D&AD tends to pride themselves on its high standard for success, and for the 2021 edition of its awards, two Canadian agencies managed to clear the bar for a Yellow Pencil.

Ogilvy Toronto won its Yellow Pencil (the D&AD equivalent to a Gold) for the Dove “Courage is Beautiful” campaign, in the Press category. Created in collaboration with its U.K. office, the campaign features close-up shots of frontline workers whose faces bear the lines and creases caused by wearing PPE for hours on end. The campaign also won a pair of Graphite Pencils (equivalent to a Silver) in the Photography and Poster categories.

Also earning a Yellow Pencil was Toronto creative branding agency Concrete, which won in the Branding category for its work on “about-face,” a makeup brand from musician Halsey. The agency created a design system that could fittingly be “remixed” for each new product release, while retaining the core brand elements.

Concrete also won a Wood Pencil (equivalent to a Bronze) for work with another cosmetics brand, MOB Beauty, in the Packaging Design category.

A total of 10 Canadian agencies, design firms and production houses won at least one Pencil during the two-day virtual ceremony, the full list of which can be found below.

Outside of the main awards, one of only five Future Impact Pencils awarded in D&AD’s student competition went to Miami Ad School Toronto students Aman Soin and Amira Moussa. The creative team won for “Google Access,” an imagined initiative that would allow people with mobility-related disabilities to plan accessible routes on Google Maps, as well as filter search results to find businesses with things like accessible bathrooms, ramps and elevators.

D&AD awarded three of its elusive Black Pencils this year. One went to AMV BBDO (which also won Agency of the Year honours) for “#WombStories,” a campaign for feminine hygiene brand Libresse that focused on the work of animators who have wombs, as they also dealt with the realities of being a parent.

McCann New York won a Black Pencil for Mastercard’s “True Name” campaign, which supported the rights of transgender people to use their chosen names on credit cards.

FCB Chicago took the third Black Pencil for “Boards of Change,” a campaign for the City of Chicago that used the plywood that boarded up businesses during Black Lives Matter protests to create voting booths in a push to get residents to register to vote and affect change at the polls, in addition to on the streets.

Ogilvy Toronto: 1 Yellow, 2 Graphite

Yellow

Dove (Unilever), “Courage is Beautiful”
Press & Outdoor (Press Campaigns)

Graphite

Dove (Unilever), “Courage is Beautiful”
Photography (Portraits)
Press & Outdoor (Poster Campaigns)

Concrete: 1 Yellow, 1 Wood

Yellow

Halsey, “about-face”
Branding (New Branding Schemes)

Wood

MOB Beauty, “MOB Beauty Package Design”
Packaging Design (Materials)

Leo Burnett Toronto: 2 Graphite

Graphite

Gender Creative Kids, “The Genderless Poster”
Graphic Design (Posters)

Milk-Bone, “You Choose What They Chew”
Press & Outdoor (Press Campaign)

Cossette: 1 Graphite, 2 Wood

Graphite

Amnesty International, “Write For Your Rights”
Press & Outdoor (Poster Campaigns)

Wood

Amnesty International, “Write For Your Rights”
Illustration (Posters)
Press & Outdoor (Press Campaigns)

FCB Toronto: 1 Graphite, 1 Wood

Graphite

BMO, “Financial Fairness”
Impact (Advertising)

Wood

BMO, “Financial Fairness”
Impact (Initiatives)

Giant Ant: 1 Graphite

Graphite

Airbnb, “Airbnb Combating Discrimination”
Animation (2D Computer Generated)

Telescope Films Canada: 1 Graphite

Graphite

Simon Leoza, “La Nuée”
Music Videos (Direction)

Rethink: 8 Wood

Wood

Heinz Ketchup (Kraft Heinz Canada), “Draw Ketchup”
Packaging Design (Promotional)

Heinz Ketchup (Kraft Heinz Canada), “Heinz Ketchup Puzzle”
Direct (Printed Materials)
Direct (Product & Service)
Media Events & Stunts

Heinz Ketchup (Kraft Heinz Canada), “Pour Perfectly”
Branding (Tactical)
Experiential (Retail)

IKEA, “The Last Catalogue”
Magazine & Newspaper Design (Special Issues)

Molson Canadian (Molson Coors), “Make It Canadian”
Experiential (Community)

123w: 1 Wood

Wood

Vancouver Mural Festival, “You’ll Get It When You See It”
Press & Outdoor (Poster Campaigns)

Wedge: 1 Wood

Wood

Swirl, “Swirl Branding”
Branding (Logos)