ABBYs at 57: New categories, a bigger jury, and a sharper focus on credibility

The ABBY Awards turns 57 this year, and The Ad Club is using the occasion to make some of its most substantive changes to the platform in recent memory. Dheeraj Sinha, President of The Advertising Club and CEO of McCann India, and Ajay Kakar, Chairperson of ABBY Awards 2026, walked afaqs! through what is new this edition and why. The most visible outcome is a new slate of categories. On the creative side, the awards have introduced Client of the Year, Network Agency of the Year, Independent Agency of the Year, Social Content and Influencer Marketing, Creative Commerce, B2B, and a consolidated Sustainable Development Goals category that merges three earlier ones. On the media side, four new categories recognise innovation in sponsorship, media buying, AI in media planning, and AI in media operations and content. Kakar was particular about the framing on AI. “We are not talking about use of AI. We are talking about innovative use of,” he said, drawing a distinction that reflects how the organisers want the category to be read. The E&Y move Perhaps the more consequential change is one that audiences may not see directly. Ernst and Young, which previously came in only to audit the final tabulation of results, has been appointed process custodian for the entire judging mechanism this year. That means E&Y is present from jury briefings through to deliberations, with a mandate to flag anomalies and ensure the process holds up at every stage. Sinha said the decision was driven by the organisation’s own standards rather than any external pressure. “It is our own endeavour to bring greater, deeper credibility,” he said. The club previously worked with KPMG and then E&Y in a limited capacity. The expanded role represents a meaningful step up. On participation The awards have received over 4,000 entries from more than 275 agencies and clients this year. Kakar pointed to the breadth of that participation as significant. The entrant pool includes production houses, data companies, media platforms and clients alongside the creative and media agencies that have traditionally dominated the field. Four international jury chairs are associated with the ABBYs this year, which the organisers describe as a first. The independent agency question Last year, Enormous won the Agency of the Year title, making it one of the more talked about results in the awards’ recent history. Asked whether that result had encouraged more independent agencies to participate this year, Sinha pointed to the long tail of entries as evidence that the platform is drawing in agencies well beyond the established names. The introduction of a dedicated Independent Agency of the Year category this year formalises that intent. With the industry having spent much of the past year navigating headlines about consolidation and cost pressure, Kakar made a point of contextualising the participation numbers. Over 4,000 entries and 275 plus entrants, he said, is a signal that the industry is in better shape than the coverage might suggest.