I am a huge fan of creative pursuits…. And really good ads sometimes give me a high…. But when creativity crushes people’s dreams, that is when the apple seems to loose its shine. Pollie Awards, however, admires creativity even at its cruelest best.

The Pollie Awards and Conference is an annual event hosted by the American Association of Political Consultants. The first one was held in 2007. The award is known as the Emmy Awards of Politics. The Pollies recognizes the best in the business in over 100 political campaigns and public affairs categories. The AAPC recognizes work in the newspaper, direct mail, phones, Internet, fund raising, radio, television, and student categories.

A good example of a mud-slinging Pollie winner is the video on John Kerry, the 2004 Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.

The video somehow forgot to mention that he is a Vietnam Veteran, and was a spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War when he returned home from service.

This is not to say political issues/policies of importance are not given its due importance. Below is a Pollie entry on the Iraq Draft.

I am just not happy with smear campaigns. That is where my sadness is rooted.

But I will still look forward to the Pollies of 2009. Because issues of importance will be discussed nonetheless and efforts at highlighting them rewarded in a small way.

You can check out the pdf version of the brochure of the 2008 Pollie Awards here.