When the Work Judges the Jury: D&AD Entertainment Insights

Jurors from 72andSunny, BBDO, Saatchi & Saatchi, and adidas discuss the punishing standards, fandom, and human craft behind this year's best entertainment, LBB’s Alex Reeves reports

Stepping into an award show jury room usually places creatives in a position of ultimate power. But according to this year’s D&AD Entertainment and Sports Entertainment jury, the dynamic of truly elite work is entirely flipped: the most exceptional branded entertainment doesn’t ask for a score – it judges the jury.

Speaking on an LBB-chaired insights panel, heavyweight jurors Justine Armour (chief creative officer international, 72andSunny), Josy Paul (chief creative officer and chairperson, BBDO Group India), Franki Goodwin (chief creative officer, Saatchi & Saatchi), and Nadege DeCastro (digital director creative, adidas) unpacked the secrets behind the year’s most resonant work.

The benchmark for entertainment is currently punishing. The jury whittled a massive volume of hundreds of entries down to a shortlist of just 20. To survive the cull, Justine noted that a campaign had to be "basically perfect"; to go beyond that into pencil territory, it had to be beyond that.

So, what makes the cut? Josy provided the room's most profound takeaway on assessing elite creativity. "You're not judging the work, the work is judging you, right?" he explained. "It exposes you and your own shortcomings. It gives you a need to re-look at yourself."

For Josy, who co-founded BBDO India in 2008 from the backseat of his car, the ultimate test for the category is whether a piece of work escapes the advertising bubble. True entertainment is defined by an organic, viral reflex – when the work naturally gets pushed around in group chats by everyday people simply asking, "Have you seen that?"

To achieve that level of cultural penetration, brands must act as a lightning rod for specific communities, often weaponising tension. Josy pointed to Victoria Bitter's 'Laws of Cricket', which brilliantly tapped into the raw anger of the Ashes controversy by using a theatrical Merv Hughes to relentlessly poke fun at the English. He also highlighted Nike's 'IIOME' campaign for the Lionesses, noting how its typography and design acted "like a national flag" that gave fans an unignorable symbol to rally behind.

Nadege echoed the importance of community representation, praising Brazil's 'Gavião Kyikatejê F.C.' for acting as a "social call to action" that authentically represented outsiders from the inside.

Meanwhile, Franki brought up Apple's 'Big Man', a short film starring Stormzy, championing the freedom of long-form entertainment where brands can make the content itself the product demo. She stressed that despite new formats and platforms, creativity remains fundamentally about "humans picking up tools and making things and expressing themselves and telling modern stories."

That sentiment became a recurring theme for the panel, sparking an analogue rebellion against the industry's use of artificial intelligence. While acknowledging the immense pressure to shift labour toward AI, Justine pointed to Apple’s tactile, puppet-led holiday film as a vital reminder of why creatives join the industry – to physically make things.

Offering a rallying cry for creatives making work right now, Justine closed with a warning about relying too heavily on automation to win future pencils.

"This AI conversation is not going away. We're going to be encouraged to make things with tech tools," Justine warned. "Anything that’s devoid of craft is going to feel empty. Have the courage to make things tactile. Put your personal self into the work. It’s going to give it energy that makes it stand out.”