Saatchi & Saatchi co-CCO Mandie van der Merwe will lead the executive jury session as an ambassador for Australia/New Zealand (AUNZ) for the 2024 Gerety Awards as submissions open for the marquee event.
The Gerety Awards – named after Frances Gerety, the copywriter who coined the slogan “A Diamond is Forever” in 1948 – celebrate creative excellence in advertising and communications and is the only creative award program judged by an all-women panel.
Van der Merwe told Mediaweek the awards were important as they are centred around driving change within the industry. “I’ve always been of the opinion that the only way we shift anything in our industry is by rolling up our sleeves and getting stuck in. It’s an honour to be given the opportunity to make a difference.”
“Mary Gerety wrote one of the most popular slogans – ‘A Diamond is Forever’. And before the Gerety Awards launched, I had no idea that a woman had coined it.
“I think that illustrates the point of this award show – there are lots of amazing women doing great work but not everybody knows or talks about them. The Gerety jury is a step in the right direction to rectify that,” she said.
Van der Merwe noted that the Gerety Awards offer the industry a different perspective analysis on the best-in-class creative work through the female lens. The awards also create “a benchmark that is relevant to the market reality, all while redefining the standard to which advertising has traditionally been held.”
“It’s thrilling when you see work that uses creativity to unlock business problems and that delivers results, while also being ambitious and walking the fine line of what is and isn’t possible,” she added.
The global awards hold sessions around the world led by international executive juries of agency and brand leaders who determine a shortlist of finalists, which is then submitted to a Grand Jury of creative experts who determine winners based on scores achieved across the board of international juries.
The global awards will span 15 locations for executive jury sessions, including New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Madrid, Warsaw, São Paulo, AUNZ, LATAM, East Asia, and the Middle East.
The jury will also reward the highest-scoring campaign for environmental and sustainability, which will be awarded with the Gerety Earth Prize. The Works for Good Cut category celebrates creativity that positively impacts culture and helps progress the world and impact brands by offering a public service element.
Laura Maness, Global CEO, Grey Group, said the Gerety Earth Prize embodies impactful work that inspires and transforms the world for the better. She said: “I’m eagerly anticipating groundbreaking initiatives, particularly those that harness creativity to solve real business problems and champion sustainable growth.”
Ambassadors leading the executive jury sessions for the 2024 Gerety Awards include Anshumani Khanna, creative director of BBDO New York, Pamela Savage, SVP group creative director of Area 23, USA, Linda Knight, chief creative officer, Los Angeles, USA, Katrina Encanto, executive creative director of 180 Amsterdam, Netherlands, Doerte Spengler-Ahrens, chief creative officer of Jung Von Matt, Germany, Regan Warner, executive creative director, McCann London, Melinda Po, CEO of IPG Mediabrands, China, and Marie-Claire Maalouf, executive creative director of Edelman ME, UAE.
Additional ambassadors include Dagmara Witek-Kuśmider, chief creative director of Publicis Worldwide Poland, Kaitlin Doherty, co-founder and president of The Local Collective, Canada, Cécile Lejeune, CEO, VML Paris, France, Ángela Pacheco, creative director of El Ruso de Rocky, Spain, Joana Mendes, creative lead for Latin America/ECD of WPP Brazil, Laurence Vandeputte, creative director, Belgium and Carolina Pinheiro, CEO and co-founder, Inbrax, Chile.
Van der Merwe’s role as her ambassador for Australia/New Zealand (AUNZ) for the 2024 Gerety Awards follows news of her recent appointment as recently appointed joint chief creative officer at Saatchi & Saatchi Australia alongside Avish Gordhan.
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Top image: Mandie van der Merwe