Source: © D&AD D&AD The 61st D&AD Awards Ceremony took place on 24 and 25 May 2023 in London

The first Awards ceremony took place on Wednesday, 24 May.

FCB Africa and Tarek Nour Communications / Mohamed El Zayat were each awarded a Yellow Pencil. The Middle East agencies racked up 16 Shortlist, 13 Wood Pencils and one Graphite Pencil in total. Africa boasts two Yellow Pencils, one Graphite and five Wood and four Shortlist.

The most successful agency is ‿ and us Dubai followed by Impact BBDO.

1st D&AD Awards ceremony rewards South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Middle East agencies

Danette Breitenbach  25 May 2023

African and Middle East winners

D&AD celebrates creative excellence, believing creativity is critical to commercial, economic, social and cultural success. The Awards incorporates more than 40 categories judged by nearly 400 of the world’s leading creatives, recognising work that will inspire seasoned talent and encourage the next generation.

Black Pencils

This year two Black Pencils - the highest accolade in the creative industry - were awarded amongst a total of 639 Pencils

Division claimed one Black Pencil in the Visual Effects/ Craft category for Pharrell, 21 Savage and Tyler, The Creator’s music video, Cash In , Cash out, using CGI animation to create avatars of the three musicians dancing in a magical environment. Abby.

World took home a Black Pencil in Product Design/ Design with Heartbeat Drum Machine for The Swedish Heartchild Foundation. The device, functioning as a modular synthesiser, produces rhythms using the electrocardiograms of four children with different heart defects.

Channelling distress into art, it captures the core of the problem to transform it into something new and beautiful.

Collaborative Pencils

Two Collaborative Pencils were awarded, celebrating innovative and long-lasting collaborations. These went to Iyama Design and Kamoi Kakoshi Co, Japan, for ongoing work with MT Masking Tape that started with the development of a logo through to a promotional exhibition still held around the world today; and Ogilvy UK and Unilever for A 66-year partnership, a collaboration that began in 1957 when a certain David Ogilvy wrote the first print advert for the Dove beauty bar.

Two winners were awarded the Side Hustle Pencil. Sponsored by Adobe Express, the Side Hustle category reflects the value of creatives applying their skills and personal passions to side projects that address social and environmental issues.

The recipients are Get Better Books for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, UK with a series of interactive books designed to help paediatric patients understand their journey through treatment and stages of recovery; and Beyond Hearing by Chun-Te Ho, UK - an augmented reality interface for Deaf People to localise and experience sound with a multi-senses feedback system for safety, communication and daily sound engagement. With this interface, deaf people can intuitively know the location of the sound, and experience it with visual and tactile cues.

The President’s Award, chosen by this year’s President Richard Brim, CCO, adam&eveDDB, goes to the Founders of Mother, UK.