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DDB NZ flies the rather limp Kiwi flag at Adfest

It was a mixed bag for DDB New Zealand last week. The team were forced to drown their sorrows late last week after the agency realignment everyone was talking about saw it say goodbye to the big ANZ account. But, on the plus side, it dominated the Fairfax Admedia agency of the year awards and it’s continued its run of hot form with another good awards haul, this time at Adfest in Thailand.

DDB won Network of the year and it was helped by the 360 Lotus Award that DDB NZ won for Coastguard NZ’s ‘Live Rescue‘ (one of just three awarded), a silver in the film category for Lotto’s ‘Lucky Dog’ and yet more accolades for Sky TV’s Arts Channel ‘Rohtko/Van Gogh/Pollock’ campaign, with one of the two silvers awarded in the Radio Lotus. Leo Burnett Jakarta also won for ‘Wrapped Campaign’, McDonald’s and Clemenger BBDO Proximity took the other for ‘Hidden Pizza Restaurant’, Sensis Yellow Pages.

Dentsu, Tokyo was crowned best agency; Wieden + Kennedy Tokyo took interactive honours; Clemenger BBDO Melbourne won direct and promo agency of the year; Nike was best advertiser; and Phenomena Bangkok was named best production company.

Last year, DDB and Moro’s ‘4th Best‘ spot won what has been called the Asia Pacific equivalent of the Cannes Grand Prix last year, the Grande 360 Lotus, but the judges decided not to award it this year.

Two of the five film craft golds handed out were also for DDB clients, with the Sweet Shop’s Steve Ayson picking up a golden gong for Lotto’s ‘Lucky Dog’ and Nathan Price winning another for Sky’s Leafblower/Ride On Mower spots.

Kiwi agencies were conspicuous by their absence, however, with DDB nabbing the only major wins.

“Adfest is one of our biggest regional award shows so it is quite relevant to our market,” says group executive creative director Toby Talbot. “Most of our clients have head offices in Asia, after all. For DDB to once again win Network of the Year at Adfest so soon after winning Spikes Asia Network of the Year in 2010, suggests that all the time and effort we put into our ECD’s collaborating through the Asia Pacific Creative Council has been worth it.”

As for the other awards, here’s the work that took the biscuit in the Asia Pacific region.

OUTDOOR LOTUS

Youtube VideoThe Best of Show went to DDB China Group, Shanghai for ‘Green Pedestrian Crossing’ China Environmental Protection Foundation. Work for the same campaign from the agency also won Gold in the category for External Street Signs/Street Furniture. The remaining two Golds went to DDB Singapore for ‘Coin Landscapes’ Rough Guide Budget Travel Guide; and Cheil Worldwide Seoul for ‘Express Train’ Super Sticky Post-it.

CYBER LOTUS

Youtube VideoMasashi & Qanta & Saqoosha & Hiroki Tokyo won Best of Show in the Best Use of Social Media category for its Utsushi Kagami’ (Mirror) promotion. The work also won a Gold Lotus for ‘Best Use of Technology’.

DIRECT LOTUS
Hakuhodo Products Inc. from Tokyo for ‘Smash: Born to be Destroyed’ won the only gold. There was no Best of Show.

PROMO LOTUS
AYoutube VideoDFEST introduced the Promo category to the Lotus Awards for the first time this year and Best of Show was won by Dentsu Inc Tokyo for ‘Uniqlo Lucky Line’.

PRINT CRAFT LOTUS

The three golds were won by SpicyH Co.,Ltd. from Bangkok for “Fingerprint: House/Office/Laboratory”, TimeWORKS; SenseTeam from Shenzhen for Social Energy_Typeface and DDB Singapore for “Coin Landscapes: Mountain/Landmarks/Road”, Rough Guide Budget Travel Guide.

Andy Blood, group executive creative director and partner at TBWA New Zealand was chosen as the jury president of the Print Craft and Design categories and his comments show how the standard of the Asia Pacific advertising work has improved in recent times.  “Our jury spoke a lot about something we call ‘the new normal’ – everything we used to think was a Gold is now only worth a Finalist because standards in the industry are so high today. It’s now really hard to break beyond ‘good’ to ‘great’,” he says.

DESIGN LOTUS

Best of Show was awarded to Masashi & Qanta & Saqoosha & Hiroki in Tokyo for Utsushi Kagami’ (Mirror) in the category for Broadcast/Motion and Digital Design.

The two Gold Lotus Awards went to Creative JuiceBangkok (TBWA) for its calendar for Tamiya Model Kits Shop and Denstu Inc in Tokyo for its ‘Japan Bullet – Zing! Thunk!’ promotion for a London Office Opening Reception/Exhibition.

RADIO LOTUS

Only two silver and eight bronze awards were handed out.

YOUNG LOTUS

Maheen Meenai, copywriter at Pirana Advertising in Karachi, and Umair Anwar, art director at Ogilvy & Mather in Lahore, took out the Young Lotus award. Colenso BBDO’s Kia Heinnen and Zoë Hawkins didn’t make the cut.

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