He continues, “Perhaps it's time to revisit the new rules and borrow from the old rules that allowed discussion and a consensus not to allow some work to go through to Ad of the Year, in case it set a bad precedent with the ever-impressionable youth entering the industry.”
The results:
Newspaper:
Magazine
Outdoor
TV/cinema
Radio
Experiential
Outdoor
Says Masekwameng, “A worthy and clear winner was the Sonovision campaign by Draftfcb. Second and third place were pretty average for a category that showed little innovation overall.”
“Is no one advertising in magazines anymore? Judging by the small number of entries, either the circulation figures' scandal is rearing its ugly head, or January of leap year was just another poor month. First and second place went to Draftfcb for the Spyderco kitchen knives campaign and Adcock Ingram ‘Freshen' campaign respectively. The judges reluctantly awarded third place to DDB-SA for their controversial Honda CBR 600 ‘Boots' ad,” comments Masekwameng.
“As always, this continues to be a popular print category. First place went to DDB SA for the Energizer ‘Scary things happen in the dark' campaign, a refreshing look at the impact of power cuts. Ogilvy CT and TBWA Jhb were tied in secnd place for the BP Castrol ‘Klenzitail' and Mail & Guardian ‘Real News' respectively.”
“As usual, a weak category month on month. One panelist suggested inviting the ANC Youth League to intervene, since a radical approach is needed to inject some life into this underrated, undermined and underutilised category. The winner went to Kyocera Printers for ‘Broken Telephone', an ad that will remind many of you of a TV commercial from some years back. After a brief discussion, the amnesia-stricken panel couldn't change the results as there was otherwise no other worthy winner. Besides, the rules don't allow it. Pity,” laments Masekwameng.
“A clear and popular winner from DDB SA was the ‘Energizer' campaign that seeks to solve the power crisis gripping the country by storm. As always, humour rocked the house. The other two finalists from the fast-food chicken business got merit mostly from good performances and decent directing of simple ideas; KFC's ‘Love Notes' by Ogilvy Jhb and Nandos ‘Only R21.95 meal' by Black River FC.”
“There still seems to be some confusion as to what makes for an experiential campaign versus straight-out outdoor or ambient. I'm counting on the creative directors and judges present to relay the simple message to agencies that outdoor pieces entered into experiential is an unnecessary gamble. A clear winner was Net#work BBDO's youth campaign for 5fm ‘Youngblood5'. Even more impressive was their entry packaging. Special mention to FoxP2 for their National Geographic ‘Fossil Regeneration Unit' that managed second place without a sophisticated DVD breaking down the staged impact of the experience. Third place went to Drraftfcb for Toyota ‘Piet', amidst murmurs of suspected vote-rigging... Not.”
Concludes Masekwameng, “After discussing Julian Watt's imminent departure from Net#work BBDO and speculating unsuccessfully about his likely replacement, everyone agreed that the new bar at McCann Erickson was a breath of very fresh air. Bigups.”
The judging panel for January 2008 comprised:
Festus Masekwameng, McCann EricksonGrant Jaconsen, Draftfcb
James Daniels, Eurorscg
Alison Hingle, Ogilvy
Charles Pantland, TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris
Steve Anderson, Saatchi & Saatchi
Matthew Brink, KingJames
Gareth Lessing, DDB SA
Graeme Jenner, Net#work BBDO
Glenn Jeffery, Volcano
