Which comes first, the creative or the awards?

Synchonicity or what? There was I hassling Dabitch about a showcase of the best online advertising - simply because I've been having trouble finding (m)any examples and it seemed much easier to see if the AdLand community could help - and before she could say no, or something ruder, I encountered a whopping great interstitial on the Advertising Age site promoting The Third Annual MSN Creative Awards.

Looking at the winners of their 2004 awards it's a shame to see only the interruptive variety of online creative which far too often expands to take over most of your deskop.

No wonder I've been having trouble finding some decent examples, but then I guess the Subservient Chickens of this world by and large bypass media owners like MSN so it's unlikely they will be cheerleading the more viral executions. Sadly, they haven't been paying much attention to all those reality TV shows - their awards would have been almost perfect if there was some ability for end-users to influence the outcome, rather than simply rely on the decisions of the so-called industry experts. But a set of awards sponsored by a big brand offering a cash prize knocks the socks off most other awards out there. Let's hope that 2005 is a watershed for online creative work and that online ads become engaging rather than just interruptive.