London International Awards

The Awards, founded in 1986 by President Barbara Levy, began by celebrating advertising in the realms of cinema, television, print, and radio internationally, evolving since its inception into 22 unique media types: Ambient, Billboard, Branded Entertainment, Design, Digital, Health & Wellness, Health & Wellness – Craft, Integration, Music & Sound, Music Video, Non-Traditional, Package Design, Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceuticals – Craft, Podcast, Poster, Print, Production & Post-Production, Radio & Audio, Social Influencers, The NEW, and Television/Cinema/Online Film.[3] In 2004, the word "Advertising" was removed from the competition's name to reflect the fact that it observes more than just "advertising" in an ever-changing industry.[4]

In 2009, LIA, along with creative Faris Yakob, developed "The NEW,"[5] for works that demonstrate concepts that don't fit comfortably among the standard media divisions, with a focus in fields of technology.[3]

In 2014, LIA added Branded Entertainment as a medium. The judging category, first chaired by Jimmy Smith of Amusement Park Entertainment, awards "creativity and the power of the idea across films, television programming, live events, audio, gaming and music videos that engage consumers by entertaining them, rather than through traditional advertising."[6]

For 2016, LIA introduced a medium called Verbal Identity,[7] centered on "the long-term verbal assets" of a brand, with sub-categories devoted to naming, taglines, copywriting and tone of voice.[3]

2017 included the addition of a Health & Pharma competition in response to a "large number of requests from creatives";[8] a Social Influencers medium "based on Creativity and Engagement",[9] and a Chinese Creativity Show featuring a unique red statue and executed through a first round of judging in China and a final judging session simultaneous with the annual LIA Judging.[10][11] (See: Judging)

2019 saw the introduction of Podcasts as a medium.[3]

LIA has one main office in New York City.[12]

Grand LIA Award

As of 2019, the fifteen LIA Jury panels, each one headed by a Jury President, are composed of nearly 100 experienced members of agencies, production companies, design houses, and technology companies. These panels decide on the Gold, Silver and Bronze Statue Winners, as well as the finalists, with each Jury given the non-compulsory opportunity to award a Grand LIA to a piece of work that has achieved a Gold statue. The Public Service/Social Awareness Grand LIA was created in 2019, following the same rules as the original Grand LIA, but to all Gold Public Service winners.[13] The judging process is unique in that each Juror sees every piece of work entered within the medium/media that he or she is required to judge.[14] Judging is held annually in Las Vegas over a 7-to-10-day period in late September/early October.[15]

Gold LIA Award

For 26 years, LIA held its one-night awards ceremony in London. In 2012, it was decided to allocate the budget for the ceremony in favour of bringing a small group of young International Creatives from around the world together to share their experiences and to discuss the future of advertising, design, production, brand-building and the overall state of the creative global markets.[16] (See: Creative LIAisons)

In 1985, LIA commissioned a British art student named Mary Griffiths to design the LIA statue. The 17" LIA statue is a winged figure that is hand cast in metal prior to a gold, silver, bronze, or black plating (for Grand LIA winners). It stands on a custom black nickel finished base with an engraved plate displaying the year, medium, category, client/brand and the recipient's name and location.[17]

For the first time in 2010, the same year as the Awards' 25th Anniversary,[18] LIA awarded global Network of the Year, Agency of the Year, and Production Company of the Year designations. Subsequently, in 2011, LIA added Post-Production Company of the Year.[19] Design Company of the Year, Independent Agency of the Year, Music & Sound Company of the Year and Radio & Audio Company of the Year have also been recognised in recent years.[20]

In 2011, LIA gave a one-off award sponsored by JetBlue to filmmaker Morgan Spurlock's POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, dubbed "The Greatest Award Ever Sold" for its analysis of product placement and the inner workings of the ad industry.[21]

In 2017, LIA added Regional 'Of the Year' Awards to Australia / New Zealand, Asia, Europe, North America, the Middle East / Africa, and South America.[22] as additional components of its global 'Of the Year' honours.

In past years, LIA has published a hardbound, full-color Annual showcasing all of the winners and finalists from that given year.[23][24]

As a way of giving back to the industry, LIA launched the 'Creative Conversations' program in 2012. Composed of educational discussions centered on the future of advertising, brand-building and production, the campaign is enforced through a series of seminars, lunches, and dinners that run concurrent with judging. The organisation and expenses, including that of travel and hotel accommodations, are wholly funded by LIA.[25] A large part of the experience's purpose is to bridge relationships between veteran speakers and junior "Young Creatives" from across the globe, the advertising industry's "great teachers" and "young, energetic" minds.[26] The inaugural 2012 speakers included: Ted Royer, Susan Credle, Israel Diaz, Sonal Dabral, Tony Calcao, Jeremy Craigen, Faris Yakob, Neil French, Phil Growick, Dörte Spengler-Ahrens, Bob Garfield, Jonathon Ker, Ralph van Dijk, and Scott Elias.

The program was renamed "Creative LIAisons" for the 2015 awards, with just under 100 invited attendees.[27] Daymond John returned as the Keynote Speaker, with other noteworthy speakers such as Amir Kassaei at DDB Worldwide, John Merrifield from Google, and Mark Tutssel of Leo Burnett Worldwide joining him.[28]

• Official website