D&AD 2015 Winners Announced

The who's who of advertising and design attended a swanky event held by D&AD last night to announce the 53rd annual Professional Pencil winners in 2015.

Hosted by chief executive Tim Lindsay and radio DJ Jo Whiley (below) the presentation took place after a champagne reception and three course meal at the Battersea Park venue for what became the most awarded year in D&AD's history.

It was also a significant night as Graphite and Wood Pencils made their debut, replacing traditional Nomination' and 'In Book' achievements respectively.

Leo Burnett Chicago/London/Toronto and Holler London's #LikeAGirl campaign, which sought to change negative perceptions of the phrase 'like a girl', was the most awarded piece of work on the night - with two Yellow, three Graphite and two Wood Pencils in addition to a Black.

Black Pencils

There were five Black Pencil winners in total including the Always campaign. 4Creative won the coveted award for its Film4 Idents series, Made Thought won for G. F Smith, Inglorious Fruits & Vegetables from Marcel Worldwide triumphed and Colenso BBDO's K9FM radio campaign also received a Black Pencil.

This Award proved more difficult than ever to win this year, with just 44 Yellow Pencil winners and the five Blacks being awarded.

White Pencils

There were four White Pencils given out at the ceremony on Thuesday evening. Winners included LEGO's Everything is NOT Awesome campaign from Don't Panic London to challenge Shell's partnership with the much-loved toy brand, This Is Wholesome from Droga5 also won, Nazi's Against Nazis - Germany's most involuntary charity walk by Constanze Spross picked up an award, as well as Human Traffic Sign by Lowe China receiving a White Pencil.

Overall

On the night R/GA was crowned the Most Awarded Advertising Agency, with two Yellow Pencils and a string of Graphite and Woods for its work with clients including Beats By Dre, Google, Hammerhead Navigation and Equinox.

The second and third places are held by AMV BBDO and Leo Burnett London respectively in 2015.

Design Bridge claimed Most Awarded Design Agency, Procter & Gamble emerged as Most Awarded Client in 2015 and Somesuch walked away with Most Awarded Production Company, winning a Yellow Pencil for Honda Type R The Other Side, one of the most talked about campaigns of the year.

The UK tops the country table again with 229 Pencils in total, including seven Yellow Pencils and two Blacks. The US came second bagging one Black Pencil and equalling the UK's seven Yellows.

President's Award

D&AD President, Mark Bonner (below), selected celebrated co-designer of Britain's iconic motorway signs and RCA Tour, Margaret Calvert, to receive the President's Award in 2015. She came up with simple, easy-to-understand pictograms, including the signs for 'men at work' (a man digging), which revolutionised public signage in the UK.

Next Awards

Winners for two new awards, separate to the Professional Awards, were also announced. The Next Photographer Award, created in partnership with Getty Images to find the best new photographers and promote them back to the creative industry, was won by Brooklyn-based talent Jeff Brown.

The Next Director Award, created in partnership with YouTube and MOFILM to unearth the best new directorial talent, was given to Vania Heymann for his music video Mayokero.

For a full list of Professional Pencil winners visit D&AD's website.