Last Thursday adland gathered at the ADC Gallery in New York to celebrate the winning work at the Art Directors Club annual awards.

It was the first year that the newly-created ADC Black Cube - the best in show award - was up for grabs. But no Black Cube was awarded, signalling a disappointing year in advertising with no real stand-out work. Several months back industry insiders were hopefully speculating that tough economic conditions would have a positive effect on the standard of creativity, but this latest news calls the earlier optimism into question.

"A surprising development of the Black Cube's inaugural year is that none were awarded by the advertising, design or interactive juries," said Ami Brophy, CEO of the ADC. "This reflects a rigorous judging process that does not separate the idea from the execution or innovation or art direction. Our newly minted Black Cube was introduced to elevate the best in show from each category - the 'goldest of the gold'."

But while there was no Black Cube winner, there were plenty of other awards handed out. Saatch & Saatchi was named Agency of the Year after notching up eight prizes over the evening. Saatchi's haul included four gold awards including trophies for the Harold Einstein-directed Crest spot Bulldozer, two radio campaigns for StuffIt Deluxe and poster campaign, Through your Veins, for Cheerios.

Pentagram Design was named Design Firm of the Year and R/GA won Interactive Agency of the Year. Just a few days later, R/GA was also named Webby Agency of the Year at the annual Webby Awards.

Leo Burnett received the Network of the Year nod, netting a total of twelve awards across its agencies. Leo Burnett London picked up two gold awards for the subtly stunning House of Cards spot for homeless charity Shelter. The spot was directed by Outsider duo Dom & Nic. In the Design category Leo Burnett London won its third gold for TV and cinema art direction for the Department of Transport series Tales of the Road.

The Vision Award went to YouTube received for the pioneering, innovative and provocative changes it's wrought in the industry. The Vision Award was created in 1954 and past winners have included MTV, Ford, IBM, and Volkswagen.

Check out the full list of winners here .