The Kinsale Shark Awards has launched a new accolade, the Creative Bravery Award, in association with Creative Social.

The new award applauds work that is brave. Really brave. Work that has the courage and tenacity to push boundaries regardless of the risks and potential consequences. Work that only the bravest clients will support and which will have represented a huge leap of faith.

Its inaugural jury is chaired by Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide chief executive officer, Robert Senior, and includes L.A. Roynane, executive creative director of Havas London; Mary Doherty, managing director of Red Dog New York Red Dog and Juliette Larthe, executive producer at Prettybird UK.

Robert Senior commented, “Bravery is the difference between creativity as a narrative and creativity as a business principle.  But there is bad and good bravery. Bad bravery simply seeks to shock. Good bravery seeks to solve a business problem through an unlikely but powerful idea that touches the audience and accelerates the business. The Kinsale Bravery Awards will be recognising, rewarding and encouraging the latter, and it is an honour to be chairing the inaugural jury.“

Senior will also be speaking on the topic of Creative Bravery at the Festival in September.

Aisling White, festival director, Kinsale Shark Awards added, “Creativity is still alive and kicking. It’s evident in the high standard of work we see entered every year, but it’s harder than ever to create truly memorable advertising that genuinely cuts through. We recognise that both creatives and clients need to be brave in order for consumers to notice and respond, and so we’ve created the Creative Bravery Award to reflect that.”

The Kinsale Shark awards are now open for entries and the Festival runs from Thursday 21 – Saturday 24 September.

Delegate passes can be bought on the Kinsale website, with a reduced fee for early purchases before 30th June.