French advertising agencies captured two of six Best of Show (Grand Prix) wins in the 2018 Mobius Advertising Awards competition. Other winners came from the United States, United Kingdom, China and Australia. They were chosen from 16 nominees.
Havas Paris and Universal Music Group, Puteaux, earned Best of Show for "Les Passantes" in Digital: Online: Craft/Technique-Use of Music. The entry reimagined a French poem by Antoine Pol and later sung by Georges Brassens as a visual ode to women, their freedom and their diversity. Representing women of all shapes and forms was a goal of Director Charlotte Abramow, which was achieved by showing a variety of bodies, skin colors, ages and professions. The viewer was encouraged to question and reflect on these conventions as taboos were depicted and debunked with humor. Chief Creative Officer was Christophe Coffre, with Deputy General Director Thierry Grouleaud and Head of Production Virginie Meldener. The production company was Iconoclast, Paris. Director was Charlotte Abramow; Producers were Manon Leurent, Horace De Bunzbourg and Nizar El Tayeb. Post-production work was by HRCLS, Puteaux.
BETC, Paris, took a Best of Show for "Save Our Species" in Public/Media Relations, Ecology. Done for Lacoste, this entry notified the world that for the first time in Lacoste history there was a change to the Lacoste crocodile, one of the most iconic logos in the world. Designers created 10 extremely limited-edition polo shirts in which the crocodile leaves its historic spot to 10 threatened species. The number of shirts corresponded to the number of animals known to remain in the wild. The work was led by Chief Creative Officer Rémi Babinet, Creative Director Antoine Choque and Art Director Jonathan Baudet-Botella. Copywriters were Celine Mazza (also Strategic Planner) and Olivier Aumard. Head of Activation Strategy was Julien Leveque. Agency Management was by Bertille Toledano, Fanny Buisseret and Benjamin Veaute; Producer was Franck Annese.
PepsiCo Design & Innovation, New York, won the top award in Package Design: Special Event, Holiday for "Brisk x Marvel Studios, Wakanda Forever Special Edition Package." To celebrate the premiere of Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther,” PepsiCo launched a limited-edition package that combined special technologies with a unique product design that included a 3D-printed attachment to the aluminum can inspired by Black Panther’s iconic mask. The work received 51 million earned media impressions, including 1.6 million views from unboxing videos done on YouTube. The package highlights costume design in a unique format to create social buzz. Strategies included magnetic cartons with Smart LED lights and a tactile varnish that emphasizes graphic elements.
The winning UK entry was "Turner Duckworth Moving Card," from Turner Duckworth: London San Francisco & New York. The London office won in Direct: Physical Mail, Craft/Technique-Typography with a mailer celebrating the firm's move to a larger London studio and reflecting the design agency’s growth. When the mailer tin is opened to illustrate creatives being packed in like sardines, it also recalls the agency's origins as a packaging design agency. Head of Design was David Turner and Bruce Duckworth. Creative Director was Miles Marshall; Artworkers were James Norris and James Chilvers; Account Manager was Isabelle Erixon.
Best of Show in Brand Identity was "CEEC Show Case" in the Craft/Technique-User Experience category. The entry came from the production company Dans Digital, Shenzhen, and was done for China Shenzhen International CEEC Co., Ltd. The effort was an immersive outer space experience for visitors to the 10-story China International Consumer Electronics Exchange Exhibition Center. Dans Digital built two elevators twice as large as normal. The elevators’ five walls are glass panels that display laser projection matrix video with realistic sounds, creating the impression that the passengers are traveling on a spaceship through space. The build cost $2 million. Director was Bohong Deng; Executive Producers were Cuimin Zhou, Yan Jiang and Guibing Xu. Post-production was by Guanghao Xu. Editors were Yuping Duan and Jie Yu. Visual effects were by Jinliang Jiang, Quan Li and Quan Jiang; Layout was done by Yan Li, Hongming Xiang, Zhiqiang Chen, Junwen Xu, Chao He, Weicheng Zheng and Mini Chen. Photographers were Bo Yang, Minsheng Lin, Jiahuan Wan, Jujun Zhang and Zhichen Tang. Production Assistants were Yucheng Chen, Liling Gao and Haijiao Bao.
Winning in Brochure/Book: Craft/Technique-Photography was Cheil Australia, Sydney NWS, for "The Low Light Book." The entry brochure promotes the book, a compilation of photographs taken with the Samsung S9 and S9 Plus cellphones. The book also includes tips for improving night photography skills and suggests low-light locations where photographers can practice shooting. The work was done for Samsung Electronics Australia, Sydney. Creative Director was Stephen Anderson, Managing Director was Byunhoon So with Business Director Mark Anderson, Designer Carlos Barron and Account Director John Lee. Account Manager was Rinita Dasani, and Production Manager was Matais Eduardo Garrido. DisplayRite, Sydney, was the production company.
In this 47th annual competition, overall entrants came from 18 countries, and 38 awards were given, including 16 First Place Mobius Award Golden Statuettes, 19 Second Place Certificates for Outstanding Creativity and three Student Awards. Full details are at www.mobiusawards.com.
