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The comical collegiality continues in Axis call for entries campaign, as The Beacons takes aim at media innovation

The bar for call for entries campaigns has risen significantly in recent years, with the likes of DraftFCB’s ‘The real judge of advertising is the consumer’ campaign for the 2011 Effies and TBWA’s ‘Results Don’t Lie’ effort this year standing out. And there are a couple more good ones bubbling away at the moment for the Axis Awards and the newly rejigged Beacon Awards. 

Agencies are renowned for talking about themselves. But to promote the Axis Awards (entries need to be in by this Friday Dec 13 or else you can buy a 48 hour extension), Clemenger BBDO came up with the very collegial idea of sharing the love, tapping in to creative oneupmanship and asking agencies to say something nice about their rivals. 

First up, DraftFCB and Clemenger BBDO dug deep and shared their love for each other, and they were followed by JWT and TBWA (the JWT loves TWA billboard in central Auckland was a nice touch). And now Saatchi & Saatchi has released its very funny love letter to Colenso BBDO, featuring a bravura performance from exotic creative director Antonionio Navas (the agency producer was Anna Kennedy, it was written and directed by Corey Chalmers and Guy Roberts and the DPs were Ollie Dale and Rowan Webb of Gorgeous Films). 

The hero visual for the campaign is two brightly coloured Axis trophies poised to kiss and speakers at the pre-Axis speaker event will be asked to enter the spirit of the campaign by sharing their love for a piece of work done by someone else.

As for the Beacons, which were given a refresh by DraftFCB and are now open for entriesCAANZ chief executive Paul Head says the aim was to “create a new, relevant brand that positions both the awards themselves and media agencies at the forefront of the communications industry, both in the minds of the broader industry and clients”. 

The first video used New Zealand’s most northern and southern beacons to launch the extremely innovative call for entries campaign, which takes aims at the hyperbole often seen in awards entries and features the line ‘It’s only great if it gets noticed’, and that was followed up with the brilliant use of the Sky Tower and Bean Rock. 

DraftFCB also designed a new trophy (to be unveiled in the new year) and chose to move the event to the Viaduct Events Centre. 

A bit of housekeeping for Axis, CAANZ announced a couple of minor tweaks to the Direct Mail and Radio categories.

The Direct Mail category amendment is to category 24 – Direct Campaign.  The description of that category has been replaced in its entirety as follows:

24.    DIRECT CAMPAIGN

           Direct Mail that comprised more than one element delivered separately.  

Incorporating a minimum of three executions in any medium so long as each execution drives a specific direct response as specified in the Important Notes above.

The other amendment is a minor change to category 46 – Innovative Use of Radio as follows:

46.    INNOVATIVE USE OF RADIO

           This is about finding new ways to redefine the medium of radio using including the use of non-paid media outside of a traditional paid radio commercial. Entries in the Innovative Use of Radio category cannot be entered into categories 44 or 45.

“By only referencing ‘Mail’ in the earlier description of the Direct Campaign category we were limiting any other direct ideas delivered in other channels,” noted James Mok, Axis Awards Convener of Judges. “The change in the Innovative Use of Radio category was to ensure we were clearly open to any form of innovation in this medium.”

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