nets Digital Craft prize

THE Digital Craft Grand Prix for 2023 has gone to ‘Never Done Evolving’, an AKQA campaign on behalf of Nike,

WITH PURPOSE” featuring tennis icon Serena Williams.

Jury president Resh Sidhu, global director of Arcadia Creative Studio, Snap Inc, said: “This was a remarkable year for Digital Craft, with more than 600 entries. The sheer breadth of creativity from around the world was phenomenal.”

AI, machine learning and ChatGPT were prevalent, said Sidhu, “but what we quickly realised is that tech alone is not enough. It needs to be tech with purpose.”

This was exemplified by the winner, which used AI and data analytics to create rich insights into the playing career of Serena Williams. At a PR and marketing level, there have been interesting stunts — such as an AI-generated showdown between Serena at the outset of her career and Serena towards the twilight of her playing days. The campaign was, said Sidhu, “the epitome of digital craft — where the technology was just a tool that helped the final campaign resonate at a human level.”

There were three Gold Lions, for campaigns from the US, Brazil and a US/UK joint venture.

THE Design Grand Prix for 2023 has gone to McCann New York and Microsoft for helping the Fulani people of West Africa preserve their traditional language Pulaar. Through a collaboration with the Barry Brothers, they helped create an alphabet ADLaM for the Fulani’s spoken language — which was at risk of dying out.

Jury president Quinnton Harris, co-founder & CEO, Retrospect, said: “The design in this entry is undeniable. It’s not just an example of design helping preserve a culture, but of design providing a platform for it to TURN TO PAGE 7