Campaigns addressing the gun violence crisis in the U.S, pandemic frontline workers facing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and diverse representation of skin tones have received D&AD’s Black Pencil, the industry award show’s top honour.

The awards body gave out five Black Pencils this year. Two of them went to Leo Burnett Chicago’s “The Lost Class” for anti-gun violence organisation Change the Ref.

The goal of “The Lost Class” was to pay tribute to the victims of school shootings while also provoking gun advocates with a dramatic protest. A National Rifle Association (NRA) board member and another gun rights supporter were fooled into giving addresses at the phoney graduation ceremony, which drew worldwide notice.

The other Black Pencil winners were Samsung’s “iTest” by DDB New Zealand, “Hopeline19” by adam&eveDDB and Google’s “Real Tone.”

Other wins:

Advertising Agency of the Year: Leo Burnett Chicago

Network of the Year: DDB

Independent Agency of the Year: Howatson+Company

Client of the Year: Apple

Production Company of the Year: Division

Division won Production Company of the Year.