Clemenger BBDO Melbourne and New Zealand agency Colenseo BBDO each won a Grand Prix of the Year honor–as well as a $10,000 cash prize–at the 10th annual Ad Stars, the advertising awards show competition. The gala was held this evening (8/26) in Busan. With 21,530 entries from 56 countries, Ad Stars is billed as being the biggest advertising awards show in Asia.
Clemenger BBDO Melbourne won Grand Prix of the Year (PSA)–and two Grand Prix trophies in PR and Direct–for the Transport Accident Commission Victoria’s “Meet Graham” produced by Flare Productions and Airbag Productions. “Meet Graham”–which earlier this awards season won the Cannes Health & Wellness Grand Prix as well an honor in the AICP’s Next Awards Innovation category–shows how the human body would have to be constructed, resulting in a strange, otherworldly creature, in order to be guaranteed of surviving a car crash.
“The ‘Meet Graham’ campaign is a true reflection of creativity and technology: a surgeon, engineer and artist combined to create a re-engineered human,” said Hwan-Jin Choi, co-chairperson of the Ad Stars executive committee.
Meanwhile Colenso BBDO won Grand Prix of the Year for its Pedigree (Mars) “Child Replacement Programme”–a campaign that also won Grand Prix in Print. The initiative encourages empty nesters to replace their children with adopted dogs.
Executive judge Wain Choi, sr. VP and chief creative officer at Cheil Worldwide, said: “I’ve been an empty nester for the last four or five years and I replaced my kids with two beagles. I love that this campaign is driven by a human truth. I think you can never go wrong when your campaign is driven by real human insights.”
“It’s incredibly funny,” added judge Raj Nair, CEO and chief creative officer at Madison BMB in India. “Parents are so emotional about their kids moving out. This turns things around in an irreverent way, and it’s beautifully integrated and executed.”
BBH Asia Pacific (Singapore) won three Grand Prix awards in the Design, Interactive and Promotion categories for Nike’s “Unlimited Stadium,” a campaign that also won five Golds.
Another of this year’s standout campaigns was created by Serviceplan Korea for Dot Corporation, creator of the world’s first Braille smartwatch. This campaign won Grand Prix in Innovation, plus three Gold trophies for Design, Interactive and PR.
Other agencies to win a Grand Prix include: Dentsu Taiwan (Branded Entertainment Videos); TBWA Santiago Mabgada Puno, Manila (Diverse Insights); Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, Japan (Film); Cheil China (Film Craft); Serviceplan Korea (Innovation); McCann Melbourne, Australia (Media); Dentsu Japan (Mobile); CJ Worx Thailand (Outdoor); and McCann Colombia (PSA)
Judge Kiran Koshy, creative director at Innocean Worldwide USA, said, “A disturbing trend was the number of category Grand Prix winners that fell under the PSA umbrella…more than half. It might seem like agencies have settled on a cause-based strategy to win awards. I can’t say I’m a fan of that approach.
“A few of us,” he continued, “debated whether great film was being undervalued, and underappreciated, in favor of more non-traditional media campaigns with more executional tentacles. Film is still the most dominant medium of advertising, and it’s harder than ever to do great Film. Some of us felt the category deserved more respect, and a higher pedestal,”
Film, Film Craft
Dentsu Taiwan Inc. won Grand Prix in Branded Entertainment Videos for its Pernod Ricard “Single Belief” campaign, while Cheil China won Grand Prix in Film Craft for Operation Smile’s “Girl in the mask.”
Inspire Advertising Taiwan, Hakuhodo Kettle Inc., Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, TBWA Hakuhodo and Colenso BBDO each won one Gold award for Film.
In Film Craft, Hakuhodo Kettle Inc. Japan, TBWA Santiago Mangada Puno in Manila, Tohokushinsha Film Corporation in Japan and Cutters Studio Japan each won one Gold.
Design & Print
Only four Gold awards were given out in Print this year: McCann Health Hong Kong won Gold for Pfizer; and Neogama Brazil won Gold for ASICS. Cheil Worldwide in Hong Kong won Gold for its JBL campaign; and TBWA Thailand won Gold for McDonald’s.
Diverse Insights, Outdoor, PSA
“Our jury had the highest number of entries to view, but the average level is amazing with so many well-known works from around the globe, but also work that I had never seen before. Getting to know such different creative looks from Asia, for me, it’s been a big surprise,” said judge Daniel da Hora, chief creative officer of DH,LO Creative Boutique in Brazil. “I think the Diverse Insights category is one of the hardest to judge because it is a broad concept, in which you have to consider both idea and execution, but still consider each entry as an ongoing project and if it makes sense in a short, medium, or longer future. More and more, advertising is about meeting people’s needs and expectations for a good, healthy, secure and fair life. Brands and activations that tap into this mood are at the best place in the audiences’ minds.”
Judge Esther Wong, executive creative director at TBWA Hong Kong, was particularly impressed by McCann Melbourne’s campaign for University of Melbourne, “Made possible,” which won two Golds in Outdoor and Promotion, plus a Grand Prix in Media. “This could have been a very boring campaign about university research. Instead it is very beautifully and cleverly made, and truly interactive,” said Wong.
In the PSA category, “The Bulletpen” by McCann Colombia won Grand Prix. Suthisak Sucharittanonta, chairman and chief creative fficer at BBDO Bangkok, said, “‘The Bulletpen’ was actually a contender to win the PSA Grand Prix of the Year. It’s a brilliant, tangible way to solve a problem.”
There were eight Gold trophies awarded in Outdoor, two Golds awarded in Diverse Insights, and two in the PSA category.
Interactive, Integrated, Innovation, Mobile, Radio
“Our jury was fortunate to see such a great a range of work across these five very different categories. There were some exceptional ideas in all categories. In particular, in the Innovation category: although there weren’t as many shortlisted ideas, the ones that were on the list were quite amazing and breakthrough,” said Helen Pak, president and chief creative officer at Grey Group Canada and executive judge at Ad Stars.
The jury awarded Grand Prix awards in three of five categories: Innovation (Serviceplan Korea), Interactive (BBH Asia Pacific) and Mobile (Dentsu Japan).
In Mobile, Dentsu Inc. won Grand Prix for its “Glicode” campaign for Ezaki Glico Company. Tom Paine, executive creative director at Y&R New Zealand, said: “This campaign teaches kids how to code from a very young age using Pocky sticks to code algorithms for a tablet or iPhone. Considering that coding is one of the fastest growing languages in the world, it’s a very clever idea.”
BBH Asia Pacific (Singapore) won Grand Prix in Design for Nike Unlimited (plus Interactive and Promotion Grand Prix, and five Golds overall). “It offers a fresh take on the Interactive category by giving runners the opportunity to beat their own personal best, which is a target that everyone can relate to. Building a stadium was a really interesting way to bring that idea to life, and the craft is amazing,” said Paine.
Direct, Media, Promotion, PR
“The quality of these categories was pretty high, although Media was probably the weakest. I was hoping to see a truly ingenious use of a media space, but that wasn’t coming. The Direct category was really strong, thanks to entries like ‘Meet Graham.’ You couldn’t ask for better,” said judge Kiran Koshy, creative director at Innocean Worldwide USA.
James Keng Lim, Ad Stars judge and creative director at Hakuhodo Sinagpore, added: “Quite frankly, I was utterly gobsmacked by the quality and high standards of the thinking behind the work in these categories. What was really interesting to me was how the lines between categories are blurring. It was most encouraging to see how work has evolved over the years. All the winners have adopted a holistic approach to solving business problems, and can easily segue to any category. This is certainly the way forward.”
McCann Melbourne won Media Grand Prix for University of Melbourne, “Made possible by Melbourne”; Clemenger BBDO Melbourne won Direct Grand Prix for Transport Accident Commission, “Meet Graham”, and BBH Asia Pacific won Promotion Grand Prix for Nike’s “Unlimited Stadium.”
Ad Stars will return in 2018 for its 11th annual festival and awards show.
Ad Stars 2017–GRAND PRIX + GOLD WINNERS BY COUNTRY
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Grand Prix Serviceplan Korea, Dot Corporation, ‘DOT. The first Braille Smartwatch’ (Innovation)
Gold Serviceplan, Dot Incorporation, ‘DOT. The first Braille Smartwatch’ (Design)
Gold Serviceplan, Dot Incorporation, ‘DOT. The first Braille Smartwatch’ (Interactive)
Gold Serviceplan, Dot Incorporation, ‘DOT. The first Braille Smartwatch’ (PR)
Gold Cheil Worldwide, UNIQLO, ‘Heat Tech Window’ (Campaign Videos – Case film)
JAPAN
Grand Prix Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc., ‘Gravity Cat’ (Film)
Grand Prix Dentsu Inc., Ezaki Glico Company, ‘Glicode’ (Mobile)
Gold Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc., ‘Gravity Cat’ (Branded Entertainment Videos)
Gold Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc., ‘Gravity Cat’ (Branded Viral Videos)
Gold Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc., ‘Gravity Cat’ (Film Craft)
Gold Dentsu Inc., Ezaki Glico Company, ‘Glicode’ (Direct)
Gold Hakuhodo Kettle Inc., Tacti Inc., ‘Hot Drive’ (Film)
Gold Hakuhodo Kettle Inc., Tacti Inc., ‘Hot Drive’ (Film Craft)
Gold Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, Taiyo Holdings Inc., ‘The oil man and the match girl’ (Film)
Gold TBWA Hakuhodo, AIG Japan Holdings, ‘TackleTheRisk’ (Film)
Gold Cutters Studio, AIG, #TackleTheRisk (Film Craft – Editing)
Gold TBWA Hakuhodo, Tess, Cogy Wheelchair (Innovation)
Gold TBWA Hakuhodo, Nissan Motor Co., ProPILOT Chair (Media)
Gold Six Inc Japan, Softbank Corp, ‘Personal Innovation Act’ (Promotion)
THAILAND
Grand Prix CJ Worx Thailand, The Unusual Football Field Project (Outdoor)
Gold CJ Worx Thailand, The Unusual Football Field Project (Design)
Gold CJ Worx Thailand, The Unusual Football Field Project (PSA)
Gold BBDO BANGKOK, Thai Health Promotion Foundation, ‘Hearing Rescue’ (Design)
Gold Ogilvy Group Thailand, DKSH Ltd., ‘Build the future 1’ (Outdoor)
Gold TBWA Thailand, McDonald’s, ‘Loving Bangkok Night 1’ (Outdoor)
Gold TBWA Thailand, McDonald’s, ‘Loving Bangkok Night 1’ (Outdoor)
Gold TBWA Thailand, McDonald’s, ‘Loving Bangkok Night 4’ (Outdoor)
Gold TBWA Thailand, McDonald’s, ‘Loving Bangkok Night 5’ (Outdoor)
Gold TBWA Thailand, McDonald’s, ‘Loving Bangkok Night 1’ (Print)
Gold J. Walter Thompson, Thai Samsung Electronics / Thai Association of the Blind, ‘Touchable Ink’ (PR)
SINGAPORE
Grand Prix BBH Asia Pacific, Nike ‘Unlimited Stadium’, (Design)
Grand Prix BBH Asia Pacific, Nike ‘Unlimited Stadium’, (Interactive)
Grand Prix BBH Asia Pacific, Nike ‘Unlimited Stadium’, (Promotion)
Gold BBH Asia Pacific, Nike ‘Unlimited Stadium’, (Direct)
Gold BBH Asia Pacific, Nike ‘Unlimited Stadium’, (Innovation)
Gold BBH Asia Pacific, Nike ‘Unlimited Stadium’, (Outdoor)
Gold BBH Asia Pacific, Nike ‘Unlimited Stadium’, (PR)
Gold BBH Asia Pacific, Nike ‘Unlimited Stadium’, (Promotion)
CHINA
Grand Prix Cheil China, Operation Smile, ‘Girl in the mask’ (Film Craft)
HONG KONG
Gold Cheil Worldwide HK, JBL, ‘Block out the chaos: babies’ (Outdoor)
Gold Cheil Worldwide HK, JBL, ‘Block out the chaos: babies’ (Print)
Gold McCann Health Hong Kong, Pfizer, ‘Eye slave’ (Print)
TAIWAN
Grand Prix Dentsu Taiwan Inc., Pernod Ricard, ‘Single Belief’ (Branded Entertainment Videos)
Gold Inspire Advertising Taiwan, Sigmu Secom, SOS Running Man (Film)
PHILIPPINES
Grand Prix TBWA SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO, The Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacanang or CARMMA, ‘Correcting History’ (Diverse Insights)
Gold TBWA SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO, The Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacanang or CARMMA, ‘Correcting History’ (Branded Entertainment Videos)
Gold TBWA SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO, The Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacanang or CARMMA, ‘Archimedes Trajano’ (Film Craft)
COLOMBIA
Grand Prix Mccann Colombia, Ministerio de Educacion de Colombia, ‘The Bulletpen’ (PSA)
Gold Mccann Colombia, Ministerio de Educacion de Colombia, ‘The Bulletpen’ (Design)
BRAZIL
Gold Neogama Brazil, ASICS, Foot type Test AD (Print)
AUSTRALIA
Grand Prix McCann Melbourne, University of Melbourne, ‘Made possible by Melbourne’ (Media)
Grand Prix Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, Transport Accident Commission, ‘Meet Graham’ (Direct)
Grand Prix Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, Transport Accident Commission, ‘Meet Graham’ (PR)
Gold Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, Transport Accident Commission, ‘Meet Graham’ (Integrated)
Gold Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, Transport Accident Commission, ‘Meet Graham’ (Interactive)
Gold Y&R Melbourne, Minus 18, ‘You’re Accepted’ (Mobile)
Gold McCann Melbourne, University of Melbourne, ‘Made possible by Melbourne’ (Outdoor)
Gold McCann Melbourne, University of Melbourne, ‘Made possible by Melbourne’ (Promotion)
NEW ZEALAND
Grand Prix Colenso BBDO, Mars, Pedigree ‘Child Replacement Programme’ (Print)
Gold Colenso BBDO, Mars, Pedigree ‘Child Replacement Programme’ (Film)
Gold Clemenger BBDO Touchcast NZ, KiwiRail, The Conscious Crossing (Outdoor)
Gold Colenso BBDO, Fonterra, ‘Anchor Milk Slams Blank Canvas’ (Radio)
Gold Colenso BBDO, Fonterra, ‘Anchor Milk Slams Blank Canvas’ (Radio)
POLAND
Gold Walk, Fundacja Kapucynska, ‘The Invisibles – book you cannot read at home (Diverse Insights)
ROMANIA
Gold GMP/Webstyler, Mediafax, ‘Romanians Adopt Romanians’ (Diverse Insights)
Gold GMP/Webstyler, Mediafax, ‘Romanians Adopt Romanians’ (PSA)
