New awards show lines up all-female jury

A new advertising awards show has launched with an all-female jury to combat the lack of diversity in creative awards.

The Gerety Awards were founded by Joe Brooks and Lucía Ongay, who both previously worked at the Epica Awards as global sales director and global press manager respectively. The scheme is named after copywriter Mary Frances Gerety, who coined the well-known strapline "A diamond is forever" for De Beers in 1948. 

So far, 139 women have signed on as jurors for the global awards. Representatives from APAC include Merlee Cruz-Jayme of Dentsu Jayme SyFu, Kainaz Karmaker of Ogilvy Mumbai, Damisa Ongsiriwattana of Sour Bangkok, Rebecca Carrasco of Saatchi & Saatchi Australia.

Judging will take place in 10 cities, including Beirut, London, Mumbai, New York and Sydney, between 27 May and 13 June. The shortlist will be announced in mid-June. Winners will be unveiled in mid-July, but there will be no awards ceremony. 

The Gerety Awards will have just nine categories – fewer than typical advertising awards. The scheme will also support diversity initiatives such as SheSays and Project Noir. 

Ongay said: "Does the world really need another awards show? No. The world really needs a new kind of awards show. Our jury will redefine what is traditionally perceived as ‘normal’ for the advertising industry."

Entry fee starts from €270 per category.