The American Advertising Awards (ADDYs) are judged locally, but by out-of-market creatives unfamiliar with the agencies, brands, or reputations involved.
That structure removes bias and forces ideas to compete on merit alone.
Our objective was to increase awareness across the DC creative community that the ADDYs were open for entries — and to clearly communicate what makes them distinctive: a merit-based competition judged by out-of-market creatives, where ideas compete against ideas, not reputations or budgets.
We faced one constraint: No paid media budget.
Rather than compete on scale, we competed on clarity.
We set out to:
The solution had to be conceptually sharp, platform-native, and executable with minimal resources.
The ADDYs are structurally different from other major award shows. Unlike The Webby Awards (digital-first), The Shorty Awards (social-first), or the Effies (effectiveness-first), the American Advertising Awards are merit-first.
Judged locally but by out-of-market creatives, ADDY jurors enter unfamiliar markets — from DC politics and association, to Orlando tourism to Las Vegas hospitality — and evaluate brands that are highly relevant within their regions but often unknown to national audiences and the judges themselves. Without built-in recognition or reputation to lean on, ideas must stand on their own merit. Having served as ADDY judges in multiple markets ourselves, we’ve seen firsthand how this structure forces work to compete idea against idea.
Our goal was to increase awareness across the DC creative community that entries were open and to clarify what makes the ADDYs structurally distinctive.
Our creative strategy was to dramatize that structural transparency in a way that felt native to our own peers — the creative community. Instead of a rational explanation, we used a familiar and iconic urban backdrop where something visibly dramatic appeared to be happening. By staging a hyper-serious “glass transport” operation in everyday public spaces, we tapped into the sensibility and sense of humor of creatives who immediately recognize when an idea is simple, conceptual, and slightly absurd.
The stunt wasn’t just attention-grabbing; it was insider-fluent. It felt like something made by creatives, for creatives — which is why it traveled organically through our own industry networks. For a time, the work became shorthand locally; at industry events, we could refer to ourselves “the guys that did the glass thing.”
We identified a literal and symbolic truth: the ADDY trophy is made of glass.
Instead of explaining transparency, we dramatized it.
We produced a one-day social experiment featuring two workers carrying an invisible sheet of glass (spoiler: the glass was imaginary, too) through Washington, DC. Hidden cameras captured authentic public reactions to the perceived fragility. The stunt became the foundation for 30+ pieces of content deployed across Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, static social, and newsletter placements.
All distribution was organic. Paid media budget: $0.
500,000+ organic views across short-form platforms
30+ assets generated from a one-day production
Increased awareness of ADDYs entry period among regional creatives
Recognized with Best of Show at AAF DC
The campaign successfully reframed the ADDYs around transparency and merit, generating disproportionate visibility relative to budget.
