I was struck by how many agencies waste their time and money in entering work that is so bad that we often would find ourselves scratching our heads wondering if we had missed something. (More often than not, sadly, we hadn’t.)
I think it’s hard to gauge how important creative integrity is when you’re a student. As a student I was surrounded by people who wanted to do great work, so I never questioned it. And as a junior I was so full of hope and enthusiasm, I’d always give my work the benefit of the doubt when it came to awards-worthiness.But Tony’s comment shows that even when you have to put up $250 for a single piece or $500 for a campaign, some people are still overly optimistic or blind to what great work really is.
The only way you’re going to understand great work is to get very familiar with the annuals. And the only way you’re going to beat what’s in the annuals is thinking and working.