Hasta La Ideas

After the reaction to last year’s campaign for its New Blood event, D&AD has taken a different tack with its latest promotional work. The posters still feature prominent members of the creative community, but each is depicted at the point of ending it all: the quality of the New Blood on the horizon proving too much to bear…

Promoting D&AD’s showcase of the best student work is a tricky job. While the spotlight is firmly on the graduates, will showing one student piece on a poster convey the wide range of projects on show; or be appealing enough to attract the visitors from the wider creative industry?

While the organisation obviously wants to celebrate the quality of its membership (and add an aspirational quality to what being at New Blood might bring a young graduate), at the same time this can run the risk of appearing too elitist and clubby. Indeed, last year, the general feeling from commenters on the CR Blog was that the 2009 posters appeared rather pompous, with various creatives announcing their attendence at New Blood – the idea being that catching their eye, meeting with their approval, could lead to a great career.

But, understandably, it’s famous faces that get the interest up. In the new campaign (“Sorry old blood, the new blood has arrived”), shot by David Stewart and designed by NB: Studio, there’s certainly an interesting spin on how the creative elite might react once the students unveil their work. Gun to the head? Exhaust pipe through the car window? Rather cleverly, it actually flips last year’s controversial tagline on its head, with each creative seemingly declaring, “I won’t be there.”

As ever, we will be at New Blood this year and will be sure to feature some of the best work we see on the CR blog.

D&AD New Blood takes place at the Old Truman Brewery E1 6QR from Thursday 24 until Monday 28 June, as part of the Free Range season. Graduates of more than 50 different courses from universities around the UK are exhibiting this year.

Michael Wolff: making way for the New Blood. Text, top right, reads: NB: Michael Wolff was not harmed during the making of this poster. And anyway, he wouldn’t be seen dead in a German brand.

Text, top right, reads: NB: Alex Taylor was not harmed during the making of this poster and continues to Art Direct at the very highest level.

Text, top right, reads: NB: Al Young and Al Young were not harmed during the making of this poster and will live to be Al Old and Al Old.

Text, top right, reads: NB: Dick Powell was not harmed during the making of this poster but the toast was toast.

Text, top right, reads: NB: Laura Jordan Bambach was not harmed during the making of this poster, but sadly, the Mac didn’t make it.

Text, top right, reads: NB: Paul Davis was not harmed during the making of this poster but now prefers working with very soft crayons.

Text, top right, reads: NB: Peter Hale didn’t suffer any grievous bodily harm during the making of this poster and continues to work at GBH.