Viva Las Vegas! Wellmark at the London International Awards

I recently got back from the bright lights, big sights and all-round sensory overload that is Las Vegas.

Contrary to my understanding of the typical Vegas experience, I didn’t get married to a stranger by an Elvis impersonator. But I did get the opportunity to discuss fantastic pharmaceutical work with some exceptional creatives at the London International Awards.

I was fortunate enough to be invited on to the jury for the Pharma and Medical category of the awards, alongside some of the biggest names in healthcare creativity.

The LIAs (as they’re affectionately called) have been running for some 25 years, and are described as a celebration of ‘the world’s best work judged by the world’s best front-line practitioners’.

I was well aware of the LIAs (having previously co-hosted the Medicine Avenue podcast under their auspices) and I knew that being a juror would be a great experience, but it still surpassed my expectations.

That’s at least partly because, unlike other awards shows, all the jurors assess the entries simultaneously – in the same room. This allows for in-depth discussion and debate about the most deserving work, which is particularly fascinating in pharma given the varying regulatory constraints across geographies.

And of course it was also inspiring to see such high-level healthcare work, from all around the globe.

In particular, the grand prix that we awarded – The Life Bureau – serves as inspiration for the level of creativity that’s possible for branded pharma communications. This beautifully crafted online mini-series, which promotes HPV vaccination, neatly demonstrates the adage that ‘there’s no such thing as a boring brand’.

You can see all the other winners here.

And have a listen to what our jury president, Tom Richards, had to say about the Pharma and Medical category.

I’ve certainly come back inspired to make world-class pharma work. Again contrary to the typical Vegas experience, I’ll never forget it.