A funny thing happened on my way to judging the One Show Interactive today in New York. Due to an overload of the broadband system, fellow judge Ty Montague and I left the very modern and wonderful IAC building and wound up doing our judging duties in the cozy confines of the One Club itself at 21 East 26th Street. 

It would have been largely a non-event save for the fact that the room we were in had a wall of fame. Literally. 

Yep, as Ty and I were hunched over out laptops looking at the current state of digital creativity, there was David Abbott. And Bill Bernbach. And Ed McCabe. All staring down at us. 

Amil Gargano was there, too. Along with Phyllis Robinson, Roy Grace, and Diane Rothschild.

And modern legends, Jeff Goodby, Rich Silverstein and Dan Wieden. And of course, my boss Lee Clow was there, too. (Looking very retro.)

It was surreal. 

Yet for me, personally, quite comforting. After all, One Show Interactive can mesmerize a man. There’s all manner of genius design and ingenious technology. There are apps that blow you away. Websites that dazzle. Project summary films that can make the most mundane idea seem like the most magical. 

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Ok, over 130 different digital entries later I have new-found respect and perspective for new media, microsites, even banners. What’s more, I’m inspired. Like every One Show Annual I ever pored over (ah, books how quaint) the one thing they all had in common was their ability to open parts of my brain I never knew existed. 

That’s what’s happening with this Show.  

The final session (broken into two days) proved to be yet another One Show brain-opening experience. Some highlights included: Volkswagen’s “baby creation” technology developed for the Routan site, a series of viral films for a vodka company which were artfully and incredibly done, and an amazing idea for the homeless — the creation of a jacket, insulated by thrown-away newspapers. And there was a lot more than this to fire the synapses.

Now if some of these ideas don’t feel quite like typical “digital” notions, you’re correct. And incorrect. Because after all these hours spent staring at my Mac’s screen what I learned is that a great “interactive” idea begins and ends when you simply have a great idea. And what One Show Interactive proves is that the digital space — the screen itself, is just the beginning. After all, the best ideas in this round leapt off the screen and ultimately interacted with real life. 

The medal round begins in New York in two weeks. I’ll meet my fellow judges there in person. I’ll write some more about my One Show judging experience and I invite you to stick around to listen. 

Thanks.

~Rob

Note: Rob shared his experience judging the One Show Interactive Round One exclusively with the readers of mad-blog.com. Rob is Executive Creative Director of TBWA\Chiat\Day in Los Angeles.

If you have any comments or suggestions please email Rob Schwartz.

Day Three – Today I took the Show on the road. Literally. I’ve left the comforts (and kick-ass broadband) of my Los Angeles home and am reporting to you from Chicago. For whatever reason, my connection here in the Windy City has been a bit spotty. But I made do for a session that was decidedly eclectic.

The first few entries that I reviewed had their Yin and Yang out of whack. Either it was a good idea with poor design and functionality. Or it was a well-developed, functional site with no idea in sight. Frustrating, but certainly good for separating the wheat from chaff. Or in less Midwestern terms, separating the shit from the shinola. 

Some of the genius I saw today were examples of “platform integration.” Just to be clear. There’s “integration” in the sense of “matching luggage.” You know, how the graphics of the site, match the graphics of the t-shirt giveaway, match the graphics of the TV, which all work with the graphics of the inside of the brick-and-mortar store. That should be a given. I’m talking about the integration of platforms. Where the best pieces I experienced today seamlessly and smartly connected a microsite to a YouTube page to a facebook page and more. Two gaming ideas did this kind of “platform integration” extremely well. And yes, these were big ideas. And yes again, they were well-designed and well-executed. (“Ding, ding, ding…we have a winnuh.”)

Now, call it serendipity or coincidence, or just dumb luck, but being in the Midwest today was also where I saw a lot of package goods stuff from lots of Midwest companies. It’s interesting to note that all of the big CPG companies are all over the digital space. And to their credit, they are spending big bucks on well-designed sites. My question is, do I really want to spend a whole lot of time on a site about flakes and raisins? 

Of course, now I’m a little hungry, so maybe those flakes had some effect on me after all. 

Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.

~Rob

Note: Rob will share his experience judging the One Show Interactive exclusively with the readers of mad-blog.com. Rob is Executive Creative Director of TBWA\Chiat\Day in Los Angeles.

If you have any comments or suggestions please email Rob Schwartz.

Day Two – Well, I’m happy to move from banners to microsites. (I thought microsites were “dead?”) Hardly, I saw some pretty damn good ones. Can’t get into too many specifics, but let me just say that a global brand that does great creative offline, is doing some great things online. One particualar beer microsite had a fun and smart idea that was well-executed and had me engaged for about 20 minutes. (And frankly, I could have hung out longer if I didn’t have to sort through more entries.) Maybe the demise of the microsite needs to be reconsidered. 

My second observation (and today’s final observation) is just how global the Show is. And to be even more precise, the global work from places like Australia, China, Germany and Canada is really spot-on and well-executed. Case in point? A brilliant time-waster from Canada that contained a hilarious “random ad generator.” I can’t promise a pencil for this, but I can promise that I’m putting it in the show. 

Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.

~Rob

Note: Rob will share his experience judging the One Show Interactive exclusively with the readers of mad-blog.com. Rob is Executive Creative Director of TBWA\Chiat\Day in Los Angeles.

If you have any comments or suggestions please email Rob Schwartz.

Day One – First off, I’m incredibly honored to be judging One Show Interactive. The One Show has traditionally been the best, toughest and smartest compendium of creativity in our business. I am doubly-delighted to do the Interactive piece because that’s where the conversation is. Be it on Facebook, twitter, email, blogs, sites and good ol’ fashioned face-to-face over a coffee or a beer. Interactive/Digital is the conversation.

My first task is to experience 135 entries to determine what work should be in the Show and what should be left out. I have a third option which is “abstain.” I have no idea what this means as applied to the Show. I’m more black and white when it comes to creative anyway — it’s either genius. Or heinous.

As I judge the work, I am using the following criteria:

(1) Is the piece a great idea — and not simply a technological wank-off

(2) Does the piece utilize the medium — in other words, if it’s just a tv spot reduced to banner size, whatever. Not smart enough in my book.

(3) Is it something that makes me say “I wish I had done that.” 

Anyway, there you have it. The task. My approach. And now we get to see how it all unfolds.

~Rob

Starting today Rob will share his experience judging the One Show Interactive exclusively with the readers of mad-blog.com. Rob is Executive Creative Director of TBWA\Chiat\Day in Los Angeles.

If you have any comments or suggestions please email Rob Schwartz.