The Awards recognise great work in the advertising and design industry that best incorporates diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) principles, and underrepresented groups in both creative content and teams.

Initial Fusion Pencil judges for The One Show 2021 are:

• Samira Ansari, executive creative director, FCB, New York
  
• Komal Balakrishnan, senior manager, Brand, Marketing & Technology, Shell, Houston
  
• Sergio Claudio, global creative, experience leader, Adobe, Denver
  
• Brandon Farbstein, global inclusion strategist/speaker, Washington, DC
  
• Vann Graves, executive director, VCU Brandcenter, Richmond
  
• Amber Guild, president, T Brand at The New York Times, New York
  
• Christina Mallon, global head of inclusive design and digital accessibility, Wunderman Thompson, New York
  
• Anu Niemonen, executive creative director, Wunderman Thompson, Helsinki
  
• Ute Poprawe, brand transition, diversity consultant, Poprawe Consulting, Frankfurt
  
• Deadra Rahaman, vice president, Brand Strategy, Huge, Detroit
  
• Resh Sidhu, executive creative director, Barbarian, New York
  
• Chaka Sobhani, chief creative officer, Leo Burnett, London

Sherina Florence, group creative director, 72andSunny, New York

The first group of Fusion Cube judges for the ADC 100th Annual Awards are:

• Sherina Florence, group creative director, 72andSunny, New York (chair)
  
• Ajayib Alsadi, creative director, UBRAND, Riyadh
  
• Bruno Brux, executive creative director, GUT, São Paulo
  
• Herbert Hernandez, founding partner, Gigil, Manila
  
• Tony Kalathara, group creative director, 72andSunny, New York
  
• Winter Mendelson, founder, executive creative director, Posture Media, New York
  
• B. Monét, writer, director, New York/Los Angeles
  
• Kevin Morosky, founder, head of creative, Pocc, London
  
• Enrique Mosqueda, creative director, Instagram, San Francisco
  
• Takayuki Niizawa, chief creative officer, Wunderman Thompson, Tokyo
  
• Ruchi Sharma, founder, chief creative officer, HumanSense, Colombo (Sri Lanka)
  
• Laurel Stark Akman, freelance creative director, San Francisco
  
• Tea Uglow, creative director, Google Creative Lab, Sydney
  
• Jessica Williams, visual artist, JTaylor Studios, Dallas
  
• Zipeng Zhu, designer, art director, illustrator, animator, Dazzle Studio, New York
  
• Gerrit Zinke, managing director, creation, thjnk, Hamburg

The Fusion awards have three criteria. Winning entries must first meet the different specific judging standards for The One Show (excellence in creativity of ideas and quality of execution) or the ADC Annual Awards (brilliance in craft, design and innovation).

Entrants must also disclose the percentage of relevant agency, production company and design studio teams directly involved in this work who are part of underrepresented groups — including women and other marginalized genders,, racial or ethnic groups, LGBTQ+, people with cognitive or physical disabilities, etc. -- and how they implement DEI principles when putting the team together.

In addition, the work must communicate authentically with the target audience in terms of casting, language, script, narrative and design to address DEI factors such as racial and ethnic diversity, gender diversity, ageism, cognitive or physical abilities, positive body image, sexual orientation, all kinds of discrimination, negative stereotypes, etc.

“The industry has a glaring diversity problem, and Fusion is the first industry award to provide global recognition to the great work and teams who are leading the way in DEI,” said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO of The One Club. “These diverse juries of creative leaders will help us make Fusion the new global industry standard for rewarding excellent work, created by a diverse team, that speaks in an authentic voice to the target audience.”

Once considered a long-term business goal, DEI has become an important, proven core strategy for many of today's successful businesses and organizations. Studies show when a business makes DEI a priority, every facet of the organisation benefits, including the bottom line.

Fusion awards also encourage brands to use these criteria as a framework for making their own marketing more diverse. It can serve as a global benchmark, representing a new way for brands to demand accountability from their agencies and partners for providing greater diversity in their work and creative teams.

Entries to The One Show 2021 and historic ADC 100th Annual Awards can be submitted now, with fees increasing after each deadline period. Regular deadlines for both shows are 12 March 2021, extended deadlines are 19 March 2021, and final deadlines are 26 March 2021. Judging will take place online. No physical entries will be accepted this year, eliminating shipping costs for entrants.

The new Fusion Pencil and Cube are the latest example of The One Club’s ongoing global non-profit commitment to pushing diversity and inclusion forward in advertising and design.

The effort began more than a decade ago when the organisation started its annual Where Are All The Black People diversity conference and career fair, and continued with its global Creative Boot Camps and mentorship programs for diverse college students and other young creatives.

Last year, the club launched One School, a free portfolio programme for Black creatives now active in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

Unlike for-profit awards shows such as Cannes and others, The One Club is a non-profit organisation that puts revenue generated from awards entries back into the industry in the form of programmes under its four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality and Professional Development.