I WON AN AWARD
SUBJECT: 2020 Irish Echo 40 Under 40 Awards
Congratulations Gemma,
You have been selected as one of the Irish Echo’s 40 Under 40 Honorees.
Please join us on February 21 as our guest…
I stopped reading and reverted to line two.
“You have been selected as one of the Irish Echo’s 40 Under 40 Honorees.”
An award! For me?! Are you sure????!
They have my name right so chances are…
Even after multiple encounters, you wouldn’t believe how many people who I’ve met in the US think my name is ‘Jenna’. I got a giant nameplate made for Christmas a few years ago, to help people along with getting it, but even after spelling it out - G - E - M - M - A -I’m still Jenna to many. God Bless America.
(In case you didn’t already know, I used to work in advertising.)
Winning awards is par for the course when you work in advertising. Because if you don’t, well, you probably won’t be in business for very long. Writing awards submissions is an art form. If you’ve never had this experience, count yourself lucky! They are almost as much work as the project itself, depending on what you’re submitting for. CIM, Ad Age, IPA Advertising Effectiveness, I still have nightmares.
But no matter your involvement in an award-winning project - whether it’s devising the strategy, coming up with the genius concept, herding cats, taking the blame for all of the problems of the world encountered along the way, pulling several all nighters and living on tea and Wispas for six months - it’s a collaborative effort, awarded to a group or organization. Remember, there’s no ‘i’ in ‘team’.
So to win an award for myself, ME, a single, solitary person, is something very special. But also anxiety and self doubt-inducing.
Full disclosure - I canvassed for votes. All honorees did. But much like my mindset when it comes to doing the lottery - ‘if you’re not in you can’t win’ - I was hopeful, but didn’t ACTUALLY think I would be selected. After all, what have I done that’s that great anyway?
Inevitably I look at the complete list of honorees and compare myself to the ones with important titles and big jobs in big companies and wonder why I’m on it too. Because surely, there’s been some mistake?!
Imposter Syndrome is real.
This is where friends come in. Friends who bamboozle you with facts and logic when you question the motives of the organization who have selected you (of all people) for the award.
“They’re not giving you an award because they feel sorry for you.”
You’re not one hundred percent convinced this isn’t true.
“No, they don’t have you confused with the twins from B*Witched. And anyway, I’m not sure they qualify for the age threshold.”
When (despite your best efforts), you can’t get anyone to agree with your supposedly unfounded suspicions, you eventually begin to come around to the idea that you might actually be getting the award for legitimate reasons, not for a comeback special of ‘Punk’d’ (or ‘Beadle’s About!’ if you’re Irish or British and of a certain vintage) featuring a relative unknown.
Turns out they were right.
At a surprisingly pleasant awards ceremony in New York on Feb 21st on the top floor of Rosie O’Grady’s Pub on West 51st Street, alongside some of the most impressive crystal chandeliers I’ve ever laid eyes on (note to self, need one for the East Wing of my sprawling Bushwick railroad apartment), I was presented with my 40 Under 40 Award by Máirtín Ó Muilleóir himself - Top Dog and Founder of the Irish Echo Newspaper - inscribed with my name, spelled correctly.
I spent the evening in the company of Irish America's top leaders including CEOs, diplomats and trailblazing entrepreneurs. No one pointed their finger and laughed at me, well, not about my achievements at least; and neither Ashton Kutcher nor the ghost of Jeremy Beadle were anywhere to be seen.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS (in order of appearance)
Irish Echo 40 Under 40 Awards: This popular event, organized by the Irish Echo Newspaper and now in its 13th year, is a celebration of Irish and Irish Americans who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields of work before reaching the age of forty.
CIM: Chartered Institute of Marketing Awards held annually in London.
The prestigious CIM Marketing Excellence Awards recognise and reward brilliance in the field of marketing, celebrating the finest minds within the profession.
Ad Age: The coveted Ad Age A-List & Creativity Awards honor the forward-thinking leaders, top agencies and creative innovators in the industry today.
IPA Advertising Effectiveness: The IPA Effectiveness Awards celebrate and showcase communications agencies, media owners or advertisers that successfully prove that their work achieved outstanding results.
Such is the effort required for entries alone, these awards are only held every two years.
Wispas: As in a Cadbury’s Wispa chocolate bar. The finest, bubbliest, delicate-yet-chunky chocolate satisfaction of which dreams are made. Available in the UK and Ireland markets only. Sorry America. But remember, even if it was available in the US, it would be an inferior product, as we all know that nothing compares to the milk of grassfed cows used in the making of Cadbury chocolate in the motherland (Ireland) and its neighboring colonial empire.
The twins from B*Witched: As in identical twins Keavy and Edele Lynch who made up half of 90s-00s pop sensation B*Witched. There is an uncanny resemblance between them and I, more specifically Keavy (the twin who wasn’t the lead singer). In their heyday of the late 90s - early 2000s, I was regularly (mistakenly) spotted as one or other of them and ended up signing autographs, getting photos taken with randomers and getting VIP access into nightclubs with my friends and free drinks all night. Even to this day, I’m asked by strangers if I am them. Or one of them at least. Usually, I’ll entertain myself and them by saying yes.
Punk’d: A US hidden-camera reality TV show, created and hosted by Aston Kutcher. He would play pranks on celebrities and record their reactions on hidden cameras.
Beadle’s About!: A precursor to Punk’d, possibly even the original version of such a type of show, this was a British TV show hosted by the late Jeremy Beadle, where practical jokes were played on members of the public and filmed on hidden cameras. The show ran on ITV from 1986 -1996.
Ashton Kutcher: Co-Creator and Presenter of Punk’d. Shot to stardom playing ‘Kelso’ in That 70s Show. Formerly married to Demi Moore. Currently married to Mila Kunis.
Jeremy Beadle: British TV Producer, Presenter of Beadle’s About and You’ve Been Framed. Jeremy died of pneumonia in 2008 after battling leukemia.
WEARING
Embellished Sequin ‘Bleeding Heart’ Dress: Discount Universe / Silver Sequin Crotch High Boots: Discount Universe / Rhinestone Encrusted Glasses: Material Memorie / Mirrored Perspex ‘Pegasus’ Earrings: Melody Ehsani
