A total of 182 awards were handed out across eight categories (excluding film craft and print craft), with Bangkok’s creative powerhouses positioning the city as the most awarded overall with 50 awards.
Singapore came in second after its agencies bagged 38 prizes, followed by Mumbai with 24 Lotus trophies.
Leading Japan’s haul of metal was Hakuhodo, with best of TV for Toyota Cars’ ‘Humanity’, in a category where entries were significantly down and three golds, 15 silvers and 29 bronzes handed out by judges.
Chairman of the TV jury John Hunt, global creative chief at TBWA, said: “I would expect in any judging for you to remember five pieces of work that really stand out. Not so here, where I seem only to be able to recall two of the pieces judged. Only the top three per cent of the entries here moved forward and, to a degree, the winners were the usual suspects, although Indonesia has improved a lot.”
Japan’s other big wins included Hakuhodo Tokyo’s Oxyride Manned Airplane Project for Oxyride Batteries in the first innovation category, GT Inc Tokyo’s ‘Big Shadow’ cyber work for Xbox and ADK Tokyo’s ‘Photoshoot’ work for Jino Forestino.
While no best of the best was given in the inaugural 360 category, Dentsu Tokyo’s Napster ‘Open your ears’ received a gold, Hakuhodo a silver for its Oxyride Battery work and Wieden & Kennedy Shanghai bronze for Nike China’s ‘JDI Generation’.
The outdoor jury, led by Leo Burnett regional ECD Linda Locke, presented BBDO Singapore with best in category for Wrangler ‘Squat’. The other two outdoor golds were snared by Euro RSCG Bangkok for Vanish ‘Boy/ man/woman’ and Ogilvy & Mather Philippines for Pond’s anti-bacterial facial wash ‘Pores’ campaign.
Burnett, meanwhile, took best in category for press for its ‘Barriercycle’ ad for Clima Bicycle Lock. DM, however, proved to be one of the toughest categories to win in, with no gold handed out. Of the 256 entries, seven silvers and bronze prizes were presented.
