Bangkok--31 Mar--Arc Worldwide
ADFEST 2011 ANNOUNCES THIS YEAR’S INNOVA, 360, LOTUS ROOTS, FILM, RADIO, PRESS, RADIO LOTUS AND SPECIAL AWARD WINNERS
The 14th Asia Pacific Advertising Festival (ADFEST) wrapped up this year’s three-day Festival with an Awards Presentation at the Grand Ballroom of the M?venpick Resort & Spa in Phuket, Thailand on Saturday 19 March.
“ADFEST 2011 has been a very different experience for delegates because it is the first time we have held the event in Phuket. The venue is in a beachside location and although it’s a bit smaller than last year’s, it has the merit of coziness, which makes it ideal for networking,” says Jimmy Lam, President of ADFEST.
“In today’s world, it’s so important to stay ahead of the curve, which is why we introduced the theme , Jump Start’ at ADFEST 2011. Our speaker sessions were designed to arm delegates with the knowledge they need to take their careers to the next level, and I think everyone will return home from ADFEST 2011 feeling inspired and refreshed.”
PRESS LOTUS
From 349 entries, there were 31 Lotus trophies awarded including one Best of Show, 18 Bronzes and 9 Silvers — but only 3 Golds.
“It was not a vintage year by Asia's high standards. It was more a case of the familiar ideas being done well rather than any great strategic breakthroughs. Having said that, the Best of Press was exceptionally well-crafted and took a familiar idea to new heights,” says Jury President David Guerrero, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, BBDO Guerrero/Proximity Philippines.
Best of Show went to DDB Singapore for ‘Coin Landscapes: Mountains/Road/Landmarks’ Rough Guide Budget Travel Guide. The ‘Landmarks’ execution won a Gold Lotus, while ‘Mountains’ and ‘Roads’ also won Silvers.
The other two Gold Lotuses were both awarded to BBDO Bangkok for the ‘Don't Drive Sleepy Project’ — ‘Eye1’ and ‘Campaign’.
POSTER LOTUS
From 377 entries, a total of 23 awards were presented, including Best of Show, 2 Gold, 11 Silver and 9 Bronze awards.
McCann Erickson Kuala Lumpur won Best of Show for ‘RIOT’, The New Straits Times. The agency won Gold for the campaign for the same client (New Straits Times) with ‘PERSPECTIVES: Riot/ Smuggling/ Exploitation’. The remaining Gold Lotus was awarded to SpicyH in Bangkok for ‘Fingerprint: House/Office/Laboratory’ for TimeWORKS.
“We saw an interesting variety of posters, but in this category it was more of a struggle to get agreement among the judges. Questions of eligibility cropped up more frequently and we saw an interesting collection of offices and small shops with glossy posters stuck up in them. Ultimately, we went for a beautifully crafted idea with a rare edge to it that perfectly complemented the brand,” says Guererro, who chaired the Poster Jury, as well as the Press Jury.
FILM LOTUS
Out of 426 TV entries received, 47 Lotus Awards were given out, including 2 Golds, 12 Silver and 32 Bronze. This year, the Best of Show award went to JEH United Co., Ltd. from Bangkok for its entry in ‘Internet Film’ called ‘Sorry Thailand’ for The Positive Network. The same campaign also won Gold in the Best of Social Engagements category.
The other Gold Lotus was awarded to Ogilvy & Mather Group, Hong Kong for ‘It's in our Nature’, Shangri-la Hotels and Resorts.
“This year there were less new and exciting things to watch because I think the rise of digital advertising has reduced the number of films entered into Film awards. It’s a trend affecting every country as brands invest more money in online and digital media. But despite there being fewer entries to judge, the work awarded stands out its quality of ideas and crafting,” says Film and Radio Jury President Jureeporn Thaidumrong, Executive Creative Director and Founder of JEH Bangkok. Innovation is most evident in the social media, social engagement and internet film categories, she says.
RADIO LOTUS
From 121 entries received, 11 Radio Lotus awards were given out including 9 Bronze and 2 Silver. There was no Best of Show or Gold winner in Radio this year.
“Overall the standard of work this year was higher than in previous years. The winning work possessed good ideas, clever copywriting and executions. But some of the entries felt a little predictable — the work was good but not great. I think every medium has the potential for innovation, including traditional media, so I’d like to see more innovation in the Radio category in future,” says Jureeporn.
360 LOTUS
This year, ADFEST received 46 entries into this category and three 360 Lotus Awards were presented plus two Finalists (Bronze, Silver and Gold awards are not given in this category). There was no Grande 360 Lotus given this year.
The 360 Lotus Awards were awarded to: Leo Burnett Jakarta for ‘Wrapped Campaign’, McDonald's; Clemenger BBDO Proximity Melbourne for ‘Hidden Pizza Restaurant’, Sensis Yellow Pages and finally to DDB Auckland for ‘Live Rescue’, Search & Rescue.
“The Jury was a little disappointed with this category so we did not award a Grande 360. Perhaps it relates to the economic downturn: 360 campaigns need bigger budgets, so we see fewer of them. Four or five years ago, all agencies were looking at integrated campaigns to win awards, 360 was a real trend. I still think there is room to create outstanding work in this category, but this year we did not see anything groundbreaking,” says Satoshi Takamatsu, Jury President of Cyber and Founder/Chief Creative Director of Ground Tokyo.
INNOVA LOTUS
ADFEST’s INNOVA Lotus Award is given for outstanding innovation ideas for communication. Out of 50 entries received, there was one Grande INNOVA, three INNOVA Lotus and seven Finalists awarded.
The Grande Lotus was awarded to Hakuhodo Product’s Inc Tokyo for ‘SMASH: BORN TO BE DESTROYED’. Three INNOVA Lotus awards were awarded to: Masashi & Qanta & Saqoosha & Hiroki for Utsushi Kagami’ (Mirror); Clemenger BBDO Melbourne for Guide Dogs ‘Support Scent’; and Beacon Communications K.K. in Tokyo for NIKEiD GENERATOR in Nike’s flagship Harajuku store.
“The Jury Presidents were fantastically thorough in judging the 360 and INNOVA categories amongst a frighteningly talented bunch of people. With INNOVA possibly the strongest category, I think the standard was no lower than Cannes,” says Guerrero.
Grand Jury President Washington Olivetto said: “We awarded four marvelous works the Grande INNOVA and INNOVA Lotus, and there were three 360 Lotus winners. But the difference in standards between the INNOVA winners and 360 winners was so big. The 360 works were very good, but the INNOVA winners were spectacular.”
LOTUS ROOTS 2011
ADFEST introduced the Lotus Roots category to recognize ideas inspired by local cultures, but this is the first year agencies were invited to enter this category directly. From 50 entries, the Grande Lotus winner is Hakuhodo Inc. Tokyo for ‘Peace Shadow — Recreating the Memory’ for Hiroshima Peace Memorial Centre.
One Lotus Roots was awarded to JEH United in Bangkok for ‘Sorry Thailand’, The Positive Network.
“Lotus Roots is unique to ADFEST, not only because it reflects the spirit of our tagline ‘Made in Asia’, but because it is a category where entries are judged disregarding their media format. It is an award we are very proud of because it reflects the diversity and richness of cultures in Asia,” says Jimmy Lam.
ADFEST 2011 SPECIAL AWARDS
Special Awards aims to recognize outstanding agencies, production companies and advertisers and are compiled from the tally of ADFEST Lotus Awards won during the festival.
Film Production House of the Year was awarded to PHENOMENA, Bangkok
Advertiser of the Year was presented to NIKE.
Wieden & Kennedy was named as Interactive Agency of the Year and Clemenger BBDO Melbourne was awarded Direct & Promo Agency of the Year.
Agency of the Year was picked up by Dentsu Inc., Tokyo.
Network Agency of the Year was awarded to DDB Group, which included DDB China Group Shanghai, DDB DM9JaymeSyfu, DDB Group Melbourne, DDB Group New Zealand (Auckland), DDB Hong Kong Group and DDB Singapore.
SPEAKER SESSIONS
The final day of speaker sessions kicked off in the morning with “Fabulous Four 2011”, moderated by Ram Madhvani. Next came ‘The Magnificent 7: Jury Presidents Crossfire’, as ADFEST’s seven Jury Presidents of 2011 examined some of the influences shaping the industry.
After lunch, the Speakers were: Doug Scott, President of OgilvyEntertainment in New York; Simon Sankarayya, President of D&AD; and Washington Olivetto, Grand Jury President and Chief Creative Offier at WMcCann in Sao Paolo.
JUMPSTART - ADFEST 2011
This year, ADFEST Jury Panels were a distinguished and eminent group over more than 50 creative professionals.Several new initiatives were launched such as the introduction of the Promo Lotus Award and the recognition of Lotus Roots as an official award category, which celebrates work that is created from cultural insights.
Delegates were able to vote for their favorite from a shortlist of Young Lotus finalists, the result of which was a “Delegates Choice Award, presented to the winning team (in additiona to the one selected by the Young Lotus judging panel).
ADFEST and D&AD also announced a commitment to launch a joint venture Delegate ACADEMY to ADFEST 2012, to further both parties belief in helping to raise creative standards across the Asia Pacific.
SPONSORS FOR ADFEST 2011
ADFEST could not continue its commitment to the creative industry in Asia Pacific without the generous contributions made by its sponsors. This year, the ADFEST Steering Committee and Working Committee would like to thank the following for helping to make the 14th Asia Pacific Advertising Festival a success:
Platinum Sponsor:
Department of Export Promotion (Ministry of Commerce, Royal Thai Government)
Gold Sponsor:
Stink, Sino ADI
Silver sponsors were London International Awards, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau, SourceEcreative and Nok Air.
Bronze sponsors included Photolibrary, Bang Bang and Singha Beer