There are hundreds upon hundreds of “awards” in the advertising industry, many criticize them as they are often created by ad people to simply make themselves feel special. Yet there are a few awards that really are worth something, and one of those is the British D&AD Awards.
Regular readers will recall the “Best of China” at the D&AD awards postings, if you haven’t read them (tut, tut) you can find them here and here.
The awards are handed out annually at the “Awards Party“, this year taking place on the 16th June 2011 in the centre of London.
Before that big night, D&AD announced last week which of all the thousands of submitted entries have actually made it through the judging rounds, and to be featured in the ever-inspiring D&AD Annual and/or nominated for the chance of winning a Yellow or even a Black Pencil.
2011 has seen a increased number of great entries coming from ad agencies in the Asia-Pacific region. The worthy nominations below come from China and Hong Kong. Personally, I don’t feel that the submitted entries are particularly strong especially in comparison to those from Japan. What do you think of the following campaigns?
HONG KONG
Metro Daily: Future Daily on April Fool
This campaign sought to make people aware of the threat to freedom of Hong Kong’s media. Metro Daily wanted to provide a way and call for people to speak freely again without the fear of getting into trouble. Watch the video to see how they did it..
Watch on Youtube
Watch on Tudou
Agency: McCann (Hong Kong)
HONG KONG
IKEA: Trailer – Curtains
A clever cinema ad for IKEA that ran in select theatres before movies to show-off its new product line in an unexpected way.
Watch on Youtube
Watch on Tudou
Agency: Leo Burnett (Hong Kong)
CHINA
Land Rover: Discovery 4
This range of print ads perfectly demonstrated the “Go Beyond” message. Click the images to enlarge.
Agency: Young & Rubicam (Beijing Branch)
HONG KONG
FreshLock China: Cornflakes and Crackers
The simple illustrations demonstrate the effectiveness of “FreshLock”.
Agency: DDB (Hong Kong)
HONG KONG
Zoo Records: Hidden Sound Campaign
This marketing campaign was designed to promote alternative music label Zoo Records in Hong Kong. By carefully placing visuals of an array of animals, comprised of download codes, people could take cell phone pictures of the animals and stream new music to their mobile devices instantly. This campaign resulted in sold out records, immeasurable street cred for Zoo Records, and the widespread dispersal of an underground sound.
Watch on Youtube
Watch on Tudou
Agency: Leo Burnett (Hong Kong)
CHINA
China Environmental Protection Foundation: Green Pedestrian Crossing
A full article about this campaign can be viewed here.
Agency: DDB China (Beijing Branch)
HONG KONG
Greenpeace: Parallel Consequences (Car Free Day)
To find out more about the campaign check this article on Leo Burnett (China)’s blog here. Click the images to see the full-size versions – it’s all in the detail.
Agency: Leo Burnett (Hong Kong)
CHINA
Shirley Price Eye care: Monsters
A quirky bunch of print ads I’m sure you’ll agree.
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather (Shanghai Branch)
