Have we become award obsessed?

It seems to me that there is a culture of awards at the expense of doing the job that advertising set out to do - sell clients product. Great if you win an award in the process. But is it becoming the reason for the industry?

I have researched the subject and there is no correlation between award winning ads and sales. That doesn't mean that we have to create dull selling ads, but it tells me that this industry has become a slave to the award. Regularly I hear people, not associated with the industry, ask - what do they want me know - in regard to a particular ad (whose brand they can never recall).

We need to stop trying to be too clever and get back to the fundaments of our trade. Selling a lot of our clients product and building the brand.