Every year, strategy devotes time during the Agency of the Year celebrations to the showreels, videos the shortlisted agencies use to self-promote, poke fun at the industry and slip a few filthy words into the proceedings. If you missed the gala on Wednesday, be sure to check out this year’s winners, and then scroll down to see highlights of what the audience in attendance got to enjoy.

Zulu Alpha Kilo

Indie agencies using their showreel to reassert how much they value their independence is becoming something of a tradition during AOY. This year, Zulu Alpha Kilo takes up the fight through the metaphor of a lemonade stand owned by a young man named Billy.

John St.

Another Agency of the Year, another “new offering” from John St.: Decksecution, a service based on the idea that a solid deck can sell anything, from diarrhea-inducing chips to dog vapes.

Edelman

Some heads turned when Edelman, traditionally known as a PR agency, found its way to the main Agency of the Year shortlist. Apparently, it wasn’t just the ad industry that had thoughts about the accomplishment.

Ogilvy Canada

In a similarly self-aware vein, Ogilvy got its own lineup of recognizable faces congratulating the agency for landing on the shortlist again – although it was tempered with a healthy dose of foreshadowing regarding their chances.

Anomaly

The Agency of the Year gala brings some of the best and brightest in the industry into one room. While some see it as a networking opportunity, and others a chance to celebrate with peers, Anomaly had one thing on its mind: recruitment.

Cossette

Cossette used its showreel to profess another round of its “agency crushes.”

Sid Lee

One agency crush seems to stand out from the rest, as Cossette’s love for Sid Lee’s work over the last year, apparently, warranted its own video.

The&Partnership

While a couple agencies talked about the feeling you get when you see someone else come up with a brilliant idea, The&Partnership managed to describe it in a single word.

FCB Canada

FCB used its time on screen to highlight exactly why Free The Bid – an initiative to include at least one women director in every commercial bid – is needed in creative industries.

Lg2

Lg2 also took a charitable approach with its showreel. If you think QR codes are bit old at this point, well, there’s a connection to the cause Lg2 chose to support. If you think you’re too old to know how QR codes work, we’ll make it easy for you.

Taxi

While we are loathe to create more work for ourselves, a spinoff magazine dedicated to the unique challenges of junior staff – finding the free food, coming to terms with the kinds of assignments your resource manager keeps giving you – does seem like it would fill a vital role in the industry.

Union

Speaking of juniors, Union used its time – and probably a bit too much money – to give props to all the people who it couldn’t get into the gala on Wednesday.

Rethink

And finally, this year’s Agency of the Year winner might be celebrating its 20th anniversary, but as this late-night retro infomercial suggests, Rethink may have come from humble beginnings.