NEW YORKaDDB Needham was the big winner at the New York Festivals 41st Annual Television Advertising Award ceremonies, held on Jan. 15 at the Marriott Marquis. The agency collected six Gold WorldMedals as well as a grand award for best commercial.
DDB Needham Chicagos Mind Control for Anheuser-Busch/Budweiser was named best commercial and also won Gold in its product category. Charles Wittenmeier of A Band Apart Commercials, bicoastal with an office in Minneapolis, directed the spot, in which fans of the supersensory fill an auditorium to judge the mind-manipulating powers of three contestants. One contestants desire for a Bud seems to give him the edge, but the psychic powers really belong to an audience member.
The agency earned a Gold for the Bud Light campaign consisting of Handyman and Rain, directed by Wittenmeier, and Shopping, directed by Dave Merhar of Visitor, Santa Monica. DDB also won a Gold for McDonalds Boxer, directed by Joe Pytka of PYTKA, Venice.
DM9DDB Publicidade, So Paulo, Brazil, struck Gold with Bull for Venice Hamburger, Kilt for the Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and Blackboard, a public service literacy spot for IBEAC.
Other big winners include bicoastal production company Headquarters, which collected three Golds, including best direction for Visas Elephant via BBDO New York. David Cornell directed.
Other grand award winners came from agencies in Australia, South Africa and the Netherlands. Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne, won best campaign for its Conference of Australian Milk Authorities work; Retired and Milkman feature a retired milkman continuing to make his rounds to the women on his former route. The Jupiter Drawing Room C.T., Cape Town, South Africa, won best creative/production achievement for 15, 6 and 12, a campaign for Musica in which track numbers on a CD humorously reference the artist or the soundtrack. Best PSA was awarded to TBWA/Campaign Company, Amsterdam, for Funniest Home Video, a spoof used to promote child safety.
The New York Festivals received more than 12,000 entries from 64 countries. Of the 59 Golds awarded in television advertising, 23 went to agencies and production companies in the United States. Argentina and South Africa won six each, followed by Canada and Brazil with four, Australia, Germany and Japan with three, and Chile, France, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland with one apiece.
The winners are:
