Owens DDB was the big winner at the NNI Press Ad of the Year Awards which were held in Dublin’s Mansion House last night (Thursday March 16th). The agency picked up three awards for its work with client Volkswagen while it also won an award for Skoda.
Owens DDB won the overall Press Ad of the Year for its ‘cut-out’ style newspaper ad designed to highlight the resale value of Volkswagen cars. The media for the campaign was planned and bought by MediaCom.
In addition to winning the overall NNI Press Ad of the Year award, Owens DDB’s ‘VW Resale Value’ also won prizes for Best Art Direction and Best Consumer Durables Ad. The agency also picked up an award in the NNI Best Local & Regional category for its ‘Cowboy’ ad on behalf of Skoda.
This year’s NNI awards were judged by Mark Lewis and Matt Fitch of BBH (London), the creative duo behind The Guardian newspaper’s multi-award-winning ‘Three Little Pigs’ ad, along with Gavin O’Doherty, marketing director of Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, and Today FM CEO Peter McPartlin.
The overall winning ad was described as “right up there with the classic VW print ads” by judges Mark Lewis and Matt Fitch of BBH London, who recommended that the work be entered in this year’s Cannes advertising festival.
“This is a purely newspaper ad that wouldn’t work in any other medium,” said judges Lewis and Fitch. “It’s really simple but it works on multiple levels. At the end of the day it’s a joke, but it succeeds in getting across a very serious point about the re-sale value of your car.
“The agency could have turned this into an instruction manual but they didn’t – and the results are very smart,” said the judges. “We’d love to have done this ad and if we had, we would definitely be entering it in Cannes; it’s really that good.”
Elsewhere it was a good night for Ogilvy & Mather which teamed up with media partner Mindshare to win the Best B2B category – for the ‘Sharks’ ad highlighting the agency’s own success at the Kinsale festival – as well as the Best Charity award for its ‘Heartbroken Santa’ ad on behalf of the ISPCC.
Other award-winners included Brand Artillery and Leo Burnett (with Mediaworks as media partner), who won Best Copywriting for their ad ‘The Fools’ on behalf of Glasnevin Trust, and Publicis Dublin with Mediavest, who won the Media category for their ‘Justice Undone’ ad on behalf of TG4.
This year’s NNI awards featured two new categories for media agencies. Susan Daly of OMD took home the inaugural prize for POP (Power of Press) ‘Planner of the Year’ an award created to regonise an individual who has been working in media planning for three years or less. Carat was crowned 2012 NNI Press Agency of the Year for the creativity of its approach to media strategy.
The award for NNI Press Advertiser of the Year went to Three Mobile, with the telecoms company praised by the judging panel for its “strong and consistent commitment to newspaper advertising, willingness to take advantage of the collaborations offered by press and development of new and very effective advertising executions and strategies”.
Last night’s trophies were presented by NNI Chairman, Matt Dempsey, who described the Advertiser award as “a fitting tribute to the importance and input of the client in the advertising process”.
Also last night Mindshare picked up the award for topping the NNI Agency league of top press spenders for the third consecutive year. Last year the agency spent €9.7m on press advertising putting it ahead of Starcom (€8.6m) and Carat (€8.2m).
Elsewhere Brindley Advertising, which is part of the Aegis group of companies, picked up the award for the highest overall increase in press spending while GT Media picked up the award for the highest percentage growth.
A full list of NNI Press Ad of the Year winners, the campaigns and the judges’ comments is outlined below.
PRESS AD OF THE YEAR
‘Volkswagen Resale Value’ by Owens DDB / MediaCom for Volkswagen
What judges Mark Lewis & Matt Fitch (BBH London) said:
“First of all, this is a purely newspaper ad – it wouldn’t work in any other medium. It’s really simple, really smart and it works on multiple levels. At the end of the day it’s a gag, a joke, but it succeeds in getting across a very serious point about the re-sale value of your car.
There isn’t an ounce of fat on this ad, it’s pared right down to the bare minimum yet it’s still got the brand all over it. They could have turned this into an instruction manual but they didn’t – and the results are very smart.
We’d love to have done this ad and if we had, we would definitely be entering it in Cannes, it’s really that good. Maybe the best thing we can say about this ad, though, is that it’s right up there with the classic VW print ads – it definitely reaches that benchmark, and that is very high praise.”
BEST COPYWRITING
‘The Fools’ by Brand Artillery + Leo Burnett / Mediaworks for Glasnevin Trust
What the judges said:
“We know this ad must have been a lot of fun to write because it’s a lot of fun to read. It takes something that’s normally dull and boring and dead (literally) and manages to create excitement and life around it, that’s no mean feat. This ad sets the tone for the experience and hopefully the tour lives up to the promise of this really well-written ad.”
Highly Commended
- ‘Audi Quattro Christmas’ by Cawley Nea TBWA / MediaCom for Audi Ireland
- ‘Progress’ by DDFH&B / Mindshare for the Jack & Jill Foundation
BEST ART DIRECTION
‘Volkswagen Resale Value’ by Owens DDB / MediaCom for Volkswagen
What the judges said:
(See above)
Highly Commended
- ‘Playground’ by DDFH&B / Mediavest for Dublin City Council
- ‘Spay Drive’ by Rothco for the ISPCA
- ‘Justice Undone’ by Publicis / Mediavest for TG4
‘Audi Quattro Christmas’ by Cawley Nea TBWA / MediaCom for Audi Ireland
BEST MEDIA
‘Justice Undone’ by Publicis Dublin / Mediavest for TG4
What the judges said:
“This ad is devastatingly simple and that’s the whole point. It brings the symbols of justice and liberty to life, these hugely iconic ideals, and has them destroy themselves in the most brutal way. It’s an intriguing concept and something that really makes you want to watch this show. The layout of the ad is perfect too, with the statue on the left and the brooding expanse of clouds adding a real epic-ness to the execution.”
Highly Commended
- ‘Second Helping’ by Publicis / Mediavest for TG4
- ‘Bourne Back Page Takeover’ by Bonfire / MediaCom for Universal Pictures
BEST RETAIL
‘Every Day’ by DDFH&B / Starcom for the National Lottery
What the judges said:
“This is a really well art-directed campaign, right down to the detail of the typography for the different days. You get what it’s telling you immediately, that’s the point. And they haven’t fallen into the trap of showing what you could win; these are all about which days you can play and win. Very nicely done.”
BEST B2B
‘Sharks’ by Ogilvy & Mather / Mindshare for Ogilvy & Mather
What the judges said:
“This ad takes a well-known idiom and brings it to life, as a concept it could not be simpler. It’s beautifully clean though, in fact it’s more like art than advertising. It’s also very bold and cocky, at its heart it’s a boast and we love that – they’re dead right to boast about being the best. And what better way for a creative agency to advertise its creativity than with a really creative execution?!”
BEST FINANCIAL
‘Classified Takeover’ by H+A Marketing & PR / Carat for Laya Healthcare
What the judges said:
“We appreciate the effort and time and craft it took to make this ad. They have cleverly got a lot of different information on the page in a way that draws the reader in and provides genuine insight into the brand. In effect there are 40 ads in one going on here, and wherever you go to on the page you get something of value about the brand.”
BEST CONSUMER DURABLES
‘Volkswagen Resale Value’ by Owens DDB / MediaCom for Volkswagen
What the judges said:
(See above)
Highly Commended
‘Audi Quattro Christmas’ by Cawley Nea TBWA / MediaCom for Audi Ireland
BEST FMCG
‘Pint Pass’ by Irish International / Carat for Guinness / Diageo
What the judges said:
“Another very clean and very simple execution. In terms of the brief, the rugby connection comes across straight away through the image and the line. It works on two levels actually, it’s not just a great branding piece but also a great sponsorship piece. It also has that little reward for the consumer to smile about. One other point – they’ve managed to show a pint without showing a pint. Whoever took the decision not to draw in the lines of the pint glass? That was a good decision.”
Highly Commended
- ‘Tastes Like’ by Atomic / Mindshare for HB
- ‘It’s Ours’ by Boys and Girls / Vizeum for Power’s Whiskey
- ‘Birthday Ad’ by iris London / Universal McCann for Jack Daniel’s
NNI BEST LOCAL & REGIONAL
‘Cowboy’ by Owens DDB / MediaCom for Skoda Ireland
What the judges said:
“A really likeable piece of work, the cowboy has a great look and we loved the grit and the ‘tache, it all puts a smile on your face even before you take a closer look. This ad has a typical Skoda sense of humour and it works very well.”
Highly Commended
- Simply M&S Wrap by RKCR Y&R / Kick Communications for Marks & Spencer
BEST PUBLIC INTEREST & INFORMATION
‘Be Smart Scar’ by McCann Dublin / Clear Blue Water for the HSA
Creative Agency: McCann Dublin
Media Agency: Clear Blue Water
Client: The Health and Safety Authority
Concept: Stephen Power
Art Director: Stephen Power/Ray Swan
Copywriter: Emma Sharkey
Creative Director: Ray Swan & Emma Sharkey
Photographer: Liam Murphy
What the judges said:
“We’ve seen a lot of scar executions done in a lot of different ways – but never one like this. So straight away it’s got stand-out. Instead of using emotion and making it a very soft appeal, they’ve used very hard-headed, profit-and-loss imagery that any businessman would relate to. There’s a surprising coldness to the ad that really hooks you.”
Highly Commended
- ‘Playground’ by DDFH&B / Mediavest for Dublin City Council
BEST CHARITY
‘Heartbroken Santa’ by Ogilvy & Mather / Mindshare for the ISPCC
What the judges said:
“This is a stunningly well-written ad, the copy is so inviting and then the revelation that it’s about children (and not, say, the homeless) is so unexpected, it just catches you off guard. You can’t read this ad without feeling a pang of emotion and a desire to help – that’s what the best charity ads do, and this one is right up there with the very best.”
Highly Commended
- ‘Charity Head Shave’ by Rothco / Clear Blue Water for the ISPCA
- ‘Spay Drive’ by Rothco, also for the ISPCA
- ‘Progress’ by DDFH&B / Mindshare for the Jack & Jill Foundation
NNI PRESS ADVERTISER OF THE YEAR
Three Mobile
Shortlisted: Audi; e-Mobile / eircom; The National Lottery; Renault; Sky; Super Valu/Musgraves
NNI PRESS AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Carat
Shortlisted: Initiative; MediaCom; Mediaworks; Mediavest; Mindshare; Vizeum
NNI POP PLANNER OF THE YEAR
Susan Daly (OMD)
Shortlisted: Darren Bracken (Mindshare); Martin Kelly (Initiative); Olivia Murphy (Starcom); Keith Wallace (Mindshare)
