How and Why D&AD Stole Its Own Pencils

At the start of this month, D&AD Pencils started disappearing from various companies around the world.

Not long after, the Pencil-thefts were revealed to have been a clever stunt thought up by Lucky Generals and D&AD and now they have created a behind the scenes film that shows how it was all orchestrated [top].

D&AD and Lucky Generals say they instigated the stunt to remind the creative community of the true value of a D&AD Pencil. 

The film shows the huge reach that this stunt had, targeting top creatives from Sao Paulo to Cape Town, London to Melbourne, creative industry heavyweights such as Rosie Arnold at BBH, Nils Leonard at Grey London and OgilvyOne's  Charlie Wilson talk about their cherished D&AD pencils.

The heists took place over the course of Monday 11 January and sparked a wave of reactions over the following days, as agencies all over the world worried over their trophies' fate and voiced their confusion on social media.

It was not until four days later, on Thursday 14 January, that the Pencils were returned, alongside an explanation that the stunt had been designed to dramatise the uniquely precious nature of the awards.

“The heist was a spectacular piece of planning and was excellently executed but despite the excitement of seeing the reactions on social media, it was never really about taking the pencils," said Tim Lindsay, D&AD CEO. What we set out to do from the start, was to capture the reactions of people as their pencils were returned, reminding them of a very personal achievement, and I think that this film illustrates this perfectly.”

To learn more about who was involved in the stunt, watch the heist film or see interviews with some of the victims.

Entries for the D&AD Professional Awards close on the 17 February 2016 and will be judged at the D&AD Festival which will be viewed by senior creatives and visitors to the festival.