After a two-year hiatus, The Drum is bringing back its infamously irreverent and boundary-pushing Chip Shop Awards this September. The relaunch comes at a pivotal moment for the advertising industry, which has recently faced controversies over authenticity and the growing presence of AI in awards submissions.
The tipping point for many came at the 2025 Cannes Lions, where the Creative Data Grand Prix was revoked after it was revealed that the case study films had been manipulated using AI. The incident has sparked intense debate across the industry, with Cannes Lions now moving to implement stricter rules to enforce truth, fairness, and transparency in award entries.
But these new boundaries could potentially come at a cost. While they aim to safeguard credibility, they risk stifling the more provocative, speculative and satirical ideas that don’t conform to traditional commissioning or client approval processes. As some creatives see it, the industry may be playing it too safe.
So we’re teaming up with the OMBLES for a special brief today to celebrate the return of the Chip Shop Awards.
And we’re taking it right back to the start. The reason it’s called the Chip Shop Awards is because of a poster for a local Chip Shop. It was brilliant. But it didn’t have a big brand, a big budget or a big audience.
Does that mean it’s not a big idea that deserves recognition though? That’s where the Chips come in…
The inspiration behind today’s brief and the Awards:
The Drum’s Chip Shop Awards origins come from a true fish tale. Barnacles Fish & Chip Shop in Llandudno, Wales, was once the talk of London’s Soho when its ad campaign scooped a heap of awards. That campaign was the work of an advertising nobody. The client was his mother. His budget? Beer money. Get to know the whole story here and check out the video below.
We can’t wait to see what the OMBLES come up with today.
One Minute Brief of the Day:
Create posters to advertise your local #ChipShops - in partnership with @TheDrum's Chip Shop Awards
Tweet your entries to @OneMinuteBriefs & @TheDrum with the hashtag #ChipShops and link to chipshopawards.com
Get as creative as you like and enter as many times as you wish. You might have several local chip shops!
Remember your X and/or Linkedin handle/name in the top-left corner of your entries.
Deadline 6pm BST.
You can also enter on Linkedin via the comments on our pinned post.
We’d also love to see share posts and stories to Instagram too!
Tag in @OneMinuteBriefs & @TheDrum
Prize:
The winner will be awarded a special Chip Shop Award at this year’s event ceremony.
Entering the Chip Shop Awards
Originally launched to celebrate the kind of ideas that other awards can’t (or won’t) touch, the Chip Shop Awards have always embraced fake ads and spec work, and the creative mischief that doesn’t get past legal or client sign-off.
“The industry is in danger of disappearing up its own guidelines,” explained The Drum’s editor-in-chief Gordon Young. “While others are tightening their rules, we’re loosening our collars. This is a show that celebrates the kind of brilliant, twisted ideas that would never make it past legal, let alone a nervous client. But that’s the point. It gives young creatives a space to be bold, be stupid, be brilliant, and maybe even get noticed. And it gives us all a chance to find fresh talent and fresh ways of thinking.”
Find out more about the awards here:
chipshopawards.com
Deadline to enter is 5th September 2025!!
Below is the original poster that started it all off!
