Two Measures of Success – By @_hunterfargo
By Michael Hutton
Two Measures of Success
With D&AD New Blood winners being announced at the moment, and many at SCA suffering disappointment, I wanted to highlight why winning awards isn’t the only measure of success.
There are effectively two measures of it.
- The Financial Benefit (mostly to the brand)
- The Awards (individual success)
I’ve always thought award shows were shams. A way for an industry to self-congratulate their creativity and brilliance.
Awards don’t matter to normal everyday people. They don’t give a shit what new technology was used to connect Afghan refugees and Unilever to promote a new soap in the United Kingdom. They only digest the creative output.
In this vein, the advertising industry mirrors the film industry when it comes to success.
Below is a list of actors and actresses, together with their lifetime grosses. None of them have won an Academy Award.
Harrison Ford – $4,870,704,785
Tom Cruise – $3,587,201,845
Robert Downey Jr. – $3,539,298,301
Johnny Depp – $3,291,577,394
Will Smith – $2,848,874,074
Helena Bonham Carter – $2,744,817,591
Brad Pitt – $2,680,938,720
Some pretty big names, and some pretty big figures!
In comparison, the below actors and actresses have won multiple Academy Awards.
Meryl Streep – $2,010,947,329 & 3 Academy Awards
Daniel Day-Lewis – $523,595,425 & 3 Academy Awards
Jack Nicholson – $1,795,548,394 & 2 Academy Awards
Some of the biggest names in film have never won an Academy Award, yet have grossed billions of dollars to ensure film studios, and the industry, stay alive.
So awards don’t matter. There are much more impressive to achieve – like earning a business a billion dollars in revenue.
