time. He’s like the Duracell bunny; he’s unstoppable. Xolisa is one of those powerful new forces in our creative industry, proving that there’s nothing reckless and irresponsible about creativity and that creativity deserves to sit at the highest levels of business. And Jenny obviously brought an entire new voice to South African advertising and has had a huge influence on our industry's reputation in the global arena.

Glover: I would trust all of these guys to select and fight for the best work. They’ll do South Africa proud!

Only time will tell what work walks away with pencils next week. Until then, click through to our One Show awards special section for more, and watch for live coverage of the One Show Creative Week from our roving reporter, Ann Nurock. One Show Creative Week runs from 9 to 13 May 2016.