In a year when Pakistani agencies have won an Effie, a Cannes Lion and Spikes Asia awards, Aurora set out to discover if awards matter. Five creative directors give some insight.

Ali Hayat Rizvi

Chief Creative Officer, Walter Pakistan

• Advertising awards are... the best kind of advertising for your agency.
• Our clients think ad awards are... a good way to know where to move their business this week.

Madeeha Noor

Executive Creative Director, BBDO Pakistan

• Advertising awards are... the shabash beta you finally get from your hardass dad; that shabash you have been dying to hear your entire life. It makes you feel great of course but also plants this nagging “What the eff! Has my entire life been for naught and a tragic tribute to worthlessness and now that Abba has said shabash I can die happy?” seed of doubt in your heart. My two bits: give each piece of work all you have and if abba says shabash to any one of it... yay for you and woohoo for abba finally noticing your existence.

• Our clients think ad awards are... mysterious, Abba’s magic stick that makes their otherwise functional agencies turn into borderline hysterical dancing monkeys. Clients further associate the award frenzy with ‘that time of the year’.

Mohammed Ahmed

Creative Director, Interflow Communications

• Advertising awards are... usually biased, mostly subjective, almost always unfair, absolutely controversial and yet, a must-have.

• Our clients think ad awards are... irrelevant to their bottom-line, a fairly accurate indicator of the agency’s clout and a bit of a hygiene factor when shopping for agency partners.

Umair Anwar

Creative Director, Soho Square

• Advertising awards are... like stars on your shoulders that give you credibility in front of your peers and clients. The best way to add authenticity to the awesome brand that is your name!

• Our clients think ad awards are... (sadly) not a requirement; but when achieved, they give them a sense of pride about their brand and a reason to admire the creative merit of their agency. Seems like we need to bag more of these to get the client hooked.

Zohra Yusuf

Executive Creative Director, Spectrum Y&R

• Advertising awards are... true moments of glory, particularly for the creative team responsible. They add ‘oomph’ to the agency’s profile and inspire us to do better. Sadly, Pakistan has only one functioning award system – the PAS.

• Our clients think ad awards are... worth pursuing. The brand team shares the elation felt by the creative team on winning. Our clients are supportive in providing sales data needed to substantiate campaign success.