Creative Categories

New categories for 2026. Recognizing achievement since the beginning of 2024 in all creative management, copywriting, art direction, editorial, audio-visual production, animation, illustration, photography, etc., functions.
     Nominations that won in the 2025 ABAs may be resubmitted for consideration in the 2025 ABAs. If they have been updated with recent achievements, they may be submitted to the same categories in which they won. If they have not been updated, they must be submitted to categories different from those in which they won.

Information to be submitted online for entries in these categories for the 2026 ABAs will include

a. An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominee's accomplishments since January 1 2024, OR a video of up to five (5) minutes in length describing the same.

b. In bullet-list form, a brief summary (up to 150 words) of up to ten (10) of the chief accomplishments of the nominee since the beginning of 2024.

c. Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges.
 

D01. Advertising or Design Agency of the Year
Enter this category if you wish to recognize everyone who works at your advertising, marketing, or design agency, regardless of their function, location, seniority, or position.

D02. Breakthrough Creative Use of Technology
Recognizes innovative applications of technology in creative projects, such as AI-driven designs, AR/VR experiences, or interactive campaigns.

D03. Creative Department of the Year
Enter this category if you wish to recognize everyone who works in creative functions in your organization, regardless of function, location, seniority, or position.

D04. Creative Executive of the Year
Enter this category to recognize the achievements of individual creative executives.

D05. Creative Individual of the Year
Enter this category to recognize the achievements of individuals not at the executive level. 

D06. Creative Team of the Year
Enter this category if you wish to recognize some subset of your entire creative organization, such as a specific animation, video, event-production, or client-creative team, for example. The team may be multidisciplinary, may stretch across multiple organizations (your own organization, client organizations, and agency or vendor organizations, for example), and may be a permanent team or a temporary team that was assembled only for a specific task or assignment. 

D07. Excellence in Collaborative Creativity
Celebrates partnerships between multiple organizations or disciplines that result in exceptional impact.

D08. Most Innovative Creative Project
Honors singular creative projects that demonstrate originality, innovation, and exceptional impact.