Adland Live at D&AD Festival, Part One

Last year D&AD was an exhibition. We walked through lofty sun-draped halls, respectfully appreciating the magic of creativity. This year, it’s a raucous circus. My first impression on entering the Old Truman Brewery and grabbing a beautifully designed festival programme was of being utterly and breathlessly overwhelmed. There’s simply so much going on. It crashes over you, a wave, again and again. You want to be in ten different places as once. What was once ‘Judging Week’, an affair with a certain degree of solemnity and thoughtful appreciation, has been transformed into an absolute festival in the truest sense of the word. A quick Wiktionary search reveals that festival comes from ‘fēstus’ – of feasts. And it is a feast, an all-you-can-eat buffet of speakers across multiple stages, exhibitions, training workshops, exhibitors, secret hubs in hidden corners and a ‘Fringe Festival’ taking place at agencies all across London. It’s Judging Week dialed up to 11; young people stream around the building alongside throngs of agency staffers and experienced judges. It’s a carnival. It’s a maze. It’s a whole new beast.

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