Inside the Dead Ad Society, the Anti-Awards That Celebrates Killed Ideas

Advertising’s strangest resurrection ritual returned to The Mint in Los Angeles, as the Dead Ad Society staged its second annual awards.

Created by hungryman, the ‘anti-award show award show’ celebrates ad scripts that died too soon – ideas that were killed by clients, budgets or timing, but still deserved their moment. From more than 250 submissions, 16 scripts were shortlisted and performed live on stage by SAG actors while judges deliberated in real time.

The winners of the 2025 Dead Ad Society Awards were:

Gold: All Grown Up – Jagger Moore
Silver: Ruin Their Lives – Jason Rappaport
Bronze: Nay – Anthony Cardenas

​Jagger Moore will now see his script fully produced by hungryman, with the support of Dead Ad Society’s partners: Antfood, ARC Creative, Synapse Virtual Production, Sonic Union, Work Editorial, and SAG-AFTRA.

Now in its second year, Dead Ad Society has grown in both scale and spirit. It added a new Producer of the Year award to highlight the people who turn ideas into reality. Entrants submitted a reel of their work along with creative letters written by agency partners on their behalf. The inaugural winners were Melissa Moore, VP, director of content at INNOCEAN USA, and Lora Schulson, global chief production officer at 72andSunny.

The result was a night that felt equal parts comedy show and creative therapy session. With more than 200 people packed into the venue, it proved again that some of the sharpest, funniest ideas in advertising never make it past the pitch.

Celebrating the Unmade

“We had an incredible turnout in Los Angeles,” says Caleb Dewart, who founded the show as managing partner at hungryman. “LA is a place where people (myself very much included) love not going out. I love being invited to things and then not showing up. So having a packed house on a Thursday night just confirmed that this is an idea that truly resonates with people.”

That energy, he says, carried through every part of the night. The scripts were stronger, the audience louder, and the humour sharper. “Last year I knew the spot that was going to win before the show; it felt like a no-brainer. This year was much tougher – there were so many strong scripts,” says Caleb. “‘All Grown Up’ deserved the win, but honestly, there were others I would’ve been thrilled to see a hungryman director make.”

Caleb describes Dead Ad Society as a “deeply unserious thing that’s also serious”, which, to him, sums up advertising perfectly. “What we do for a living is absurd, right? But we work our asses off at it and can’t imagine doing anything else. Hopefully the show reminds people that this should be fun, and that it’s a gift to be a part of. It’s loose, a little rock-and-roll, and a bit messy – in the best way.”

From Dead to Gold

Performing a script live on stage is a long way from pitching it in a boardroom, but for Jagger Moore, it came with one clear takeaway. “We need more open bars in boardrooms.”

His script, All Grown Up, took home gold on the night, and will now be produced by hungryman. “There were so many great scripts in the mix that had the room laughing,” he says. “I can only guess as to why this one resonated with the judges. Generally speaking, I'd say any spot that can take a common shared experience and surprise the viewer with a funny, unexpected twist has a good shot at being well-liked and remembered.”

The next phase is seeing it made for real. “Comedy really comes down to the execution, and hungryman has a knack for making a funny script an even funnier spot. I’m excited to be surprised by my own idea.”

Winning was a reminder of how much creative work never sees daylight. “Well, it's a nice reminder that at the end of the day it’s all a numbers game. The more ads you write, the more ads you make. Most will die. Either way, you’re getting better at writing and isn’t that worth something?”

Giving Producers Their Due

A new addition to this year’s Dead Ad Society was the Producer of the Year award – an idea suggested by hungryman co-founder and director Bryan Buckley and immediately embraced by Caleb. “I immediately kicked myself for not thinking of it first,” he says. “Our idea of having creatives write letters on behalf of their producers really underlined the connection between producers and craft. Great producers don’t just keep things running; they actually make the work better.”

For Lora Schulson, the recognition hit home. “It meant a lot! Producers are often behind the curtain – building the blueprint, making sure everything runs, fixing problems before anyone even sees them. But we’re so much more than that. Producers are creative and business partners from the very start, shaping production strategies and finding ways to deliver speed, volume, and ambition without losing craft.”

She called it “really special” to be celebrated by peers “who truly understand the grind”, describing the award as “recognition for every producer who’s ever willed, sweated (and maybe even birthed) a piece of work into existence.”

Her view of the producer’s role is expansive. “Producers are the architects of possibility, turning abstract ideas into tangible reality – on time, on budget, and without losing the magic.” Sometimes, she says, that means “making the seemingly impossible possible”, other times reshaping ideas within constraints, but always “keeping the soul of the idea intact while guiding it through all the complexities of production.”

Melissa Moore, who shared the inaugural award with Lora, felt a similar mix of pride and validation. “So much of producing happens behind the scenes. You’re often the one carrying the weight of the project when others haven’t seen its value yet. You’re putting out 100 tiny fires, sacrificing nights and weekends, and giving it your all to support the craft. It is an honour to be recognised alongside such incredible producers and to share the first award with Laura.”

Her description of the producer’s role echoes Lora’s. “A producer doesn’t just make things happen; we make sure the right things happen, in the right way, at the right time. We protect the potential while navigating budget constraints, challenging timelines and a lot of personalities. We get to turn the ‘what if’ into ‘here it is’ and it’s one of the best jobs in the world!”

Both note how rapidly the role keeps changing. “Production is ever-evolving and how we solve problems never stays the same!” says Lora. “The job now is about building systems that can flex to deliver volume and speed, and about being fluent in culture and technology as much as in logistics.”

Melissa adds, “The landscape has completely changed – the tech, consumption, speed, volume, etc. It feels like a new job every few years, but the pace and change keep it exciting.”

And both agree the night’s format matched the show’s irreverent spirit. “Super fun, loud, irreverent, hilarious,” says Lora. “This show played by its own rules; it was pure entertainment and good times and delivered a wonderful community-building event.”

Melissa describes it as “so fun”, with the live audience reaction adding something other award shows lack: “To give a spot that would have never seen the light of day a new lease on life is really unique for an award show. Cheers to hungryman for coming up with the idea and making it happen.”

A New Kind of Award Show

After two sold-out editions, Caleb says the next step is simple: keep growing, but keep the spirit intact. “It was cool this year to mention the show casually and have people say they’d already heard about it and were excited to submit. But there are still a lot of folks who don’t know it exists.”

He hopes its small size remains part of the appeal. “As for shaping conversations around creativity and craft – I mean, it’s a small gesture. But sometimes small gestures can be impactful.

“My hope this year is that an agency could go back to a client to revisit work that died and say, ‘We tested this spot in front of the toughest audience in the world – a bunch of cynical, jaded agency folks – and it crushed. You should consider making it.’ And then the client actually buys in. That’s the dream.”

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​Read more from Addison Capper here.