FAQs

Ad agencies, publishers, graphic designers, photographers, freelance designers, illustrators, producers, directors, web designers and corporate art departments may submit original design, advertisements, marketing or art pieces. We receive entries from firms of all sizes and specialties, in the United States and nearly everywhere else!

Last year’s competition brought in entries from 44 different countries and 44 states of the US. From Ogilvy and AKQA to independent designers and photographers, we receive entries from a diverse group with everyone winning their fair share of trophies.

Instructors and professors may submit work on behalf of a student. Student work will be evaluated separately from professional work. NEW for our 40th year – students will also have the opportunity to earn Platinum, Gold or Silver award levels for their entries!

Anyone involved with the creation of the advertisement or design work may submit the entry.

A panel of advertising and graphic design professionals who meet deadlines and budgets on a daily basis judges the Creativity International Awards. They understand your challenges and the lengths to which you go to overcome them. Creativity International Awards makes a special effort to obtain judges representing the demographics of our competitors – judges from East Coast agencies, West Coast agencies, international agencies, freelancers, educators and creative directors have all taken part in our panels over the years. See this year’s judges here.

All entrant information is removed to prevent bias and scores are assigned by the panel on a scale of 1-10. Scores are computer tabulated and averaged to prevent error. The entry in a category that receives the top average score but is no lower than 7.5 receives our Platinum Award; the top 10% of scores no lower than 5.5 are awarded Gold; the top 25% of scores no lower than 5.5 and do not receive Gold are awarded Silver, and all other entries receiving average scores over 5.5 and not receiving Gold or Silver are given Honorable Mention. Our most prestigious honor, the Platinum Award, is reserved for the Best of Category—except in the case of a tie, only one trophy will be awarded per category. Creativity International Awards will contact winners within 30 days after judging concludes.

Media Competition winners receive:

• 2 professionally designed certificates commemorating the winning entry.


• Winning entries shown on the Creativity Media Awards website for one year.


• Winning entries published in the Creativity Awards Annual Book that is available in all major bookstores internationally.


• Published in the Creativity Awards iPad App with link back to company/agency site.


• Press release sent to major industry outlets.


• Professionally designed icons for use on websites, email signatures, etc.


• Platinum Winner ("Best in Category") may order additional certificates and platinum trophies.


• Platinum Winner ("Best in Category") displayed in traveling winner's exhibit.


• Gold Winner may order additional certificates and gold trophies.


• Gold Winner displayed in traveling winner's exhibit.


• Silver Winner may order additional certificates and silver trophies.


• Honorable Mention winner may order additional certificates.


• Complimentary copy of the Creativity Annual Awards Book (winner only pays shipping & handling). Additional copies also available for purchase at a discounted price.


• Option to purchase "Winners Library" - a complete branded online listing/display of all wins from Creativity International over the years - great for self promotion! Contact Creativity to learn more.

Print Competition winners receive:

• 2 professionally designed certificates commemorating the winning entry.


• Winning entries published in the Creativity Awards Annual Book that is available in all major bookstores internationally.


• Published in the Creativity Awards iPad App with link back to company/agency site.


• Press release sent to major industry outlets.


• Professionally designed icons for use on websites, email signatures, etc.


• Platinum Winner ("Best in Category") may order additional certificates and platinum trophies.


• Platinum Winner ("Best in Category") displayed in traveling winner's exhibit.


• Platinum winning entries displayed on website for one year.


• Gold Winner may order additional certificates and gold trophies.


• Gold Winner displayed in traveling winner's exhibit.


• Silver Winner may order additional certificates and silver trophies.


• Honorable Mention winner may order additional certificates.


• Complimentary copy of the Creativity Annual Awards Book (winner only pays shipping & handling). Additional copies also available for purchase at a discounted price.


• Option to purchase "Winners Library" - a complete branded online listing/display of all wins from Creativity International over the years - great for self promotion! Contact Creativity to learn more.


All winning companies receive 1 complimentary copy of the Creativity Awards Annual Book - winner must pay shipping & handing only.

You can save money by entering online. The system allows for you to upload files of 10MB each. Physical samples are not required, but sending actual samples of your work is the best way for the judges to fairly evaluate the quality and workmanship of your entry.

If you are sending samples you can save money when you ship your entries by not having to mount them. Please send the entry or entries in a sturdy box or pack. All physical entries must be accompanied by a hi-res digital file that has either been uploaded or is included on a CD/DVD.

Media Submission Methods (all pretty self explanatory):

1. Mail entry with CD/DVD of digital file (if your files are too big to upload)


2. Provide url to entry


3. Upload high res digital image

Print Submission Methods:

1. Mail entry and not supply image
   Select this method if you have an entry and do not have a digital file available. No worries! We will
   send out for photography or scanning if the entry wins.


2. Mail entry and upload hi-res image
   Select this method if you are sending a physical sample of the entry but also uploading a hi-res image of under 10 MB to be used online and in the Creativity Awards Book if the the entry wins.


3. Mail entry with CD/DVD of digital file
   Select this method if you are sending a physical sample of the entry but your hi-res images
   are over 10 MB and are on a CD/DVD. This method can also be selected if only sending a CD/DVD of
   the entry because the files are too large to upload.


4. Upload hi-res digital file
   If you are sending images only for the judges to review - select this option. Easy peasy!

Entering the 41st Creativity competition is easy. Entrants can submit entries online through a secure account that can be accessed anywhere in the world, anytime.

The online system will allow you to input data and upload digital files, create entry forms, entry labels, and an invoice, should you choose to ship your entries. You can check on the status of your account anytime until the Call for Entries expires.

The first step is to set up a user account using your e-mail—click this link to enter the Creativity International Awards. After entering your contact information, you can log in anytime using your e-mail address and password. There are five steps in the Main Menu:

Step 1: Complete/Update Contact Info
Step 2: Add an Entry
Step 3: Edit Entries/Print Entry Forms
Step 4: Print Entry Labels
Step 5: Pay Invoice/Print Master Form

Check out the complete walk-through of the online competition system.

Credit card payments are accepted through our online system or through the mail. Checks may be mailed with an entry if accompanied by an invoice generated by the submission system. Please make checks payable to Creativity International Awards.

International advertisers and designers can pay using wire-transfer. There is a charge of $20 to cover bank fees. Wire transfer information will be shown on the payment page of the submission site.

You may ship your entries with a manual entry form. All entries must eventually be put into the online system - we do prefer that you enter your own information so there are no mistakes on your entry.
If you are resolutely against using the online system yourself a manual entry form can be obtained by contacting us at [email protected] All other entry requirements remain the same.

All entries for the Print Competition must be submitted along with a high-resolution (350 dpi) .PDF, .TIF, .JPEG or .EPS file with all fonts embedded. This will ensure a quality reproduction in the 400-page, full color Creativity Awards Annual Book.

Please note that for the Print Competition, uploaded entries will be output in color at 8 " x 11" size. Feel free to submit a sample copy for judging. Do not ship an entry in digital format only; please include a tearsheet or proof.

We accept digital files in all standard graphic formats, such as .eps, .tif and .jpg files. A PDF document is less likely to corrupt during processing, and since it is considerably smaller than the original native file, you will find the upload time to be shorter. Do not send raw files.

For video, television and motion graphic entries, we accept .wav and mp3 files as well as DVD NTSC (viewable on standard DVD players in North America). Each single entry must be submitted on an individual disc. Campaigns should be edited together in one file with three seconds of black between each campaign piece. Uploaded campaigns may be in separate files if over 10MB. Beta format is not accepted. Computer-based formats such as Quicktime and Flash should have a maximum screen size of 1024 (h) x 768 (v). Radio commercials should be submitted as .wav or .aiff files on CD-ROM. Campaigns should be submitted as one file with at least three seconds of silence between each spot. We can accept many of the standard formats, including all those created by QuickTime, Windows Media, Real Audio, and Macromedia. File extensions include: .mov, .wav, .wmv, .wma, .avi, .asf, .mid, .aif, .mpg, .mp2, .mp3, .mpe, .m4A and .swf.

Entries in a language other than English must be accompanied by a translation. The translation must not be a synopsis, but a direct translation of the text of an advertisement, brochure, poster, etc. For non-English video entries, please dub or provide subtitles. For non-English audio entries, please provide either a transcript in the form of a digital file or a video file format that provides subtitles while the audio is playing.

Each item within a campaign is not assigned an individual entry ID. You may submit any number of pieces for each campaign entry. The entry labels generated from our online competition system will clearly show each piece as belonging to a campaign entry.

Peruse the entire category list before selecting the proper category. While Collateral Materials might encompass your entry, for example, you may find a more specific category later in the list. Select the category that you feel best describes the work. If you have a campaign that spans print, new media and television, you can submit it to the Integrated Campaign category in the Alternative Media division.

The administrator will reassign entries to a different category if appropriate.

Yes, you may enter the same advertisement, brochure, self-promotion piece, etc. in more than one category; however, each entry that you enter into a different category will assess an additional entry fee. Whether the entry is submitted online or shipped, it will require duplicate uploaded digital files or a duplicate copy of the shipped entry.

No category requires you to ship a copy of your entry—however, it is wise to ship a sample because it is the best way for the judges to fairly evaluate the quality and workmanship of your entry. We do require that you upload a high-resolution digital image for reproduction in the Creativity Awards Annual Book if you choose to ship an entry.

Please mail your entries to our entry processing address:

Creativity International Awards
c/o 41st Media Competition
2410 Frankfort Avenue
Louisville, KY 40206

Please remember to submit each entry using our online system. This will allow you to print entry forms and labels prior to shipping.

After the Call for Entries deadline all credit information—creative firm, client, and creative team—will be locked. This information will be posted online and printed in the Creativity Awards Annual Book exactly as entered in the online system. If mistakes are brought to our attention, we will deal with them on a case-by-case basis, and a charge for changes may apply.

Due to the large volume of entries received, winners will not be able to proof their winning entries prior to printing the Creativity Awards Annual Book. You can view all entry information using your secure, online account until the Call for Entries deadline.