The 2021 cookywook Social Awards — Nominees!

The marketing industry loves awards. From Webbys to Drum Awards to Cannes Lions, there’s no shortage of backslapping around these parts. But there’s a problem.

To you and I, the laymen, these awards appear to be celebrations of the very best in creativity and ingenuity — right? A fair and democratic recognition of the most outstanding work by virtue of metric alone.

SO HOW COME THESE COST MONEY TO ENTER?

Like, who is paying £350 plus VAT to possibly not even win some award? (That’s a rhetorical question, we know who’s paying for these). It’s a bit of a barefaced racket, made all the barer by the existence of “early bird” discounts if you pay early enough to enter a category you might not even win.

And surely it undermines the entire purpose of ‘awards’ if the entrants are voluntary? Like how can you say you did the ‘best’ social campaign if you’re only nominated in the first place because you’ve paid The Drum £300?

It results in weird things like work you’ve never even heard of getting all the accolades. And bizarre oversights like nobody talking about the Weetabix bean tweet.

In short, marketing awards as they stand are a bit messy. And they fail to recognise genuinely outstanding work.

SO, I’m announcing the 2021 cookywook social awards. A tonic to the stuffy pay-to-enter awards. You enter just by POSTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA. I pick nominees from PEOPLE WHO HAVE POSTED ON SOCIAL…