Beyond the Pencil: Reflections on Judging the D&AD Awards

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A year ago, I knew very little about Public Relations.

At least, not in the way I understand it today.

After more than twenty years working across media, marketing, growth, and strategy, I joined a new kind of agency with a simple goal: to learn. I wanted to immerse myself in a discipline that sat adjacent to my own experience, absorb new ways of thinking, develop new skills, and better understand the intersection of earned media, culture, influence, and social impact.

Twelve months later, I found myself in London, sitting on the D&AD Awards jury for the PR category alongside some of the brightest minds in our industry.

The experience was both humbling and inspiring.

For more than six decades, D&AD has served as one of the creative industry's most respected institutions. While many know it for its iconic Pencils, what makes D&AD special extends far beyond the awards themselves. At its core, D&AD exists to inspire, nurture, and celebrate creative excellence. Through its educational programs, mentorship initiatives, talent development efforts, and commitment to elevating craft, it continues to invest in the future of our industry while establishing the standards that challenge all of us to do better work.

What struck me most throughout the judging process was the quality of thinking behind the work.

Across the PR categories, I saw campaigns that demonstrated exceptional creativity, strategic rigor, commercial effectiveness, and genuine social impact. Some delivered remarkable business results. Others shifted behaviors, challenged conventions, sparked conversations, or helped communities in meaningful ways. The strongest work reminded me that creativity is at its most powerful when it can simultaneously solve business problems, move culture forward, and create positive change.

But what inspired me most wasn't simply the work itself.

It was the people.

I had the privilege of serving alongside an extraordinary group of jurors whose backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives differed significantly from my own. The conversations were thoughtful. The debates were spirited. There were moments of unanimous admiration and moments of genuine disagreement. Yet every discussion was rooted in a shared commitment to excellence and a collective desire to recognize work that could elevate our industry.

 
 

One of the most valuable lessons I took away from the experience came during a discussion led by Tom Beckman. He shared a perspective that has stayed with me long after leaving London: our responsibility as jurors is not simply to identify the best work from the past year, but to collectively define what excellence should look like moving forward.

That idea fundamentally changed the way I viewed certain campaigns.

Like many people entering a jury room, I arrived with my own experiences, assumptions, and opinions about what great work looks like. Yet some of the most rewarding moments came when those assumptions were challenged. Through thoughtful debate and discussion, I found myself seeing campaigns through entirely different lenses; creative, cultural, commercial, and societal. More than once, I left a conversation with a deeper appreciation for a piece of work than I had when I first encountered it.

It reinforced something I've come to believe throughout my career: growth often happens when we are willing to listen to perspectives different from our own.

Beyond the PR jury room, one of the greatest gifts of the week was the opportunity to connect with judges from across the broader D&AD community. Between sessions, over coffee, during dinners, and in countless hallway conversations, I found myself surrounded by people whose work, generosity, and thinking I deeply admired. Designers, writers, strategists, filmmakers, technologists, creatives, innovators, and leaders from around the world openly shared ideas and experiences that challenged me to think differently about my own craft.

Those conversations reminded me why communities like D&AD matter.

The organization does more than celebrate creative achievement. It creates an environment where learning, mentorship, curiosity, and excellence can thrive. It brings together people who care deeply about ideas, craft, and impact, and provides a space where those ideas can be challenged, refined, and elevated.

As someone who has spent much of his career mentoring others, I was reminded how important it is to remain a student yourself.

No matter how much experience we accumulate, there is always another perspective to consider, another discipline to explore, another lesson waiting to be learned. Some of the most accomplished people in our industry continue to approach their work with curiosity and humility. That, perhaps more than anything else, was what I found most inspiring.

I left London with an immense sense of gratitude.

Gratitude for the opportunity to serve on the jury. Gratitude for the remarkable work I had the privilege to review. Gratitude for the conversations, debates, friendships, and lessons that emerged throughout the week. And gratitude to D&AD for continuing to create a community that not only celebrates creative excellence, but helps define what excellence can become.

A year ago, I joined a new agency hoping to learn something new. I came home from London reminded that the learning never stops.

— Sincerely, Boris