As agencies, our purpose is to reach and persuade consumers. Yet, so much of the award-winning work we create goes virtually unseen outside of our ad bubble. We created this film as an entertaining reminder to our industry that we should spend less time chasing awards, and more time making work regular people see and love. To make our point, we recreated a scene everyone in the industry has experienced.

Set at a dinner party among friends, the conversation shifts towards Greg, a copywriter. Intrigued by his job, guests grill him with questions, like “Working on anything exciting?” and “Anything I’ve seen?” Flattered, Greg announces his latest project: a case study for Left-Handed Mango Chutney. When nobody reacts, Greg is forced to explain that it was a limited-run piece, made proactively, and never sold in stores.

The film ends with the super, “Let’s award work real people love.”

“Left-Handed Mango Chutney” debuted at the 2022 Agency of the Year awards ceremony, hosted by Strategy magazine, Canada’s largest trade publication for the industry. As part of the show, the top agencies are invited to create their own film, promoting themselves and their work to the industry in attendance. Instead of showcasing our campaigns, we decided to entertain the audience, poking fun at ourselves and the industry.

As agencies, we’re all obsessed with winning awards. Yet, funnily enough, the most award-winning work isn’t usually the most well-known. If you asked your neighbour to name their favourite ad, they’re more likely to name a funny new beer commercial than the latest Gold Lion winner. So, what’s more important: Winning over awards judges or winning over consumers? “Left-Handed Mango Chutney” tackles this question, and playfully reminds the industry that advertising’s top goal is to resonate with consumers first, and awards judges, second.

When it was first screened it at the Agency of the Year awards show, the reaction was tremendous. To date, the video has had over 30,000 industry views, and it’s been featured in every major ad publication globally. We’ve been contacted by dozens of industry people from around the world who have been sharing it on social media. One prominent UK CCO even suggested that “Left-Handed Mango Chutney” could become an industry catchphrase to refer to this type of bogus, award-chasing work. We’re very proud it’s resonating so much across the industry.