THE OSCARS OF POLITICAL ADVERTISING

THE POLLIE AWARDS

Regular Entry Deadline: Jan 29th | Contest Closes: Feb 3rd

About

The 2025 Pollie Contest is Now Open

Hosted by the only bipartisan, nonprofit organization for political professionals, the Pollie Awards set the standard for excellence in the political communications and public affairs industries. Over 250 judges—all fellow campaign pros—evaluate entries based on creativity, production value and most importantly, political effectiveness. And only the Pollie Awards hold entries to the highest ethical standards. If you want to stand out from the crowd, enter the Pollie Awards today!

AAPC membership is not required to submit an entry; however, AAPC members receive HIGHLY discounted entry fees. Not a member? Click here to join! or contact us at [email protected] or (703) 245-8020.

Rules & Fees

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FAQ’s

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WHAT WINNERS HAVE SAID ABOUT THE POLLIE AWARDS

“As a firm that is established outside of D.C., the Pollie Awards conference grants me an amazing opportunity to re-connect with colleagues and friends that I don’t get a chance see very often.” – 2022 Pollie Award Winner John Balduzzi, President, The Balduzzi Group

“Having our work recognized as worthy of Gold Pollies was immensely helpful for establishing our new company in the eyes of our clients. The AAPC Conference, Award Ceremony and other channels have been irreplaceable networking opportunities for our team and have accelerated our growth in this competitive industry.” – 2022 Pollie Award Winner Thomas Peters, CEO, RumbleUP

With so many political campaigns and organizations each year, it can often be hard to cut through the clutter and be recognized, especially if you don’t have existing connections. The Pollie Awards allow your work to succeed on its own merits and, should it be deemed worthy, recognized regardless of contacts, name recognition, or media attention.” – 2020 Pollie Winner Loren Merchan, Authentic Campaigns

Film has the Oscars. Music has the Grammys. In politics, our biggest night is the Pollies, and [it] is our highest honor.” – 2015 Pollie Winner Dean Nielsen, Cerillion N4 Partners

“It’s always an honor for our work – and the impact of it – to be recognized by our peers. The Pollies are like a Player’s Choice Award, and the players know best.” – 2022 Pollie Award Winner Achim Bergmann, CEO, Bergmann Zwerdling Direct

The Pollie Awards is the only political ad competition our firm will enter. For decades now, it’s set the standard for excellence.” – 2019 Pollie Winner Mark Putnam, Putnam Partners

JUDGING

We Are The Fairest of Them All

AAPC takes significant steps to ensure fairness in the judging process, including blind judging (firm names cannot be visible) and random assignment of judges (no gaming the pool). We have also increased required judge qualifications. Pulling from a judge pool of more than 250 also minimizes the insider bias that is present in some awards programs.

Each entry is scored against its own campaign’s goals and budget — how effectively (and measurably) did a piece meet its objective? Creativity and production value are taken into proper account, but political effectiveness is primary (worth 50% of the score).

In short, the Pollies are not a “popularity contest,” but a reflection of the most politically effective, persuasive and creative work of the cycle.