McDonald's races past marathon sponsor to top of chart

Hong Kong's top Adwatch spot was scooped by fast food retailer McDonald's, closely followed by Standard Chartered Bank with a campaign aimed at drumming up support for its annual charity marathon held in February.

The Standard Chartered multimedia TV-led push, entitled 'Footprints', celebrated teamwork and the spirit of Hong Kong for its 10-year-old charity marathon, which attracted over 30,000 participants. The spot gained an 88 per cent viewer recall rate in the poll.

Three spots were developed by TBWA, with OMD on media, and focused on runners and cheer-leaders, as well as targeting donors for the race. "We wanted to deliver the message that the Hong Kong Marathon is not just about the runners, but also about teamwork and the spirit of Hong Kong," said Avis Kong, the bank's senior corporate affairs manager. The spots were also supported by print, outdoor and radio.

Further down the chart in 15th place was a campaign for Cathay Pacific, which captured a 75 per cent recall rate. Created by McCann Erickson, the 'Born to move' TVC launched in November 2005 and focused on Cathay's brand personality, with spots aimed at capturing the idea of 'moving' in both its physical and emotional sense.

Two key TVCs were developed, with one focusing on the 90 destinations that Cathay flies to and the second featuring two old friends re-enacting a childhood game of cops and robbers when they are reunited. "In a strategic context, the 'Friendship' spot is meant to extend the 'Move' platform to an emotional territory," said Carol Lam, ECD of McCann Erickson's Cathay Pacific Central Team in Hong Kong.