Walker had a strong interest in advertising and design and had been screening the Clio Awards for many years, so there was a natural curiosity about foreign commercials.
Major companies such as Target, Best Buy and General Mills are based in the Twin Cities and bring creative teams over to screenings, as do other advertising agencies like Fallon.
Watching the awards in a cinematic setting provides a unique communal screening experience that has broadened the program to a general audience of Anglophiles, film students, and the press who attend annually.
It’s a unique experience for American audiences to view ads that are not invested in the hard sell; rather, gaining interest in products and services through humour, pathos and a dynamic cinematography.
Each year a member of the British Arrows board attends the presentation, introduces the program on the opening night and handles interviews on TV, radio and the press.