South African creatives are a force to be reckoned with, and have once again
proven they can compete on an international stage by snagging a number of
awards at Cannes Lions, an annual awards show and festival which celebrates
the world’s creative communications pros.
The top dog representing the country at this year’s event was Ogilvy and
Mather SA, which took home South Africa’s first ever Grand Prix award for their
Lucozade campaign in the Radio Lions category.
Chris Gotz, chief creative officer of Ogilvy and Mather SA puts the win into
perspective: “Winning a Grand Prix at Cannes is as big as it gets. To win the first
ever for Ogilvy and Mather SA, to be part of that, for all of us, any of us, means a
huge amount. We won the World Cup of advertising. Or one section
anyway.’
Co-Executive creative directors Mariana O’Kelly and Neo Mashigo along with
managing director Julian Ribeiro and the Lucozade liberation team: Candice
Shortt, Peter Little, Molefi Thulo, Stefan Siedentopf, David Krueger, Tammy
Retter, Brett David, Alison Ross and Lauren Mallet-Veale; were key players
involved in the winning campaign.
The Grand Prix is just the icing on the cake for Ogilvy and Mather, who also took
home an additional Gold Lion, two Silver Lions and six Bronze Lions across a
number of different categories.
“We have creativity in our DNA. It’s been our bread and butter since we landed
our first client. In every single thing we do, we are always looking for ways for
creativity to act as the great multiplier on our brands – asking how we can make
our stuff stand out ten times, 20 times more than the opposition. It’s an
obsession,’ remarks Gotz.
MC Saatchi Abel’s Gold Design Lion win for their Haven Night Shelter Street Store
campaign was another noteworthy achievement for team SA. Account director
Faheem Chaudhry exclaims: “The feeling is a mixture between absolute
jubilation and disbelief. Being recognised by a world class jury for work that has
a special place in the agency means a great deal. It is also so gratifying to win
for something that is doing so much good around the world.’
As well as being a finalist in the Grand Prix for Good category, the Street Store
campaign also won a Bronze Lion for Media Innovation. MC Saatchi Abel also
scored a Bronze Lion in the Press category for their Boxman campaign.
FCB was recognised for their stellar work on Coca Cola’s A Rainbow for the
Rainbow Nation campaign with Gold and Silver Lions in the Media Lions category,
and took home an additional Silver Lion in the Outdoor Lions category as well as
a Bronze Lion in the Radio category.
TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris also came back from France with some bragging rights after
winning Silver Lions in the Radio and Press categories as well as two Bronze
Lions in the Promo and Activation category.
Y&R and Joe Public each picked up Bronze Lion in the Radio category while
Net#work BBDO won a Bronze Lion in the Film Craft category.
