"The world doesn't need another healthcare agency."

These are the words of Wendy Levine, in her signature no bullshit tone, after a nonchalant sip of coffee. Wendy, 21GRAMS President, and one of my favorite people, was not wrong. There are literally thousands of advertising agencies, hundreds of which specialize in health.

It can sound like a disadvantage to any new kid on the block (except Donnie Wahlberg, nothing rattles him). But in an industry where it's tough to tell one agency named after 1 or 3 guys from another, a blank slate can be a pretty powerful thing. It forces you to take a step back and find answers to existential questions most haven’t considered in years, maybe decades: Why do we exist? What’s the problem we’re here to solve? And since when did “circle back” become the most commonly used phrase in the English language? Are we not “touching base” anymore? I can't keep up.

The point is, if you’re just going to do the same thing, the same way, don't be surprised if the internet shows you a grid and asks you to select all the squares with street signs. Because you may be a robot.

In a world with this many agencies specializing in health, filled with what I'd imagine to be an incredible amount of talent, it's time to ask ourselves: Why do the insights feel so general? Why do we only try to understand people through a one way mirror? Why does the majority of the work we see still feel flat, cold, and contrived in comparison to the personal, emotionally-charged subject matter we're dealing with? Yeah, you can blame regulations. But the real problem is habit, inertia, and the laziest string of words ever put together: It is what it is.

No, the world doesn't need another healthcare agency. But it could use new ones, to push new thinking - or question the old - if we're serious about elevating this industry to its rightful place among advertising's elite.

Whatever pushes you, follow it.

I know what you’re thinking: Is this an article or a bad motivational poster? To be honest, if you print it out and add a picture of a smiling bulldog on a skateboard, it can be either. Dealer’s choice.

But for many, that something inside that pushes for better work is the allure of awards. Which is a pretty popular, occasionally hot-button topic on LinkedIn. And being that I'm already here, have a perspective (right or wrong I really don’t know), and a captive audience that may or may not be able to fit inside an elevator, it can't hurt to put it out there.

To summarize the dynamic of awards: The agencies that are winning love them; the ones that are losing say they're stupid and superficial (until they win); and clients, for the most part, don't really care so long as they're getting good work.

In reality, there's not a whole lot of glory in winning something like the MM&M Award for Best Banner Ad. You get the all-agency congratulations email, maybe; a couple of likes here; and a trophy that (no offense, MM&M) looks like it was found in a 90s time capsule next to instructions on how to do The Macarena. Or like the free gift you'd get in the mail for buying a pleather couch and a houseplant. Not the most prestigious symbol of creative prowess to display on a shelf.

But then there are the international award shows (Cannes and Clios, for example), with carefully vetted, discerning judges who have seen and accomplished it all. They are hand-picked from around the globe, take the responsibility and commitment of recognizing the best of the best incredibly seriously, and have gotten to where they are by objectively knowing the difference between good and great. 21GRAMS' own Jeannine Doumar, one of the most talented copywriters/CDs in health (and in my biased opinion, the world) will be a judge at the Clios this year. She's like Simon Cowell, if his 23andMe didn't come back 10% British, 90% A-hole.

The ideas that do well in shows like these create a baseline of what truly great and meaningful work looks like. The winners are the case studies that travel around the industry - serving as inspiration in internal meetings, and as examples of the steadily rising bar. In this sense, there's no doubt that awards push the industry forward. Is it a level playing field? No, not always.

To pull back the curtain, imagine childhood sports. When someone's mom or dad is the coach of their soccer team, they get more playing time (whether they're great or not). Same principle applies to awards. Whoever the President of the Jury is can frame the criteria to play to their network's advantage, eeking out some medals for a few okay pieces that may have otherwise been panned.

Another challenge is the pro-bono work. As good as some of it is, too much of what's entered (not just in health, but in advertising as a whole) teeters way too close to being scam ads. This makes it pretty hard for a branded piece, made for a “real” client, to compete with an idea that an agency came up with, paid for, and gave to a nonprofit for free. In one sense, it's okay, because it should be hard. In another, it can be little bit sleazy – if the purpose is clearly more for an award than sincerely helping a cause. But in defense of those who do it, it's all part of the game.

These are things the best shows try to avoid. Well... in the same way baseball tried to avoid steroids in the Sammy Sosa/Mark McGwire days. With enough of an attempt to say they tried. But not enough to risk losing the crowd.

Overall, the good of these awards far outweighs the bad. They're great for our industry. As a newer agency that hasn't yet entered, I can only speak for 21GRAMS in saying - whether we go on to win Lions, Emmys, or nothing - awards are nice. But for us, will never be a purpose, identity, or barometer of whether or not we're good at what we do. Our parents already told their friends we are, so all the important people already know. And there's something to be said for just proving it to clients.

At the end of the day, awarded work accounts for about 1% of the work in our industry, if that. If we're ever going to impact the other 99% that most people see (much of which is ignored, skipped, or parodied) we can't just do better work individually - we have to change our approach, and challenge ourselves to do better, more relevant, emotionally-driven work across the board.

In the next article, we'll talk about one way to do it.

Postscript.

To follow 21GRAMS on LinkedIn, and get all our latest content click here. Want to learn more about 21GRAMS and our philosophy? Go to 21gramsny.com

And if you've really got time on your hands, read 21 Cannes-winning ideas that prove the existence of a soul (or) That time I procrastinated by writing an article on LinkedIn. In retrospect, it should have been 11-16 ideas shorter but, well, it's not.