Denver 50 competition promises to add cachet to Colorado’s creative community

There’s been surprisingly little buzz about Colorado’s new ad competition. So I guess it's time I add my own. This new competition has a simple but big idea behind it: give just 50 awards. As the New Denver Ad Club puts it, it is...

America’s first ideacentric award show. You submit your idea, and as many executions as you need to help describe it. Our judges will pick the best 50. And we’ll put out a showbook and website to show the world that when it comes to advertising in the year 2007, Denver rules.

The concept for this structure came about last year as the New Denver Ad Club was forming. The group wanted a competition that would be meaningful beyond Colorado, something that would avoid the tired structure that dolls out hundreds of awards in dozens of categories. In my opinion, that format rightfully died with the old Denver Ad Club.

The show has already turned some heads. With a call for entries expected any day now and judging scheduled for September, bigtime creatives are lining up to be the first judges, including:

• Mike Byrne, CD and partner at NYC's Anomaly
• Kevin Roddy ECD at Bartle Bogle Hegarty, NY
• Robert Rasmussen, CD at JWT, NY
• Jason Zada, ECD and founder at EVB, SF