D&AD 2024: watch the 4 Black and 4 White Pencils

The ad industry’s most coveted Pencils.

The 2024 D&AD (Design and Art Direction) Awards once again spotlight the creative excellence and innovation within the advertising industry. Recognized as one of the most prestigious festivals globally, the D&AD Awards celebrate the best in advertising campaigns, design, and visual communication. This 62nd edition recorded 12,387 campaign entries, the highest since 2007.

This year, many agencies around the globe have brilliantly demonstrated their ability to push the boundaries of creativity by skillfully combining art and strategy to produce striking and inspiring works. The awards reflect not only the originality and quality of the concepts but also their cultural and social impact.

The distinctions of this 2024 edition showcase the diversity of talents and ideas. From bold campaigns to innovative concepts, each winner captured the attention of the 43 international juries, composed of over 300 renowned professionals. Through this big winners list, we discover the current trends shaping the industry and the forward-thinking visions that will define its future.

Check out below the D&AD’s 2024 Black Pencils and White Pencils, aka the Grand Prix winners, the ones you definitely can’t afford to miss! Out of the 12,387 entries and 652 awarded Pencils, only 8 campaigns received a Black or a White Pencil, the most prestigious and most coveted awards in the industry. 

“As a globally respected and famously hard-to-win awards, D&AD celebrates creative excellence, believing creativity is critical to commercial, economic, social and cultural success.”

The 4 Black Pencils of the D&AD 2024

• Digital Design Black Pencil: Apple – “VisionOS” by Apple, Cupertino.

All-new platform. Familiar frameworks and tools. Get ready to design and build an entirely new universe of apps and games. Apple Vision Pro offers an infinite spatial canvas to explore, experiment, and play, giving you the freedom to completely rethink your experience in 3D. People can interact with your app while staying connected to their surroundings, or immerse themselves completely in a world of your creation. And your experiences can be fluid: start in a window, bring in 3D content, transition to a fully immersive scene, and come right back. The choice is yours, and it all starts with the building blocks of spatial computing in VisionOS.

• Art Direction Black Pencil: JR Group – “My Japan Railway” by Dentsu, Tokyo.

A campaign that reconnects Japan Railway Group with its customers, in a personal way. To replicate the look and texture of traditional Japanese woodblock printing—and to emphasise the historic nature of the role that railways have played in Japan—we deliberately chose to work with a restricted colour palette of just six colours. And for the stamp designs, we used only simple letterforms and graphic elements that could actually be reproduced in analogue form on wooden or rubber stamps. Although the medium of stamp delivery was digital, our designs had a warm, handcrafted look that evoked nostalgia for the past and a sense of human connection that directly supported the psychology of the brand-customer relationship the campaign sought to create.

• Experiential Black Pencil: Mastercard – “Where to Settle” by McCann Poland, Warsaw.

In response to conflict in Ukraine, Mastercard devised the “Where to Settle” tool. This innovative platform utilizes anonymized data and information from the Polish Central Statistical Office to reliably present living costs across different-sized cities in Poland. By leveraging this unique data, the tool offers personalized insights without compromising sensitive information. Through a simple anonymous form, refugees can provide their location, situation, and needs, receiving customized and essential information tailored to their circumstances. The aim of the “Where To Settle” digital platform is to alleviate challenges by guiding refugees to the most promising areas in Poland that best suit their abilities and needs, facilitating their transition to new homes.

• Digital & Social Black Pencil: Orange – “WoMen’s Football” by Marcel, Paris.

Orange is taking a stand in favor of women’s football ahead of the Bleues’ international competition, with the aim of overturning one of the prejudices that all too often surround the players. Many football ‘fans’, without ever having watched women’s football, have strong opinions about the level of the players. But football fans’ appetite for highlights compilations of great actions is an opportunity for Orange to reverse the trend… How? Through a never-before-seen compilation of actions from the men’s ‘Equipe de France’, which quickly reveals itself to be a compilation of technical moves from the women’s Equipe de France: ‘La Compil des Bleues’ (also called ‘WoMen’s Football’ or ‘The Bleues’ Highlights’). Using VFX tricks, the appearance of the female players is altered in the 1st part of the compilation, to support a strong message: when Orange supports les Bleus, Orange supports les Bleues.

The 4 White Pencils of the D&AD 2024

• Impact White Pencil: Adidas – “Runner 321” by FCB Canada, Toronto.

To celebrate World Down Syndrome Day, adidas sponsored an athlete with Down Syndrome for the first time ever, Chris Nikic. As Chris is a triathlete, marathon runner and the world’s first Ironman with Down Syndrome, the campaign reserved the runner BIB 321 for Chris to race with in the Boston Marathon – with extended plans to allow all neurodivergent athletes to wear BIB 321 in future events too. Why 321? 95% of people with Down syndrome have trisomy 21 — a full copy of chromosome 21, leading to three copies instead of two. This number is iconic to the Down Syndrome community and the reason why we celebrate World Down Syndrome Day on 03/21.

• Impact White Pencil: AIZOME – AIZOME Ultra by Serviceplan, Munich.

An innovative method to create textiles with lasting health benefits. Welcome to the future of sustainable fashion, where AIZOME ULTRA™ is transforming the way we think about textile dyeing. As consumers increasingly seek eco-friendly and health-conscious choices, it stands out as a pioneering solution. This innovative dyeing method, harnessing the power of ultrasonic technology, offers a compelling blend of environmental responsibility and superior quality. Beyond its technical marvel, AIZOME ULTRA™ represents a significant step forward in ethical fashion, aligning with the values of today’s conscious consumers. 

• Impact White Pencil: Koushi – Shellmet by TBWA\ Hakuhodo, Tokyo.

Scallops are the shellfish that Japanese people eat the most. It was also the shellfish whose shells were discarded the most. Could shells, which used to protect from outside enemies, be transformed into something that protects people’s lives? We at Koushi Chemical are breathing new life into these discarded scallop shells. A completely new helmet, strong and gentle, is born.

• Sustained Impact White Pencil: Ariel – “See the signs of ‘Silent Separation'” by BBDO India, Mumbai.

Ariel’s #ShareTheLoad campaign began in 2015, reimagining Ariel’s role as a household supplies brand by asking, “Is laundry only a woman’s job?”. In 2023, we shifted our focus to the long-term consequences of not sharing the load. Our insight revealed that women start withdrawing silently from relationships over time due to unequal sharing of household chores. The creative strategy aimed to make men realize that unequal sharing of the load negatively impacts their relationships. The idea was to make people #SeeTheSigns of Silent Separation, highlighting the signs of household gender inequality and how it hurts relationships.

“D&AD exists to stimulate, enable and celebrate creative excellence in the belief that great creative work creates better outcomes for all, and that creative excellence is achieved through a diverse, inclusive, sustainable industry, making work that’s relevant and representative of the communities it serves.”

The Special Awards of the D&AD 2024:

• Advertising Agency of the Year: VML New York.
• Design Agency of the Year: Raw Materials.
• Production Company of the Year: Division.
• Client of the Year: AB InBev.
• Network of the Year: Ogilvy.
• Independent Network of the Year: Serviceplan.
• Recipient of the President’s Award: Jessica Walsh, CEO, Founder and Creative Director at &Walsh. 

The total number of Pencils awarded at the D&AD 2024

• Black: 4 Pencils awarded.
• White: 4 Pencils awarded.
• Yellow: 66 Pencils awarded.
• Graphite: 180 Pencils awarded.
• Wood: 391 Pencils awarded.
• Future Impact: 7 Pencils.

Other Black and White awards:

• Luxury Black Pencil: Chanel – “Coco Crush”

For Gabrielle Chanel, every encounter was a game where luck and destiny intersect. With clean and even incisions that crisscross the curved surface of each piece, the COCO CRUSH collection is a story of encounters. Discover the new COCO CRUSH film featuring Korean singer and CHANEL ambassador JENNIE, actress and CHANEL ambassador Lucy Boynton, actress Amandla Stenberg, Lucas El Bali, Cheikh Dia and Kim Schell. Music: ‘It’s So Good’, by Jamie XX.

• Future Impact White Pencil: Red Cross x Filsa Water – Filter Caps by Ogilvy Colombia, Bogota.

Filter Caps is a solution for the world’s water crisis; it transforms the cap of a PET bottle into a complete water filtration station. This groundbreaking invention offers an accessible and portable way to purify water, making it especially useful in areas where clean water is scarce or unavailable. By simply attaching the Filter Cap to a standard PET bottle, users can have access to safe drinking water, thus reducing the risk of waterborne diseases and improving overall health and well-being in affected communities. The simplicity and effectiveness of Filter Caps make it a vital tool in humanitarian efforts and disaster relief situations. Its compact design allows for easy transportation and distribution, ensuring that even the most remote and underserved populations can benefit from clean water. The technology behind Filter Caps not only provides a practical solution but also promotes environmental sustainability by encouraging the reuse of plastic bottles.

• Future Impact White Pencil: Touch – EQL Brand by FCB Health, New York.

EQL Band aims to silence green light bias in smartwatches with the power of sound. Building on years of clinical equality advocacy, the EQL Band is an innovative prototype for the world’s first smartwatch band that uses sound smart technology to accurately hear all heartbeats equally, regardless of skin tone. In partnership with Touch, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance – a leading health equity advocacy organization with initiatives like #BlackDataMatters and When We Trial campaigns – FCB Health New York is calling on the tech industry and smartwatch manufacturers to join the fight for equal health data.

• Future Impact White Pencil: ViWipe by Yihan Dong.

Viwipe is the world’s first non-invasive, low-cost, paper-based cervical pre-screening solution that empowers young women to proactively prevent cervical cancer through HPV self-tests. Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among young women. However, nearly half of young women will postpone or never go for smear tests because of embarrassment and fear. Applying the overlooked menstrual blood and outdated dried blood spot technology, Viwipe provides a women-centric and accurate HPV self-test, to be easily used like toilet paper.

• Future Impact White Pencil: Contrails by Google, Mountain View.

Contrails — the thin, white lines you sometimes see behind airplanes — have a surprisingly large impact on our climate. The 2022 IPCC report noted that clouds created by contrails account for roughly 35% of aviation’s global warming impact, over half the impact of the world’s jet fuel. Google Research teamed up with American Airlines and Breakthrough Energy to bring together huge amounts of data — like satellite imagery, weather and flight path data — and used AI to develop contrail forecast maps to test if pilots can choose routes that avoid creating contrails.

• Future Impact White Pencil: Airquity – “EarSwitch” by Havas Lynx, Manchester.

Airquity raises attention and awareness about the racial bias that exits in traditional peripheral pulse oximeter. They have a disparity that means they overestimate between 6 to 11% higher oxygen levels than the actual oxygen level, in people with dark skin. Airquity addresses this inequity but taking diagnostic readings from inside the ear canal, where all skin looks the same.

• Future Impact White Pencil: Geminus by Lingjie Meng.

Introducing Geminus, a groundbreaking prosthetic solution meticulously crafted to empower individuals with upper extremity amputation by seamlessly transitioning between running and walking for daily routines and emergencies. Recognizing the distinct requirements of various activities, Geminus is tailored to address the shortcomings of traditional prostheses. In the realm of prosthetics, a running blade excels in providing the necessary bounce but inadvertently leads to uneven leg lengths. On the contrary, a walking prosthesis, though durable, lacks the essential support for running. Geminus bridges this gap with ingenious design, allowing for swift and effortless shifts between running and walking modes. 

• Future Impact White Pencil: SWC – Shelterbelt Water Collectors by Yin-Chi Liu, Lin Sin-Yu, Shu-Wei Chang.

SWC is a product to protect the growth of shelterbelt, mainly for Senegal catechu in the Sahara desert of Africa, to prevent the wind from blowing down the tree trunk has not grown up, can gather a little dew and rain in the below. When there is not enough water in the soil, the diffused water provides for tree growth. When the trunk is strong, the product breaks down back into the soil and is made of the tree’s pruning and gum, which should last for one to two years. Products are coated with local bitter oil to reduce access to pests, and high walls protect young trees from livestock.

The top countries by number of shortlisted entries are:

1. United States: 530.
2. United Kingdom: 368.
3. France: 151.
4. Canada: 93.
5. Japan: 80.
6. Germany: 67.
7. China: 63.
8. Brazil: 62.
9. Australia: 61.
10. Spain: 54.

“The world-class D&AD Awards and Festival showcase the best commercial creative work in design, advertising, production and craft to raise the benchmark for excellence each year and inspire and connect the global creative community.”

The 23 Awards Categories of the D&AD 2024

• Advertising Categories: Digital & Social; Film; Integrated; Press & Outdoor; and Radio & Audio.
• Craft Categories: Animation; Art Direction; Casting; Cinematography; Direction; Editing; Illustration; Photography; Production Design; Sound Design & Use of Music; Typography; Visual Effects; Writing for Advertising; Writing for Design.
• Design Categories: Book Design; Branding; Digital Design; Graphic Design; Magazine & Newspaper Design; Packaging Design; Product Design; Spatial Design, Type Design & Lettering.
• Engagement & Experience Categories: Commerce; Creative Transformation; Direct; Experiential; Media and PR.
• Entertainment Categories: Entertainment; Gaming & Virtual Worlds; Music Videos.
• Health Categories: Health & Wellbeing; Pharma.
• Luxury Categories: Luxury.
• Impact Categories: Future Impact; Impact; Sustained Impact.
• Special Awards: Company of the Year; President’s Award.

Check out more winning campaigns from the world’s most prestigious advertising festivals: AWARDS 2024