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An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize their excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signified by trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons. An award may carry a monetary prize given to the recipient; for example, the Nobel Prize for contributions to society or the Pulitzer Prize for literary achievements. An award may also simply be a public acknowledgment of excellence, without any tangible token or prize.
Awards can be given by any person or institution, although the prestige of an award usually depends on the status of the awarder. Usually, awards are given by an organization of some sort, or by the office of an official within an organization or government. For instance, a special presidential citation (as given by the President of the United States) is a public announcement giving an official place of honor (e.g., President Ronald Reagan gave a special presidential citation in 1984 to the Disney Channel for its excellent children's television programming.)
However there are exceptions like some quality labels, for which it is neither person nor organizations that are rewarded, but products. This is the case for the World Quality Selections organized by Monde Selection. These international awards are assigned to beverages, foods, cosmetics and diet products, which stand out for their quality.
People who have won certain prestigious awards, such as the Nobel Prize, a championship title in a sport, or an Academy Award (Oscar), can have the award become their identity, thereafter being known primarily for winning the award, rather than for any other achievement or occupation. To distinctly be categorized as an 'Award', rather than some other type of ceremonial or arbitrary recognition, there should be a clear process of nominations, award criteria and appropriate judging process. Generally, recognition by a set of peers, acknowledging quality of work, rather than a 'popularity contest' is considered to be an authentic award.
Mock awards, which typically recognize failures or atypical achievements, are also popular. They are usually given by people and organizations of lower or average prestige, such as comical organizations and individual writers. Popular mock awards include:
- Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies), a satirical counterpart to the Academy Award which recognizes the worst acting, screenwriting, songwriting, directing, and films that the film industry had to offer
- Ig Nobel Prize, a satirical counterpart to the Nobel Prize, given for achievements that "first make people laugh, and then make them think."
- Darwin Awards, "given to people who seem to improve the human gene pool by accidentally killing or sterilizing themselves during a foolish or careless mistake."
One common type of award in the United States is the Employee of the Month award, where typically the recipients' names are listed in a prominent place in the business for that month. A common mock award is the wooden spoon, given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition.
Some awards are given only after a fee is paid by the recipient, such as the German Design Award.
- The Kentucky Derby Trophy is an award worth $70,000 with an estimated 1000 man hours of labor.
- Ken Bensinger (2006-12-14). "The Bogies: Radar nominates the most bogus awards in America". Radar Online. Archived from the original on 2007-06-03. Retrieved 2007-06-07.