Enter the most prestigious competition for creativity in advertising, the 49th annual Communication Arts Advertising Competition. Any advertising project printed, published or aired for the first time between June 3, 2008 and, 2009 is eligible. Selected by leading creative directors, art directors and writers, the winning entries will be published in the December 2009 Advertising Annual. Over 70,000 copies of the Advertising Annual will be distributed worldwide, assuring important exposure to the creators of this outstanding work.
Before you begin the process of entering a competition, please have the following information and materials ready. This will make the process go quickly:
-Your contact information for registration and notification.
-Title of each project.
-Any digital files you might want to submit saved as RGB (not CMYK) JPG format (maximum 1024 pixels wide X 768 pixels high @72dpi), ready to upload from your computer.
-Credit card or check for payment.
Entries can be submitted in the following formats:
Print Entries: Submit ad tearsheets or proofs, unmounted and trimmed as they appeared. Do not tape campaigns together. Send collateral, folders, books, direct mail, etc., in bound form. Tape an entry form to the back of each piece. For posters over 18" x 24," packaging, displays and out-of-home advertising, submit JPG files with a resolution of 1024(H) x 768(V).
Audio/Visual Entries: Submit television commercials and viral videos on 3/4" U-matic NTSC, Beta SP NTSC, DVD NTSC (viewable on a standard DVD player) or CD-ROM. Include 10 seconds of black, no slates or bars. Single entries must be on individual cassettes/disks. Series should be edited together on one cassette/disk with 4 seconds of black between each entry. Computer-based formats such as QuickTime or Flash should have a maximum screen size of 1024(h) x 768(v). Radio commercials should be submitted as WAVE or AIFF files on CD-ROM. Series should be submitted as one file with 2 seconds of silence between each spot. Tape an entry form to the outside of each disk/video case.
Preparation of Packages
Address packages to Communication Arts Advertising Competition 2008. Non-United States contestants should mark each package �Materials for Contest Entry. No Commercial Value.� No provision will be made by Communication Arts for U.S. Customs or airport pickup. International entries should be sent by post or international courier. All entries must be received by June 1, 2009.
Forms and Entry Fees
Form A and the entry fees must accompany your package of entries.
Make checks payable to Communication Arts. Non-United States contestants must send
an International Money Order or a check in U.S. funds drafted on a U.S. bank. We
also accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express. No bank transfers.
Form B (or a facsimile) must be taped to the back of each entry.
If the entry is a campaign, a Form B must be taped to each piece. If a piece is
to be entered as both a single entry and part of a campaign, a duplicate piece with
its own Form B and entry fee must be submitted.
Mail entries to:
2008 Advertising Competition
Communication Arts
110 Constitution Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025-1107 U.S.A.
(Via United States Mail, FedEx, UPS, etc. Entrants submitting from outside the U.S.
please use an international courier)
Notification of Acceptance
Only accepted entries will be notified on or before September 12, 2009. Complete
credits and any necessary material for the best possible reproduction in the Annuals
will be requested at that time. Award of Excellence certificates for firms, individuals
and clients will be mailed in January 2009.
Questions
If you have any other questions or want to request a call for entries, you can reach us by:
Email: competition@commarts.com
Fax: (650) 326-1648
Advertising Competition FAQs
When is the deadline?
Deadline: June 1, 2009.
Will there be an extension?
Log onto our Web site the day before the due date to see if we have decided to extend
the deadline.
Do you offer a cash prize?
We do not offer a cash prize. The winners are featured in one of our annuals and
over 70,000 copies are distributed worldwide.
Can I submit my work via e-mail and just include a credit card number with it?
You can submit and pay for your entries .
Will you confirm receipt of my package(s)?
The best way for you to track your package(s) is to contact your carrier. We are
unable to acknowledge receipt of your package(s) until your submission(s) has/have
been processed. At that time you will receive an e-mail confirming that your package(s)
has/have been received, along with your assigned entry number(s).
Will my entries be returned?
Because of the number of entries we receive, it is not possible for us to return
any of them.
I have already sent in my submission, can I still make a change?
No, we are unable to locate individual pieces. If you want to submit additional
entries, please submit a new package.
If my entry is accepted, what will you use for reproduction?
If your work is accepted we will request necessary reproduction materials at that
time.
Where do we put creative credits?
All we need is the contact information of the person submitting the work along with the name of the design firm or agency. Creative credits will be requested if your work is chosen for inclusion in the magazine.
I have a poster bigger than 18" x 24", can I send it in a mailing tube?
We don�t recommend it; mailing tubes (and the posters inside them) usually arrive damaged. If you must send a poster, send it in a flat package or submit JPG files with a resolution of 1024(H) x 768(V) either online or on CD-ROM.
I'm entering a series, do I pay $70.00 for each piece in the series or $70.00
for the whole thing?
$70.00 for the complete series.
We're waiting on the check from our accounting department. Can we have an extension?
Please send your entries now, with a note saying that the check is coming under separate cover. Or simply pay by credit card online. We accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
I don't know which category to put my piece in?
Choose the category that you feel best fits your submission. If we feel another
category is more appropriate, we will move it; your work will not be penalized or
disqualified.
Can I enter one project into two separate categories?
Yes, just make sure to submit a duplicate entry for each of the categories you are
entering and attach a separate B Form on each submission.
Can I enter my work as a series?
Yes, but all work in a series must be part of the same campaign. When works are
submitted as a series they are judged together as a group. The overall strength
of the series depends on each individual piece and its function within the campaign.
Can I put more than one single radio or TV spot on each tape/disk?
No, each single entry must be submitted on its own tape/disk. Television series
must have 4 seconds between each spot and radio series must have 2 seconds between
each spot.
Do you accept work on disk?
Online advertising must be submitted on CD-ROM. If the ad consists of multiple files such as SWFs, please embed the project in one HTML document. Tape an entry form to the outside of each disk case. Web sites submitted as part of an integrated advertising campaign (19C) should be submitted as a maximum of five hard-copy printouts and the URL. For posters over 18� x 24,� packaging, displays and out-of-home advertising, submit JPG files with a resolution of 1024(H) x 768(V) on CD-ROM. Digital files will be projected for the judges. Digital images with a vertical format must have a height no greater than 768 pixels.
Can I submit multiple entries on one CD?
Yes. Make sure to submit one entry form for every entry and reference the file name on the entry form. If you are submitting a series please end all file names with sequential numbers (example: myImage1.jpg, myImage2.jpg, myImage3.jpg) and enclose each series in its own folder.
How do I enter a Web site?
If the Web site is part of an integrated advertising campaign (19C), include captured screen shots and the URL along with all of the other components of the campaign. If you would like your project judged for its visual design, submit it as a series of captured screenshots and submit it in the 20H category of the Design Competition. If it is only the Web site you want judged, enter it in our Interactive Design competition by January 16, 2009.
Is there a category for student work?
Student work is accepted as long as it was created for an actual client, and not
a school project. The Illustration and Photography competitions both have Unpublished
categories for student work, but the Advertising competition does not.
Is there a category for Illustration, Photography and Interactive Media in the
Advertising Competition?
No. Work in these categories should be submitted to the Illustration Competition, Photography Competition and Interactive Design Competition, which are separate juried competitions published
in July, August and September.
How does the judging takes place?
The nine jurors work in screening teams of three. Judges are not permitted to vote
on work they were directly involved in. Each category is distributed into three
parts so each group screens one-third of the entries. Print entries are spread out
on tables by category. Most categories require several room setups. Each juror views
the entries independently. Any juror can put an entry into the final voting by picking
it up from the table. Television, radio and digital entries are selected by checking
an "in" or "out" column on prepared scoring sheets. For finals, all nine jurors
work as a single team. In one hall, print entries are again spread out on tables
by category. Two paper cups, one white and one red, with slots cut in the bottom,
are placed upside down to the right of each entry. White cups are for "in" votes,
red cups for "out" Each juror votes with different colored ceramic tiles by putting
his or her tile in the appropriate cup. After all the jurors finish voting on print,
they move to another hall for television, radio or digital files. Again, voting
is done by each juror checking the "in" or "out" column on scoring sheets. Meanwhile,
in the print hall, if the votes do not total nine, a check of the tile colors tells
the Communication Arts staff which juror has inadvertently missed that piece and
he or she is called back to vote. After the judges make their selections, their
votes are tallied. A simple majority is usually required for a finalist to be selected a winner.
When will we know if our entry was chosen?
If your entry is chosen we will notify you on or before September 12, 2008. Because
of the number of entries we receive, we can only notify people whose work is accepted.