Criteria & Requirements

The 2023 Diversity In Advertising Award is challenging brands to create campaigns which include authentic portrayals of the LGBTQIA+ community. In judging the entries, both the Channel 4 shortlisting panel and the main judging panel will be referring to the following judging criteria;

.

Criteria 1: Prominence of LGBTQIA+ community as a focus

This year, the award is seeking to improve representation of LGBTQIA+ communities  – so we’re expecting your idea to prominently feature a person/people from this community as part of the campaign execution.

The creative could challenge a misrepresentation/stereotype, or seek to educate on a reality for the people featured within the ad.

As always, we’d also want to encourage you to think about the diversity of your character(s), such as ethnicity, disability, age or gender.

.

Criteria 2: Clarity, impact and uniqueness of the creative idea

The idea for your campaign should be articulated clearly and concisely. We need to clearly understand what the TV ad might look like, what viewers are expected to take away from it and how your specific product/service is being communicated authentically within the creative. As with any advertisement, creative concepts which feel fresh, innovative and grab audiences attention are welcomed.

.

Criteria 3: Creative inspiration and development

It has been proven that diverse representation behind the scenes and substantial engagement with the communities featured during concept development will lead to more authentic portrayals of people in advertising. The judges would like to understand how your entry has been conceived and developed, what engagement you have undertaken with the community you are representing, and whether your project team is inclusive of people from a range of diverse backgrounds. Highlighting any key insight that has informed your creative execution is welcomed.

.

Criteria 4: Performance against brand objectives

The Diversity In Advertising Award exists to encourage better representation of diverse communities within mainstream advertising. However, for this to become long-lasting change, we want to see this inclusion in the context of a successful marketing campaign – and as such, your campaign idea must set out to achieve your specific brand marketing objectives, just like any other marketing campaign you run would. Please also detail how you think the concept will deliver successful results for your brand.

.

Criteria 5: Feasibility and fit with the media context

The winning ad will feature in national linear TV airtime, across our video-on-demand service and also on our social platforms. The £1m+ prize covers media value, but not production for the main ad executions. Therefore, the judges will need to understand whether the advertisement concept is feasible for you to produce, and whether it is likely to pass all the legal and compliance requirements to be able to play on air. For example, ideas which require specific talent involvement should address the feasibility of securing said talent. Plus, the judges will be considering whether Channel 4 and its audience provides an appropriate home for this messaging.

.

Criteria 6: Legacy and Amplification

The pitched idea needs to be a core 30-second spot, but additional amplification ideas around a longer-launch spot or different spot lengths are welcomed.

Additionally, the judges would like to see some consideration of how the campaign could be enhanced to live beyond the initial TV spot(s), and how the campaign and subject matter might be reflected in your organisations broader culture and values.

.

Criteria 7: Sustainability

As a broadcaster, we know we can inspire change through our content, raise awareness of the importance of the climate emergency and promote behaviours that can have a positive impact on our planet. We’d like to understand how your campaign will showcase environmental sustainability onscreen, normalising sustainable ways of living e.g. Transport; use of electric cars, or travelling my public transport or Food; vegetarian dishes, local & seasonable produce, growing own food.

This is in addition to the sustainability requirements for the production of the commercial, which are a condition of winning the competition and can be read in the full terms.

View our past winners

Since 2016 we’ve given away over £6million of airtime to advertisers who best respond to our briefs. Check out their award-winning work here!

Winners Gallery

Stay in the loop

Sign up for the latest updates from 4Sales in our weekly newsletter.

Sign up now