The 2025 New York Festivals Advertising Competition will be open for entries January 15, 2025.
If you have any questions, please contact us at Processing@newyorkfestivals.com. You can also call us at +1 (212) 271.5278. We'll be happy to help.
PDF of The Entry Guide, Rules & Categories coming soon.
We encourage entering as early as possible to make the judging process more efficient.
A separate fee is applied per each category selection.
Early entries are rewarded with lower fees.
OPEN FOR ENTRIES: JANUARY 15, 2025
SINGLE – $550
SINGLE PLUS – $650
CAMPAIGN –$1200
EARLY BIRD DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 8, 2025
SINGLE – $600
SINGLE PLUS – $700
CAMPAIGN – $1300
OFFICIAL DEADLINE: APRIL 25, 2025
SINGLE – $700
SINGLE PLUS – $800
CAMPAIGN – $1400
FINAL DEADLINE: MAY 9, 2025
SINGLE – $750
SINGLE PLUS – $850
CAMPAIGN – $1500
STUDENT ENTRY
$100 THROUGHOUT THE ENTRY PERIOD
Currency must be in USA Dollars made payable to INTERNATIONAL AWARDS GROUP, LLC. We accept credit card payment using VISA, MasterCard, and AMEX.
CREDIT CARD FEES
3% of total order for VISA and MasterCard.
3.2% of total order for AMEX.
SUBMISSION & PAYMENT
If you are submitting more than one entry, send only one payment for the total amount of all your entry fees. INTERNATIONAL AWARDS GROUP must receive payment information within 7 business days of completing your online entry submission in order to process entries.
WIRE (OR BANK) TRANSFER
A $150 US dollar fee will be applied to all Wire (or bank) transfer payments to cover intermediary bank fees.
This fee will be added to the total amount on your invoice.
Your invoice number and our bank transfer information will be available to you just after checkout. You will then be able to print your invoice for your accounting department so they can execute the transfer. If you have any questions about your invoice forward it to accounting@newyorkfestivals.com. Do not reply to invoice@newyorkfestivals.com
WE DO NOT CHARGE MEDIA HANDLING FEES, SALES TAX, OR VAT TAXES.
LATE ENTRY FEE
Any entry submitted after the official Final Deadline may be subject to a 10% Late Entry Processing Fee.
REFUND POLICY
Refunds of entry fees will only be granted if a written request is made within 14 days of submitting entries and then a $100 fee per entry will be charged to cover additional administrative costs. After 14 days, because entries will have been processed and entered into the system, no refunds will be granted but we will be able to block the entries from the judging schedule.
NO REFUNDS WILL BE MADE ONCE JUDGING BEGINS.
The Shortlist will be announced in advance of the winners announcement.
Winning Finalists will be informed of their status via email, and announced on our website, email blasts, social media platforms and through press releases to top publications in the industry.
The Best of Show, Grand Award, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Industry Awards will be decided by the Executive Jury.
Duplicates can be purchased through our store.
AWARD RANKING
BEST OF SHOW
GRAND AWARD
GOLD
SILVER
BRONZE
FINALIST
ELIGIBLE AIRING
To be eligible for the 2025 competition, entries must have been published or aired between January 1st, 2024, and May 9th, 2025.
JURY DISPOSITION
New York Festivals gives the jury the right to move an entry to a different category should they determine the work does not belong in the category in which it was originally entered. By moving the ad, the jury will agree it will receive an award equal to or higher than the one it was originally scheduled to receive.
SCAMGUARD
Our SCAMGUARD system encourages jury members to anonymously flag suspicious ads and include comments in support for their suspicions. Scam ads were never published or were published without the full knowledge and consent of the advertiser.
FLAGGED ENTRIES
Every flagged entry is investigated. Should the evidence prove the scam, the entry will be disqualified and the people listed in the credits of the entering company will be suspended from entering our competitions for three years.
When submitting your credits, be aware that if your entry is a Medal winner, the base of your Tower trophy will list the following details (45 characters per line):
- THE YEAR OF THE COMPETITION
- THE NAME OF THE ENTERING COMPANY
- NAME OF THE NETWORK/BRAND (IF ANY)
- THE TITLE OF THE ENTRY
- NAME OF THE CATEGORY
Finalists and Student Winners are to receive one diploma per their winning entry, containing the same details listed above, as well as the first ten credited individual names with their corresponding job titles.
All winning entry credits will be available online in our Winners Gallery. Additional names with job titles may be added during credit check or by request.
Entries that reach the Shortlist will be notified and given the opportunity to update and correct their credits and shipping addresses. If no corrections are made prior to final announcements, the credits and shipping information submitted during the entry process will be considered the credits of record.
Once winners have been announced, personalized trophies and customized diplomas (up to ten names and titles) may be purchased via our eStore. Any shipping costs and customs duties are paid by the winning entrant.
SINGLE
An individual piece of work.
2 FILE MAXIMUM
1 Main Execution + 1 Supplemental piece, such as a case video or case board. The supplemental supporting material cannot be an execution of work.
SINGLE PLUS
An individual piece of work, includes more space for supplemental material.
6 FILE MAXIMUM
1 Main Execution + up to 5 supplemental pieces.
NOTE: Multiple, separate, executions of work should be entered as a Campaign.
CAMPAIGN
A collection of related work in its entirety.
6 FILE MAXIMUM
Up to 6 Main Executions and/or Supplemental pieces. All will be considered in judging.
We are a creative awards competition; Individual entries are evaluated for their intrinsic merits - without comparing them with others. The number of entries in a category has no bearing on how each entry is scored by the jury. One, none, or more than one award may be given in any category. Each entry is, in effect, in competition with itself, and is measured by our international award-winning jury of experts using an industry-accepted standard of excellence.
THE JURY
Juries includes Founders, Chief Creative Officers, Chief Strategy Officers, CEO’s, Directors, Producers, CMO’s, Managing Partners, and top tier strategists and creatives all of whom are influential leaders at agencies and brands across all regions. Their industry experience provides entrants with an award-winning jury panel that is well versed in creating ground-breaking, award-winning work.
SCORING
Our judges are asked to evaluate each entry against the definition of the category group and category it is entered into. For the majority of our category groups, the judges score the work against the definitions on the 3 specific criteria listed below. For the category groups Creativity in Commerce, PR, and Future Now (the efficacy section), there is additional information required and differently weighted judging criteria, these changes are fully noted in the information accompanying each of those category group's details in the entry guide PDF.
40% IDEA/CONCEPT
35% BRAND RELEVANCE
25% EXECUTION
THE JUDGING PROCESS
Entries are judged in multiple rounds against high standards of creative execution and effectiveness to determine the Shortlist, and then Finalist, Medalist (GOLD, SILVER, and BRONZE), Grand Award, and Best of Show winners. Creative executions, details from the written brief, and the overall presentation of the work are taken into consideration.
ROUND 1: PRELIMINARY ROUND
Judges review entries and score each based on its own merit, not in comparison to other entries. This round determines the Shortlist.
ROUND 2: MEDAL ROUND
All Shortlist entries are scored again based on their own merits. This round determines the Bronze, Silver, and Gold winners.
The Grand Award will be presented to the entry in each category group that earns the highest score and is deemed worthy of a Grand Award by the Executive Jury. We do not mandate that the jury declare a Grand Award in each category group. Once a Grand Award is declared in a category group, it is eligible to be judged in the Best of Show session by the Executive Jury.
The Best of Show is awarded by the Executive Jury.
PLEASE UPLOAD CASE STUDY VIDEOS FIRST.
Must not be longer than three minutes in length. Any technical questions may be emailed to processing@newyorkfestivals.com
ACCEPTED FORMATS AND REQUIREMENTS
MOV AND MP4
We do not accept ProRes files.
MP3
May be uploaded in its original format.
PDF
Can contain one image or multiple. Magnification enabled within judging.
JPG/JPEG
Accepted but magnification unavailable. Vertical and horizontal images outside of a 4:3 (16:9) aspect ratio should be submitted as a PDF to provide the highest resolution.
WEBSITE URLS
You may submit a webpage as an entry or as supporting creative material. All links must stay active through July 2024, and must be direct links that do not require a login or password. To ensure fair and anonymous judging, websites cannot include the agency name.
If submitting from Youtube, Vimeo, Soundcloud or other streaming sites, please make sure your file is downloadable. If that is not an option, we will need the video or audio file for showcasing purposes, should your entry reach finalist status.
Please see the Entry Guide PDF to enter the NYF Advertising Awards competition. Once you have closed your carts, you will be able to input piece details and upload assets for your submissions.
STEP 1 - BASE INFORMATION
STEP 2 - ASSIGN CREDITS
STEP 3 - SELECT CATEGORY
STEP 4 - REVIEW
STEP 5 - MY CART
STEP 6 - CHECKOUT
STEP 7 - REVIEW & SUBMIT
STEP 8 - CONFIRMATION NUMBER
STEP 9 - PIECE DETAILS
TEXT FORMATTING
Winning entries will be showcased on our website exactly as they are entered, please make sure proper spelling and correct capitalization are used in the title, agency and brand name.
JURY BRIEF REQUIREMENT 800 Word Max. (See Step 9 below)
Use this section of the entry process to explain to the jury why your entry should win in the category chosen. This is your opportunity to include any additional context, descriptions, and/or statistics.
TRANSLATION Optional, Unlimited Space
We recommend including embedded translation in the film as clear, legible subtitles.
Ex: white letters on a black bar
If embedded subtitles are unavailable, please include complete written translations with your submission via the space provided in the entry form.
AUDIO
If your entry is not produced in English, please include a complete English script with your submission where indicated in the entry form.
WEBSITES
Translate only relevant menu sections, headlines and text.
STEP 1 - BASE INFORMATION
STEP 2 - ASSIGN CREDITS
STEP 3 - SELECT CATEGORY
STEP 4 - REVIEW
STEP 5 - MY CART
STEP 6 - CHECKOUT
STEP 7 - REVIEW & SUBMIT
Credit Card
Wire Transfer - $150 Fee
STEP 8 - CONFIRMATION NUMBER
STEP 9 - PIECE DETAILS
HOLDING COMPANY OF THE YEAR
Is awarded to the holding company that earned the highest combined score for all entries in all mediums, calculated from all points earned by its networks and agencies.
GLOBAL BRAND OF THE YEAR
Is awarded to a brand that earns the highest score for entries in all mediums and has distinguished itself through innovative and creative marketing while demonstrating effective communications.
GLOBAL AGENCY NETWORK OF THE YEAR
Is awarded to an advertising agency network that earns the highest score for entries in all mediums. For consideration to be part of a network, the company concerned must be wholly or majority owned by a network or associated with a network group through naming and/or branding.
REGIONAL AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Is awarded to an advertising agency that earns the highest score for entries in all mediums. The five regions of the world are North America, South America, Middle East/Africa, Europe and Asia/Pacific.
BOUTIQUE AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Is awarded to an agency unaffiliated with a large agency network, employs less than 75 people and has made an impact on the marketplace. In order to qualify for this award, the agency must win at least three different awards for three separate or individual entries. Finalist Awards do not apply. Single and Campaign entries do not count as separate entries. In the event no agency qualifies, this award will not be presented.
IN-HOUSE AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Is based on total points earned, the In-House Agency of the Year Award will be given to the in-house agency that obtains the highest score for entries in all categories across all mediums. Agencies must opt-in for In-House Agency of The Year during the entry process in order to qualify for this award. In order to win In-House Agency of The Year, the individual agency must win at least three awards for three separate or individual campaigns. The agency with the highest scoring entries in total will be awarded this honor.
BEST NEW AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Is based on total points earned and recognizes the impact upstart agencies less than four years old have on the marketplace and their ability to garner international exposure. In order to qualify for this award, the agency must win at least three different awards for three separate or individual entries. Finalist Awards do not apply. Single and Campaign entries do not count as separate entries. In the event no agency qualifies, this award will not be presented.
INDEPENDENT AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Is based on total points earned, the Independent Agency of the Year Award will be given to the non-networked agency that obtains the highest score for entries in all categories across all mediums, irrespective of whether these have been entered by the agency or another party. Agencies must opt in for Independent Agency of the Year during the entry process in order to qualify for this award. In order to win Independent Agency of the Year, the individual agency must win at least three awards for three separate or individual campaigns. The agency with the highest scoring entries in total will be awarded this honor.
FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY OF THE YEAR
Is based on total points scored, regardless of whether entries were submitted by the production company, advertising agency, or a third party.
BEST OF SHOW
Is determined by the Executive Jury from among top-scoring winners. The Best of Show will be awarded to the entry that possesses creativity and innovation deserving of this special recognition.
PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCY OF THE YEAR
The new addition to our prestigious Industry Awards is the PR AGENCY OF THE YEAR. Every entry now has a field to enter the PR company that was affiliated with the work. Based on the medal counts for all of the work attributed to them, the PR Agency of the year will be declared.
IF YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR WORK SHOWCASED ON OUR WEBSITE AND PLATFORMS: Indicate “NO” where prompted in the entry process and contact Processing@newyorkfestivals.com
All copies of entries submitted become the property of International Awards Group, LLC, and its affiliated awards companies, NYF Advertising Awards®, NYF Health Awards®, AME Awards®, Midas Awards®, Global Awards®, and New York Festivals® (hereafter collectively referred to as NYF), and can be used for supplemental presentations to educational institutions, trade shows, advertising professionals, and the general public. Entries will not be returned.
Entrant specifically grants a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free permission to NYF to play or show the entries at award presentations, at NYF sponsored screenings around the world, or in any other public or private presentation with or without charge whenever and as often as NYF and its representatives see fit without any compensation to Entrant. Entrant agrees that NYF may use or process the entries for any purpose, including but not limited to, for the purpose of artificial intelligence, artificial intelligence training, machine learning, augmented human intelligence development, algorithm improvement, or similar data aggregation activities.
Entrant authorizes NYF the use of any trademarks, animated characters, animals, and merchandised items included in the entries for such purposes. NYF may use entries or license entries or the reproduction of entries in perpetuity, without payment to Entrant or Entrant’s clients, non-exclusively throughout the world, for use in telecasts, broadcasts, videotapes, Internet, data analysis, DVDs, exhibits, annuals, and any other publications including without limitation, television, radio, or Internet presentations featuring the NYF winners.
Entrant holds or will secure the necessary license for use of all music embodied within the entries. Entrant will fully defend, indemnify and hold NYF, its affiliated companies, assignees and licensees harmless from any talent or other residual charges due to the release of its entries or any third party claims against NYF, its affiliated companies, assignees and licensees resulting from the content of the entries and the intellectual property contained therein. The person submitting entry or entries certifies that he or she has full authority to approve the rights granted herein.
DISPOSITION OF ENTRY
Entries and materials submitted will not be returned and may be displayed, shown, duplicated, published or reproduced for educational or promotional purposes, as New York Festivals deems appropriate. By entering our competitions, the entrant agrees to hold International Awards Group, LLC, and any of its affiliated companies, exempt from any costs or expenses of any claim arising out of any use.
New York Festivals assumes no responsibility for the acts or omissions of those individuals or entities submitting entries pursuant to this notice. By entering, entrants guarantee they have obtained the permission of the rights-holder for any submission. All submitting entities and/or individuals are advised to review submissions with respect to correct name credits and other information.
All of us at New York Festivals wish you and your company great success in this year’s competition for the World’s Best Advertising.
Scott Rose – President, New York Festivals Advertising Competitions
Jen Vizina – Director
John Ottinger – Competition Management
If you would like assistance or have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please contact our Processing Department at: processing@newyorkfestivals.com
212-271-5278