The Gerety Awards: “It’s our job to shake up the status quo” [Sinead Roarty]

Does the world really need another awards show? You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t ask? In fact, the creators of 2019’s new awards show, The Gerety Awards, asked themselves exactly the same question.

Lucía Ongay and Joe Brookes both worked previously in another awards show. Their answer is that the world needs a new kind of awards show. Because the industry is changing.

So that’s what they have set out to do. All of its judges and all of its ambassadors are women.

Sinead Roarty, creative director, J.Walter Thompson Sydney is one of two Australian grand jury members. The other is Tea Uglow, founding member of Google Creative Lab.

The Stable asked Roarty about the awards. Here is her view:

The Stable: Please describe the Gerety Awards.

Sinead Roarty: The Gerety Awards not only has a non-traditional jury, it also has non-traditional categories, which are called Cuts – as in cuts of a diamond. They are condensed into nine different Cuts: Entertainment, Experience, Innovation, Communication, Craft, Health, Media, Portfolio, and Works for Good, and any medium can be entered in any Cut. The Executive Jury sessions are being held across 10 cities to decide the shortlists and then the Grand Jury decides what work makes the cut.

TS: There are hundreds of advertising awards. Why are the Gerety Awards important?

SR: It’s our job as creatives to shake up the status quo. There have been a lot of positive shifts within awards shows over the past few years with some exciting outcomes – I particularly love how health and a raft of awards that celebrate doing good in the world have taken centre-stage. There’s also much greater diversity on juries now, but we’re not quite there yet. And it’s not just gender, we need to see more brown skin and grey hair and people from wider socio-economic backgrounds. The Geretys are putting a stake in the ground and getting the conversation about diversity right out there.

TS: Why did you agree to be on the Grand Jury?

SR: The jury room is a magical, mystical place. Being able to debate and recognise great work with brilliant creatives from every corner of the planet is the ultimate head trip. And, just quietly, I’m a complete fangirl of many of the women on the jury.

SR: It’s going to be interesting to see what happens when a group of women from around the globe come together to discuss ideas. Will the universal experience of being female or female-identified give us a radically different perspective? Maybe. Or will we make similar calls to the other awards shows this year? At the end of the day, what connects us as men and women is our humanity and that’s way more powerful than what separates us. I judge work by how it makes me feel, how original it is, and what it does for the brand. I’m not a beer drinker (growing up in a pub will do that to you), but that doesn’t stop me from loving beer ads and voting for one if it moves me. Likewise, a lot of blokes voted for a tampon brand a few years back with Like a Girl, so the jury’s out on whether there will be a big difference. But I look forward to finding out.