2025 ADCC Awards

The ADCC Awards celebrate the best in Canadian creativity.

Unique among Canadian creative award shows, our non-profit organization assembles panels of international judges who thoughtfully and methodically vote for Canada's best creative work. From the very start, we've encouraged only the highest-quality work, regardless of monetary success or politics, helping shape the legacy of Canadian creativity.

The results of the 2025 ADCC Awards determine the recipients of our prestigious Scarlet Letter Awards for Agency of the Year, Small Agency of the Year, Design Agency of the Year, Design Studio of the Year, and Production Company of the Year. The Scarlet Letter Awards recognize creative excellence across an entire agency or firm based on the ADCC national awards competition results.

KEY DATES

Wednesday, April 16 - Call for entries open

Friday, June 6 - Deadline for entries

Friday, June 13 - ADCC Member deadline for entries

Monday, June 30 - Deadline for physical submissions (specific Design categories)

July to September - Judging

October - Shortlists announced

Thursday, November 6 - Winners announced at the 2025 ADCC Awards show

Eligibility

The Advertising & Design Club of Canada’s Awards exist to recognize Canadian creative talent.

This means that the individual creatives responsible are the technical recipients of our awards. For most categories, this means that the creative team must be Canadian and based in Canada. For specific craft categories, individuals and/or their associated companies would be the recipient and must also be Canadian/based in Canada. Generally, this means that agencies and studios submitting their work must be Canadian and based in Canada. We do allow for the participation of non-Canadians in the creation of work entered, but eligibility and whether an entry qualifies depends on the category and certain criteria.

Eligibility Requirements:

Work must have been first published or aired between May 2024 and June 2025 inclusive, unless noted otherwise

Work from May-June 2024 that was entered into the 2024 ADCC Awards cannot be entered into this year’s competition, unless noted otherwise.

Agencies and studios submitting work must be Canadian and based in Canada

At least 50% of the creative team must be Canadian, based in Canada

Work for non-Canadian clients is eligible as long as the agency/studio and creative team are Canadian, based in Canada

Canadian creatives living abroad may enter work as long as the client is Canadian

For inter-office/network collaborations, the core creative team must be based in Canada

Credits for inter-office/network collaborations must be consistent across all award shows, including international shows

For specific craft categories, the recipient is the individual and must be Canadian, based in Canada (photographer, illustrator, typographer, director, editor, cinematographer, etc)

For specific craft categories, the recipient is the company and team, and must be Canadian, based in Canada (animation, special effects, music, sound, casting)

If you are still unsure whether your work meets the requirements for entry, please contact us before entering your work.

By submitting your work, you acknowledge that you have read and understood these eligibility requirements.

Work that is disqualified due to eligibility issues will not be refunded.

Conditions

The Advertising & Design Club of Canada (ADCC) is not responsible for damage or loss of any entry. All entries become the property of The ADCC. By submitting them, you acknowledge The ADCC’s right to use them for exhibition and publication purposes, including publication online. Judges reserve the right to correct or change the category of an entry where applicable. Entrants may be asked to resubmit winning work for exhibition.

All entrants must submit an Executive Approval Form with their entries. This form must be filled out by the Creative Director or other lead creative responsible for your entries. Only one form is required per entrant/company. Forms can be emailed to awards@theadcc.ca.

It is the entrant’s responsibility to ensure that work is submitted on time, with proper credits and assets required for judging, and to ensure that work is not submitted as duplicates. Entrants may be contacted to confirm eligibility, supply new or supplementary assets, or if any other issue arises.

By submitting your work, you acknowledge that you have read and understood these conditions of entry.

Judging

The ADCC Awards are judged by panels of international creative professionals. Juries will be announced prior to judging.

Results

Generally, there will be no more than one Gold award in each of the competition categories. The Club will provide a Gold award statue to the individual or company who paid the entry fee. The Club will also provide printed certificates for Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners to the individual or company who paid the entry fee. Winners may purchase additional certificates or statues through The ADCC.

Winners will be announced at the 2025 ADCC Awards on November 6, 2025.
All winning work will be featured online on the ADCC Archive.