This weekend ad folk embark on their annual Loerie Award pilgrimage. This edition of the industry's prize-giving ceremony takes place in Durban and will be preceded by Creative Week, a festival style collection of industry-relevant events.Such a high-profile event invariably shines a spotlight on the industry and its issues. One such issue is sexism in advertising and whether it is real ."The industry can look sexist, but it's not deliberate," said Neo Mashigo, executive creative director at Ogilvy SA and a judging panel member."I simply think the industry is not attractive for women because the working hours are tough and compromising for women. However, at Ogilvy, it's a 50/50 split between men and women."Despite these issues the awards have come to symbolise the gold standard of marketing achievement.Outside of an industry-sized high five, can a Loerie be said to be anything more than a trophy cabinet filler?Gareth Leck, CEO at Joe Public, said: "If you believe in the power of creativity in the communication and design field then you should be engaged and involved in the Loeries. And if you want to be recognised as a leading creative organisation, then winning at Loeries is a must."People can say what they want, but awards shows like the Loeries are integral to inspiring creative excellence."Winning a Loerie is not based purely on ticking a number of objectively measurably boxes. In fact, ads appealing to little more than technical issues leave the judges cold."I think the most powerful advertising captures your emotional self before your intellectual self. We are human, after all, and driven by emotion."Our consumers are human too, so it's important to react to a piece of advertising instinctively," said Loerie judge Suhana Gordhan.This is a sentiment shared by other judges."The most important criteria for me when judging creativity at the Loeries is does it make me go, 'wow'," said Leck.To avoid accusations of bias, judging panels are changed every year and entries are judged anonymously in two rounds.Over the years a number of adverts have left a lasting impression on this year's judges.For Mashigo, DStv Compact's ability to connect with its audience made its ads refreshing.Among Gordhan's local favourites are Cremora's famous "it's not inside, it's on top" campaign, a few from Chicken Licken and an old VW campaign in which a husband and wife share memories in a VW before the father hands the keys to his son on his 18th birthday...