This clever campaign tackles a common creative quandary

Anyone who works in the creative industries will be familiar with the strain that comes from trying to explain what exactly it is they do to confused friends and relatives. And The Clio Awards latest campaign, developed in partnership with JKR, is celebrating that confusion. The whole campaign is underpinned by the line 'They'll never get it. Until you get it.'

Other lines say things like 'No. You can't wear the briefs I'm working on' and 'No. Not copyrighting, it's copywriting'. Then there's my personal favourite 'No, Not those kinds of widows and orphans'. These insider jokes set the scene perfectly before the main tagline (see more examples of great copywriting in the best print ads of the 2000s).

The idea for the campaign came from a simple observation: creatives often struggle to explain what they do to people outside the industry. The Clio Awards, however, need no explanation. It serves as a shorthand that says it all.

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“We’ve all been there, getting blank stares from relatives or friends as we try to explain what we do for the hundredth time,” says Stuart Radford, executive creative director at JKR. “‘They’ll never get it. Until you get it.’ playfully leans into that tension, positioning the fame of the Clio Awards as the solution, an insight that feels distinctly Clio.”

The campaign is presented in black and white, stripping away anything unnecessary to put the spotlight on the copy, and is a departure from the usual Clio brand.

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“The goal was to tap into a shared experience around recognition and understanding of creative work, and use that to drive engagement with the Clio Awards,” says Candice Pierson, marketing director at the Clio Awards. “Creatives have always struggled to articulate what they do, and this campaign leans into that truth. It shows how winning a Clio can make that value instantly clear.”

I think this is an effective campaign that many creatives will identify with. For more on awards, keep an eye out for our 'how to craft award-winning branding webinar', coming soon to Creative Bloq, or check out our very own Brand Impact Awards.