I appreciate your well-reasoned take, Tammy, especially as I see you’re a fellow marketing professional. For me, awards just don’t mean much, unless it’s like an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, or a MacArthur fellowship, for example. Or, if you actually *enter* a contest where entries are judged by industry professionals, and you win … well, sure, that’s a nice laurel. The thing is: the general public really doesn’t know the difference. So, in that sense, you’re right; people *can* be proud of their distinction and market it (meaningless as it is), and that may well give them the confidence to secure more work. (I said as much in the article, really.) Iit just bothers me that this whole thing, in reality, is nothing more than a revenue scheme perpetrated by shady companies. It’s 100% scam. So, I’d never take part in one, personally. And, to be honest, I’ve never put much stock in business awards, anyway, in the context of deciding who to hire. So, while I hear you and agree to an extent, I really wish these companies would go away.