Introducing 'The Chutes': The Always-On Awards Celebrating Real-World Marketing Success

Launching on 8th October and created in partnership with …Gasp!, The Marketing Meetup, System1, and Tracksuit, The Chutes awards programme aims to recognise and celebrate 'work that works'—campaigns that drive both long-term impact and short-term impact. 

What sets The Chutes apart from traditional awards is that they are free to enter and open to all, regardless of brand, budget, or brief and, unlike traditional awards that take place annually, The Chutes will celebrate effective work on a monthly basis. 

Giles Edwards, founder of …Gasp! explained, “Marketing feels distracted and detached from the real people, in the real world we serve. By restoring people to the fabric of The Chutes, we’re able to focus on objective consumer and market data, both pre and post campaign. We not only identify and celebrate the work that works, but offer a platform for client and agency teams to talk about how they did it, to both learn from, and move us a step closer to understanding what we refer to as 'proper marketing'.” 

Joe Glover, co-founder of The Marketing Meetup added, “A parachute either works or doesn’t. We want to celebrate and elevate the work which works with the data to back it up. Sharing behind the scenes on campaigns with a real impact, not just those with big budgets or high-profile clients."

The Chutes' judging process is rooted in real-world results, with real audiences and reactions determining which campaigns were most effective. System1’s 'Test Your Ad' platform will evaluate campaigns across over 100 categories, covering every sector, different media types, and their likely commercial success. Tracksuit data will then be used to prove the ongoing impact of campaigns and brand activity by measuring the brand health metrics and perceptions over time. 

The first Chutes award has been presented to Whyte & Mackay and their agency Mr President for their innovative ‘Well Earned’ campaign for The Woodsman Whisky, which scored 4.8-Stars across System1’s Star Rating scale. This is the first year that The Woodsman introduced their beloved beaver characters, who enjoy a refreshing glass of The Woodsman Whisky after a long day of wood chopping; these ‘newcomer’ characters resulted in a highly emotive and successful campaign, the perfect first winner of The Chutes, the latest ‘newcomer’ in the marketing awards sphere. 

Not only did the campaign perform well, but it resulted in double-digit growth in volume immediately, with sustained growth continuing into its second year. The campaign also increased mental availability and top-of-mind awareness, and resulted in positive response from retailers, which led to more shelf-space, and 142% growth in new customers. 

Accepting The Chutes inaugural award, Jaimie Anderson from Whyte & Mackay said, “Work that actually works is such a huge passion point of mine. It’s all very well having a good looking campaign, but without the foundations of the right product, price and distribution channels first, then results like these don’t come. Demonstrating business impact is everything - that’s what it is all about for the client.” 

The full ‘acceptance speech’ and story about how the campaign came to life will feature on The Chutes podcast launch episode, airing on 8th October. 

Each winner of The Chutes will be interviewed on the podcast, where they will share their story, discuss their creative process, and provide insights into how they made their campaigns successful. 

The podcast offers a refreshing alternative to traditional acceptance speeches, delivering practical, actionable insights for marketers. Each episode will serve as a mini-masterclass, detailing the crafting of their successful campaigns and providing invaluable lessons for the marketing community 

The awards are open to agencies and marketers of all sizes, from across the UK, EU, US, and beyond. 

For more information about The Chutes, visit here and to listen to the first episode visit here.