Telly Awards

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According to the web site, the Telly Awards "recognize distinction in creative work," honoring outstanding local and regional television commercials and productions, as well as non-broadcast video productions. The Telly Awards were founded in 1978 by David E. Carter, a past Emmy and Clio award winner who has written several books on corporate branding and design.

Each entry is judged on its own merit, rather than against other entries. In each category, there can be multiple winners (Silver) and finalists (bronze). There is no stated limit to the number of winners or finalists in any given category, of which there are dozens. The Telly Awards web site lists hundreds of winners annually.

Official documentation provided to winners indicates that 7-10% of the 13,000 international entries receive Silver Telly Awards. The judging criteria for the Telly Awards are not published, although Telly Award publicity materials state that a 10-point scale is used². What the 10 points are is not stated. One Bronze finalist asked "if they could define the 'standards of excellence'" and "the response was 'the judge's (sic) look at everything from top to bottom.'" ¹.

There is no public list of Telly Award judges, but the official web site states that the judges for each year's contest are all previous winners. The web site solicits Silver Telly Award winners to become judges. Whether the judges are paid or volunteer is not disclosed.

As stated on the Telly Awards web site "Why Enter," a primary objective of submitting entries to the Telly Awards is to "[i]mpress and amaze your clients...and get some new ones too." Unlike exclusive awards such as the Academy Award, Emmy, or Clio, the Telly Award is promoted as a marketing tool, with many "winners." An interactive fish tank video was recently listed as a Telly award winner on eBay. ³

In addition to the $60 entry fee paid prior to judging, winning entrants may opt to purchase an unframed award certificate (currently $30) or a trophy (currently $150 - $175). With 13,000 entrants in 2006, the entry fees alone generated at least $780,000. The Telly Awards does not hold an awards ceremony. ķ==Notes==