HONG KONG McCann Erick-son has scooped the Hong Kong 4As' Kam Fan award for a campaign celebrating the 60th anniversary of Cathay Pacific.
The agency won a total of 22 awards, including the only gold handed out on the night in the Cinematography Craft category.
"I believe it is the human truth in the campaign that made the judges like our ads - a human truth which touched nerves and emotions, regardless of nationalities and culture,"said Carol Lam, ECD, McCann Erickson Cathay Pacific Central Team.
The night was typified with some tough judging from the panel - which included Mark Waites, co-founder of Mother, London; and Ron Smrczek, ACD, Taxi, Toronto - in a deliberate attempt by the 4As to inject global judging standards into the local market. Accordingly, just one gold, 11 silver and 20 bronze awards were handed out. "I thought the entries were quite weak overall due to their limited numbers. Some nice work but not as many as I would like to see,"said one judge.
McCann topped the tally, with Leo Burnett Hong Kong snaring 17 trophies and Burnett Shanghai eight. "We deliberately raised the bar this year using international creative awards as a benchmark, and gave out fewer awards,"said Royce Yuen, 4As chairman and Ogilvy & Mather group MD, South China. "The winners should be proud because every silver, bronze or even a merit is of the highest quality within its category."
Meanwhile, OgilvyOne Beijing was the big winner at the HK4As Interactive and Direct awards (iDAs). The agency took Best in Show for its Lipsync DIY Miniz competition viral campaign for Motorola, as well as seven other awards. Digital marketing company e-Crusade and McCann Erickson Hong Kong rounded out the top three.
This year's theme of 'No nuts, no glory' was aimed at inspiring agencies in Hong Kong and China to push the known boundaries of marketing.
"(OgilvyOne's) Motorola client should be congratulated for seeing big ideas and having the confidence to support the agency,"said Adam Good, iDA judge and president of Tribal DDB Greater China and new business developer for Asia-Pacific.
However, he expressed disappointment at an apparent reluctance to embrace digital platforms. "We're going to fall behind in Hong Kong compared to other markets if we don't lift our game."
Additional reporting by Hamish McKenzie
See Analysis 3, page 18
