What is this all about?

Don't they deliver crisps and drinks?

What exactly is a "food logistics solution"?

Someone's been at the lime cordial.

An article in Ad Age reveals that an email leak has made public the amount that agencies spent entering the 2009 One Show Awards.

The article says:

The e-mailed document gives an interesting snapshot of how lucrative
awards shows can be for the organizers, and how much some agencies are
willing to spend on a bid to win — even in these harsh economic times.

In all, there were 9,795 entries for the ad awards, at a total cost
to the agencies of $3,507,860. The average cost of an entry was $358.
The database does not account for the interactive or design entries to
the One Show, just the advertising entries. Last year the One Show had
26,000 entries from 60 countries. Based on the average price for an
entry, the One Show received about $10 million in entry fees, though
the organization said the figure was far lower.

BBDO's entries allegedly represented a cost of over $250,000. That's just for the One Show. So just imagine what their total budget is for entries when you add up all the shows in a year. Then you also have to add the cost of travel, accommodation, tables and booze at the actual ceremonies. That's a lot of money.

So what do readers think? Is this ridiculous old-school profligacy and indulgence on BBDO's part that should have no place in the current climate, or is it a smart way to build the agency's reputation, win new clients and attract new talent? In a recession, should agencies spend the money on salaries, not entires for awards they may not even win? And, if the One Show can raise $10 million in entry fees, should we abandon the task of chasing new business and just start an awards scheme instead?

I'm aware that, now that I've written this post, people will ask what W+K's awards budget is. If I say it's a lot, we'll lay ourselves open to accusations of profligacy. If I say it's very little, people will snipe that that's because we have nothing worth entering. Fact is – we do enter work for awards and will continue to do so to a certain extent this year. But we don't enter much and we certainly don't enter all the shows. And we've never had a yacht at Cannes with bar stools made out of elephants' foreskins.