Whether you know them as "the Bookies", "the Lobbies" or, "the Speckies" it's the same old joke. As a side-note: when I first heard the term I didn't quite grasp its inherent sarcasm (I'm not always quick on the uptake) and responded, "What the f-k's a Wally? Sounds lame."

I hadn't thought about that conversation-- in which I not only sounded like an ass, but a rookie ass at that-- until I'm walking down the hallway at my agency and I start noticing that people have Mobius and Telly awards in their offices. On shelves. Prominently displayed. Dusted, even.

To be fair, my shelves are not exactly littered with awards. Hell, they're not even sporadically punctuated. And I have, at times, fallen into the "I'm not about awards, I'm about the work" trap. The "it's easier for Europe and Asia" trap. And "the French won't get it" trap. Bullshit. I'm about the awards. Awards are great. They can provide a bar of excellence, they can measure how well you're doing in relation to your peers, and they can be the quickest way to better opportunities and much better money.

I say 'can' because not all awards are created equal. There are prized awards (One Show, D&AD, Andy, Kelly- although sometimes I think those are rewards for giant media expenditures, Mercury, Clio-sometimes, London- the statue rocks, and Cannes), and then there's the rest. The Loser Awards. The regional awards, the Effies, the Obies, the New York Festival, the Tellys, the Moebius and god knows what else is out here. I'm sorry. I know it sounds arrogant, but they are loser awards. They have infinite categories (sound design? Basic Cable only? Video or Film? Excuse me?), very pedestrian judges (you're from where? in where?), and lackluser entries (you're from where? in where?).

It seems like an obvious point to make, but then I go back to the images of creatives proudly displaying their Tellys and Mobius awards. It reminds me of that scene in "A Christmas Story" where his father receives a "major award"-- the much maligned and fishnet-stockinged leg.

Let's be better about preserving the meager amount of dignity still attached to being a creative. If you can't keep your company from throwing its money away on statues no one's ever heard of, take a stand on your own. No matter how shiny, and no matter how much your therapist tells you to find small ways to love yourself, refuse to display meaningless awards. It just makes us all look sad. Like that fat, un-coordinated 9 year-old who's always a shoe-in for the "Most Improved" trophy.