14th ASIAN ADVERTISING AWARDS: Saatchis sweeps show with 26 awards - TVC for Procter & Gamble's Head & Shoulders takes Best of the Best prize

<p>Saatchi & Saatchi swept the 14th Asian Advertising Awards in Hong </p><p>Kong last week, taking home a total of 27 awards, including the Best of </p><p>the Best. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The wins for the network came out of just two offices - Hong Kong and </p><p>Singapore - with the Lion City creative team appropriately taking the </p><p>lion's share of 23 Certificates of Excellence and Spikes. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ogilvy & Mather came in second in total number of awards across its </p><p>network - 16, including three won by sister agency Results Advertising </p><p>Thailand. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>No other agency came close to matching either Saatchis' or Ogilvy's </p><p>tally, but the packed audience of nearly 500 industry representatives </p><p>nonetheless afforded support for all the winners. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Riding the crest of success, and having mopped-up a record number of </p><p>accolades, Saatchis is revelling in not only winning the awards, but </p><p>picking them up for a cast of 10 clients. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Hailing Saatchi's across-the-board clients wipe-out for clients, which </p><p>included Procter & Gamble, Discovery Channel, Ikea and Borneo Motors, </p><p>Saatchis Asia CEO Patrick Pitcher, stated his pride in the fact that the </p><p>wins spanned "more than just one or two campaigns". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Amidst the winning frenzy, however, Mr Pitcher told MEDIA that he </p><p>believed some agencies had been "poorly represented" at the gala awards </p><p>night, and that industry insiders had lacked the enthusiasm warranted by </p><p>such an event. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We have so few opportunities in our industry to show proudly what we </p><p>do-and the evening clearly lacked in the celebration and passion that </p><p>drives this industry," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>With Saatchi & Saatchi poised to "repeat the (winning) trend next year", </p><p>he noted that by shipping creative directors Craig Davis and Francis Wee </p><p>from Singapore to Hong Kong, backed by Edmund Choe's move from Saatchis' </p><p>Lion City shop to Malaysia, creative talent was being spread across </p><p>Asia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Although we're making an effort to strengthen our creatives across the </p><p>region, it's not as if we're weak," said Mr Pitcher. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Singapore will continue to be strong and we continue to strengthen our </p><p>offices across Asia". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>By country, Hong Kong won 25 awards, with Singapore stealing its thunder </p><p>mightily with 35 awards altogether. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Thailand took home 13 awards, while Japan won five and agencies </p><p>representing China, three. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Sponsors for the event included booming dotcom company CASH Online </p><p>(which generously sponsored the pre-awards cocktail and handed out </p><p>nearly HK$100,000 in lucky draw prizes), Spotcast, 24/7, CNN, </p><p>Time, Fortune, Asiaweek, Forbes and Star TV. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>