The Inaugural Gerety Awards to Celebrate Diversity in Advertising

Does the world REALLY need another awards show? NO. The world REALLY needs a new kind of awards show. It is this conviction that pushed Joe Brooks and Lucía Ongay, to launch the Gerety Awards. At a time when the advertising industry is trying to redefine itself, awards shows also need to redefine their role. This is the philosophy behind the Gerety Awards, which has been launched to challenge the status quo of the international creative awards circuit and introduce a new spirit, in new flavor, and a new approach when it comes to celebrating creativity in the advertising business. Mainly, the creation of the Gerety Awards is designed to support initiatives that champion diversity in the creative industries. Named for Frances Gerety, the copywriter who coined the slogan “A diamond is forever,” the Gerety Awards recognises global talent, mentors and allies within advertising—the people who will define and refine the standard to which advertising should be held. Joe Brooks and Lucía Ongay, founders of the Gerety Awards, have more than 20 years combined experience working for advertising awards and believe it is time to do something different: “When we first started talking to key industry leaders about our ideas for the Gerety Awards, we were surprised by the passion and enthusiasm about this concept. This convinced us that what the industry needs now is a new kind of awards show. […] As times are changing so should our approach to creativity. And a world’s first all-female jury was announced to address the lack of diversity in creative awards shows. “Our jury will redefine what is traditionally perceived as ‘normal’ for the advertising industry.” With this commitment, Gerety Awards will ensure advertising is held to account and meets the standards clients expect. An awards show should be a focus group of advertising at its best; what better focus group than the Gerety Jury?