D&AD's Tim Lindsay: India's 22 In-Books are a huge achievement

_Storyboar_d’s Animesh attended the D&AD Awards in London this year. While India didn’t win any pencils this year, India did bring home 22 In-Book awards. The D&AD received 20,000 entries, of which 683 made it to the shortlists. For the first time ever, as many as seven Black Pencils were awarded for the most breakthrough work, marking a first for the Awards.

Animesh spoke to TimLindsay, CEO of the D&AD and asked him what, in his opinion, was most distinct to this year’s edition of the awards. He said, “We often get asked if there is a common theme; the real common themes are the increase in digital and integrated and earned media categories, as well as the new innovation categories that we introduced last year. There has been a decrease in traditional which has been going on for some time now.”

Speaking about the Indian entries not making the cut for a Pencil, Lindsay said, “I hope people realise that in a comparative world, India’s 22 In-Books are a huge achievement. An In-Book would equate to a bronze at another awards show that’s held in the South of France, and a nomination would equate to a silver. So just getting in the Book from 500 pieces across 20,000 is fantastic. This is just the beginning; there may be disappointment in the lack of a Pencil, but it will come very soon.”

Why were seven Black Pencils awarded this year? Has the jury been lenient or was the work simply that outstanding?

Said Lindsay, “There are seven Black Pencils and that’s an excellent number. It was an exceptional crop. Not everyone will be happy with the winners, but they are awarded for good merit. The work is breakthrough, which is the key criteria for a Black Pencil. I don’t think the jury’s been generous. It’s their discretion.”

Watch the complete interview to know more.