Comedy was the big winner at the 23rd Annual One Show Awards, with Cliff Freeman And Partners, New York, and Wieden & Kennedy (W&K), Portland, Ore., laughing all the way to the post-show party, having scored the majority of the awards during the evening. Held at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in New York on May 6, the Best of Show went to Cliff Freeman for its FOX Sports.com’s "Feet," "Kids" and "Old Man," three humorous spots which showed the generally self-serving lengths that online addicts will go to surf FOX Sports.com. The spots, which were directed by Rocky Morton of Morton Jankel Zander, Los Angeles, also won a Gold Pencil in the :30 campaign category.
Winning the Silver Pencil in the same category was Cliff Freeman’s campaign for Outpost.com that included "Cannon," "Band," and "Forehead." The spots were directed by John O’Hagan of bicoastal Hungry Man. The Outpost.com spots took the top two prizes in the :30 single category as well, with "Band" winning the Gold Pencil and "Cannon" clinching the Silver Pencil. Cliff Freeman swept the :30 single category since the agency’s "Birthday" spot for FOX Sports, directed by Jeff Gorman for Farmland Studios (now JGF), Hollywood, took the Bronze Pencil.
Cliff Freeman also grabbed the Gold Pencil in the :20 and under campaign category for FOX Sports’ "Shopping Cart," "Pole" and "Head." The spots, directed by bicoastal HKM Productions’ Noam Murro, captured the antics of two baseball enthusiasts who attempt to reproduce the mythic sounds of the game.
W&K garnered a flurry of awards for its Miller High Life spots. "Mayonnaise" snagged the Gold Pencil in the :20 and under single category and "Sally," another spot in the same campaign, took the Silver Pencil in that category. The campaign’s "Sally," "Donut" and "Fridge" took the Gold Pencil in the varying lengths campaign category, with "Boat," "Mayonnaise" and "Router" winning the Silver Pencil in that category. Additionally, W&K took the Bronze Pencil in the :30 campaign category for Miller’s "Boat," "Duct Tape" and "Deviled Egg." The ads, directed by documentary filmmaker Errol Morris of bicoastal/international @radical. media, suggested a "truth in advertising" theme. A trend echoed in Cliff Freeman’s FOX Sports. com Best of Show, the spots affirmed the baser and more indulgent inclinations of manhood.
In the over :30 campaign category, MTV won the Gold Pencil for the MTV Video Music Awards spots "Ben With Madonna," "Ben with Wu-Tang-First Wives" and "Ben with Wu-Tang-Checking In." Tim Abshire (now repped for spots by bicoastal Shelter Films) directed the spots, and MTV acted as both agency and production company.
The Silver in the over :30 campaign category went to W&K for Nike’s "Bulls," "Meat" and "Marathon Man." W&K scored again with the spots in the over :30 single category, with "Meat" claiming the Gold Pencil and a tie between "Marathon Man" and "Bulls" for the Silver Pencil. "Meat" and "Marathon Man" were directed by Jhoan Camitz of bicoastal/international Satellite, and Ralf Schmerberg, repped by @radical.media, directed "Bulls."
Bates-Gruppen/Oslo’s "Skid Marks" for Audi of Norway tied with Nike’s "Meat" for the Gold Pencil in the over :30 single category. "Skid Marks" was helmed by Jorn Hagen for Ferocious Films, Oslo, and the spot provides a tire-squealing example of the way in which drivers come to a halt when they see an Audi parked at the side of the road.
In the under $50,000 budget single category, the Gold Pencil was awarded to Goldberg Moser O’Neill, San Francisco, for "Diver," an Ameristar Casinos spot. In that ad, a boy in a bikini bathing suit climbs a ladder to a diving board where he stands totally bewildered after hearing an announcement of the complex dive he is supposed to do. The tag placard "Chance" appears a moment later, acknowledging that though the kid doesn’t have a chance, the odds are better at the casino.
In the non-broadcast cinema category, BMP DDB Ltd., London, took the Gold for Volkswagen’s "Ruler." The spot, which demonstrates the dedication of Volkswagen’s engineers, prominently features the line, "Is that a ruler in your pocket or are you glad to see me?" (It’s a ruler.) Peter Cattaneo, of Academy Commercials, London, directed.
The Gold Pencil for public service campaign was won by Grey Advertising Melbourne for Transport Accident Commission’s "Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday," "Christmas Eve" and "Christmas Day." Directed by Aleksi Vellis for Renegade Films, Prahran, Australia, the spots document the prelude and aftermath of a husband who drives drunk and gets into an accident. The husband ends up in the hospital and eventually dies, leaving a pregnant wife and two children behind.
Team One Advertising, El Segundo, Calif., won the Gold Pencil for public service single for "Surfing Monkey," a Partnership for a Drug-Free America spot helmed by Kyle Bergersen of November Films, Santa Monica.
A complete list of television winners follows:
Best of Show
FOX Sports.com, "Feet," "Kids" and "Old Man." Morton Jankel Zander, Los Angeles. Rocky Morton, director. Cliff Freeman And Partners, New York. Kilpatrick Anderson, art director; Kevin Roddy, copywriter; Nick Felder, producer.
