By Carolyn Giardina
FRANKFURT --The Volkswagen Golf GTI ad “True Men” from bicoastal/international @radical.media and DDB Group Germany, Berlin, collected five of 15 awards handed out last week at the vdw (Association of German Advertising Spot Producers) Awards, which attracted more than 400 to a gala celebration in Frankfurt on the eve of the eDIT Filmmakers Festival (see related story, p. 1). That included trophies for direction, presented to director Steve Miller; copywriting, to Ulrich Lützenkirchen; cinematography, to director of photography Martin Ruhe; costume design, to Nicole Fischnaller; and music, to UK trio 22-20s.
The spot shows the life span of the car through kids in what appears to be home movies. “This was the 25th anniversary of this model–so kids at the time are now adults,” director Miller explained. “I wanted to have the aesthetic represent the idea of home movies, but not have that be a theme to the spot–just in keeping with the theme as more personal and more emotional. We just showed boys in a natural medium and since we were kind of talking about a particular time, ’73-’76, it made sense to go with a more dated medium. We used 16mm and Super 8, in keeping with that era. We also shot 35mm for 16.”
The evening’s other big winner was the effective animation “Sounds of Summer” for Mercedes-Benz Cabriolets via Spring & Jacoby, Hamburg, and Hamburg-based production company Sehsucht, which collected three trophies including best commercial; animation, awarded to directors/animators Timo Schaedel and Ole Peters; and sound design, presented to sound designer Wenke Kleine-Benne of NHB, Hamburg.
@radical.media, also, along with ALMAP BBDO Brazil and PepsiCo, collected the vdw Award for top international spot, which is conferred annually on the best commercial of foreign production that was seen on German television or cinemas. This year’s winning spot was Pepsi’s “Surf,” which was directed by Tarsem of @radical.media and featured surfers playing soccer while on their boards riding waves.
Vdw Awards were also bestowed on Jono Griffith and Teun Rietveld, in the category of editing, for Asics, “Attacks,” via Neue Sentimental Film Berlin via Berlin’s Aimaq Rapp Stolle; Ole Peter for visual effects on Mju-Mini Digital’s “New Eyes V Chain Reaction,” via Sehsucht and FCB Wilkens, Hamburg; and Stefan Bednarczyk, Morten Holst and Kasper Gattrup for their performances in Volkswagen’s VW Sharan “Machos,” for soup.film, Berlin, and DDB Group Germany, Hamburg.
West’s “Demo” via Berlin-based production company Jo!Schmid and Hamburg-based agency Jung von Matt for the Reemtsma Tobbacco Group collected two awards: the make-up honor was presented to Dagmar Riha and scenery to Birgit Kniep-Gentis.
Lastly, with a nod to the future, the award for best student commercial was presented to Alexander Kiesl, Steffen Hacker and Oliver Staubi of the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg for Xbox “Racing Beats.”
The Association of German Advertising Spot Producers was founded in 1966. The 38 members currently in the association represent roughly 75 percent of Germany’s national advertising spot volume, which equates to annual sales of approx. 250 million euros.
AICP Awards Tour To Conclude With Stops In Dallas and Chicago
The 2024 AICP Awards Tour concludes with stops in Dallas and Chicago this month as it wraps up its tour of cities across the U.S. The National Tour brought presentations, panels and screenings to marketers, advertising agencies, production and postproduction companies.
The AICP Awards will be in Dallas on Thursday, November 14, at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, followed by the Chicago event, set for Thursday, November 21, at The Old Post Office. Tickets are available now for both events here.
In Dallas, the program kicks off at 6:45 pm with a happy hour, followed by the screening and panel discussion at 7:30. The evening ends with a networking reception from 8:30 to 11:30.
Appearing in Dallas will be Abe Garcia, chief creative officer, Dieste; Julia Melle, director of brand and content, Southwest Airlines; and Isaac Pagán Muñoz, VP, executive creative director of PepsiCo Foods. The panel will review selected winners from the suite of the AICP Awards programs, offering insights into what made them rise to the top of their respective categories and share their viewpoints on key trends in the industry.
The Chicago stop starts at 6 pm with a happy hour, followed by the presentation and screening at 7 pm. A reception caps the event, starting at 8 pm and concluding at 11:30 pm.
The panel there will feature 2024 AICP Awards curators and winners from the marketer, agency, production and postproduction sectors who’ll highlight this year’s winners. The conversation will include a discussion about the winning work, including insights into what makes a project stand out, as well as industry trends and insights.
Panelists include Brian Billow, director, O Positive, AICP Show curator and... Read More