Contributor

Members of the Creative Circle judged the Ad of the Year from the winners of the Creative Circle Monthly Awards, on 7 March 2006 at The Fashion TV Cafe. A total of 12 months’ work was judged, i.e. from January 2005 to December 2005.

Sixteen judges participated in choosing the winner for the five media categories. The awards were presented the same evening to the winning agencies by the Creative Circle Chairman, Alistair King.

MAGAZINE

1. Pendoring Advertising Awards “Lost In Translation”
   Agency: Lobedu Leo Burnett
   Creative Director: Vanessa Pearson, Art Director: Alan Lewus/Sanche Frolich
   Copy Writer: Stefanus Nel, Production Co: Rand Data,
   Photographer: Michael Myersfeld

NEWSPAPER

1. World Association Newspaper/World Press Freedom Day
   “The Napalm Girl of Trangbang”
   Agency: TBWA Hunt Lascaris
   Creative Director: Camella Herberstein, Copy Writer: Darren Borrino/Nadja Lossgot/Nicholas van Renen; Art Director: Darren Borrino/Nadia Lossgot/
   Nicholas van Renen; Production Co: Rob Frew; Photographer: Ben Cornford

OUTDOOR

1. Simba/Ghost Pops “Ghost Trolly”
   Agency: Net#Work BBDO
   Creative Director: John Davenport/Phil Ireland/Julian Watt ;
   Copywriter: Asheen Naidu, Art Director: Marion Bryan
   Production Co: Bruce Flynt Productions

FILM

1. SABC/Audience Services – Campaign “Education Maths”
   Agency: TBWA Hunt Lascaris
   Creative Director: Theo Ferreira; Art Director: Lapeace Kakaza;
   Copywriter: Festus Masekwameng
   Production Co: Terraplane, Director: Trevor Clarence, Editor; Saki; Audio Eng: Bongane Fassie

RADIO

1. Coca Cola/Twist-Campaign “Althea/Rooibank/Buttercup/Pieter Kruger”
   Agency: Lobedu Leo Burnett
   Creative Director: Vanessa Pearson;
   Copywriter: Stefanus Nel
   Production Co: Frequency; Audio Engineer: Dave Harris; Audio Design;
   Dave Harris, Voice Artiste: Eden le Roux/Fezile Mpela/Zane Willow
   
   
   The panel of judges comprised of the following :
   
   Alistair KingKingJames
   Ogilvy Gerry Human
   JWT Rob McLennan
   FCB JohannesburgBrett Morris
   The Jupiter Drawing Room Mick Blore
   Net#Work BBDO Julian Watt
   Lubedo Leo BurnettVanessa Pearson
   TBWA Hunt Lascaris Theo Ferreira
   GridNathan Reddy
   TwistWingwing Mdlulwa
   Herdbuoys McCann Erickson Sandile Mkhasibe
   Berry Bush BBDOIvan Johnson
   Mike BarnwellGrey Advertising
   Roger Paulse Singh & Sons
   Phil IrelandIreland-Davenport
   Porky HeferLowe Bull

CREATIVE CIRCLE AD OF YEAR 2005

COMMENTS BY CHAIRPERSON – ALISTAIR KING

The judging methodology used this year was the same as last year. The 16 judges were asked to put their proverbials on the line, so to speak, by choosing one, and only one winner per category. The results were tallied, and in instances where there was a tie, judges re-voted on the pieces of work that were neck and neck. This happened in two of the categories.
I’m told that all five winners of Ad of the Year had all previously won their respective Ad of the Months, so it seems the cream does always rise.

In the TV category, it was great to see (probably) one of the lowest budget commercials ever win convincingly. The SABC “Education Maths” featuring Brendan Jack never seems to tire and never fails to evoke a guttural laugh from a panel.

In what can only be termed a bleak year for radio, the Coca Cola/Twist campaign won easily receiving nearly every vote from the panel.

Outdoor was a particularly hard category to judge. The panel found themselves having to judge great posters against great ambient ideas against great classic outdoor billboards. In the end, the novelty factor of Simba Ghost Pops won the day, beating Doom posters in the re-vote.

In what must be the first instance of an Afrikaans campaign ever winning Ad of the Year, The Pendoring Campaign pipped VW Golf and The Design Indaba in a re-vote for the magazine laurels.

And finally, serious subject matter in the form of World Press Freedom Day, appropriately won in the newspaper category.

Overall, it’s great to see a South African flavour permeating the work. Even the winners tend to suggest that work celebrating our cultural foibles is being rewarded.

To all the winners, Congratulations. And thank you once again to our sponsors SAfm. Over and out. Onwards and upwards.

The new local lifestyle series KZN Living focusing on life, lifestyle, architecture, property and investment opportunities in KwaZulu Natal launches on the Home Channel on 18t March 2006.

The KZN season is filmed on location and takes a comprehensive look at the architectural landscape, the rich and diverse design styles of the province and investment potential of a wide range of properties available. Key opinions will be expressed by historical commentators, architects involved in projects, homeowners and local specialist real estate agents, among others.

The programme visits an outstanding example of a Balinese-inspired home and speaks to some active over 55s about their lifestyle by looking at a home designed for this market.

KZN Living is sponsored by Wakefields Estate Agents.

The organisers of the 53rd Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival have announced that adidas will be awarded the prestigious Advertiser of the Year award, which will be presented to Erich Stamminger, President and CEO of the adidas brand, in honour of their creative and innovative advertising.

The award recognises the awe-inspiring, imaginative and original global communication of the adidas brand, as well as its worldwide influence on lifestyle trends with industry-leading products. Adidas ads have been awarded an outstanding 34 Cannes Lions across all media during the last decade, 11 of which were won last year.

Erich Stamminger, also Executive Board Member of adidas-Salomon AG, responsible for Global Marketing and of the adidas brand’s business worldwide, will receive the prestigious Advertiser of the Year trophy at the Festival on the evening of Saturday 24 June.

Commenting on adidas winning the award, Erich Stamminger said, “We’re honoured that the organisers of the Cannes Lions Festival have chosen adidas as Advertiser of the Year, the industry’s most prestigious honour and a singular success for our brand. With our partners, TBWA and 180 Amsterdam, we continue to look for ways to push the creative boundary – creating powerful new campaigns, which can connect with consumers both emotionally and personally.”

After a long and successful run at the South African box office, the Crazy Monkey movie, Straight Outta Benoni, will be in London on Sunday, 9 April for two sneak previews.

The two lead actors, Brendan Jack and Gavin Williams, and the writers/creators will be present at the screenings, as well as the production team. For more information visit www.crazymonkeymovie.com/london.

According to the Crazy Monkey producers, there will be a “whopper double disc DVD offering” out later this year. In the meantime, Crazy Monkey is still all over SA, everywhere from secret writing conferences in Limpopo, to diving with crocodiles in Outdshoorn, to hijacking the last episode of SABC2’s The Most Amazing Show on 21 March.

A three-day workshop will be held as part of the Zuma Film Festival from 13 to 15 March, 2006, at Le Meridien Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria, to source projects for the Feature Film Co-production Forum (FFCF) held at the annual Sithengi Film & Television Market in Cape Town in November.

This workshop, with assistance the from Hubert Bals Fund (Netherlands) and the Gotheborg Film Fund (Gotheborg) aims at sourcing exceptional feature film projects from three territories in Africa, namely West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa. Following Sithengi, the projects will be pitched at Cinemart at the Rotterdam International Film Festivl in the Netherlands in 2007

For more info email the Nigerian Film Corporation on md_nfc@hotmail.com or telephone (234) 73 463 519 or (234) 73 465 444.

The South African Oscar winner Tsotsi was in third spot on the local arthouse circuit, Ster-Kinekor’s Cinema Nouveau, during the past weekend. Its Oscar win should result in a box office boost over the next week though.

All top 10 films at Cinema Nouveau are Oscar-nominated or winners in one way or another. Currently in first place is Mrs Henderson Presents, starring the Oscar-nominated Dame Judi Dench in a performance tailor-made for her extraordinary talent. The oil saga Syriana, starring Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner George Clooney, is in second place. In fourth place is the Oscar-nominated Johnny Cash bio-pic Walk The Line (featuring Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon).

Pride & Prejudice, starring Oscar-nominee Keira Knightly is in fifth place, followed by Best Documentary Feature Oscar winner, March of the Penguins. Thereafter are the Best Picture nominees, Goodnight & Good Luck and The Constant Gardener.

Oscar-nominee Charlize Theron stars in the ninth placed North Country, followed by the Best Picture nominee, Munich.

Key film industry players are to meet in Durban this month at a time of unprecedented growth for the city’s film industry. High on their agenda will be thrashing out strategies to take maximum advantage of the boom.

The Durban Film Office (DFO) will host the 2006 Film & Television Training Indaba at Suncoast Casino on 16 and 17 March.The Durban film industry has experienced a phenomenal 41% growth in production activity over the past three years, from big budget Hollywood blockbusters, to a steady stream of local and international commercials and features.

It’s clear that Durban and the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province’s film friendly reputation is spreading like wildfire.The economic spin-offs have been huge, with hundreds of millions of rands estimated to have been injected into the local economy.Says the DFO’s CEO Mandle Ndimande. “This is a perfect time for key role players to meet and discuss strategies to gain maximum advantage from all the local and international film activity in the region.”

The Durban Film Office is the film promotion arm of the eThekwini Municipality.Lively exchanges are guaranteed with topics like the pros and cons of applying the controversial Nigerian film model to the local industry and the ongoing debate over film versus High Definition (HD) formats.

Also sure to come under the spotlight will the perceived gap between Durban training levels and actual skills required on film productions, with national and international standards pushing the bar higher with every production. Related to this is the topic of how to increase the numbers of Durban cast and crew employed on locally filmed foreign and South African productions.

“The office is thrilled by the success of the BAFTA nomination of the short film Lucky. The film was shot entirely in Durban using local crew and cast, some with first time experience, and that has assured the international players of the film industry that Durban is more than capable of handling world class productions,” saidNdimande.But there remains a perception among Cape Town and Johannesburg production companies that Durban lacked experience and skills.

“This not only limits opportunities for the local industry, but also acts as a deterrent to filming in Durban due to the added cost of providing accommodation and travel for Cape Town and Johannesburg production services. We are confident that this Indaba will prove a turning point in Durban’s relationship with the wider South African film industry. This is an ideal opportunity for interested and qualified people to make a contribution to the future of film in this city and province,” noted Ndimande.

PROGRAMME

The 2006 Film & Television Training Indaba will provide local production services, training providers and students an opportunity to workshop the issue of skills development with key organizations such as the Commercial Producers Association, National Film & Video Foundation, South African Scriptwriters Association, Association for Cinematographers South Africa and the MAPPP Seta. The Indaba will run for two days and will include presentations from key role-players and panel discussions.

Issues to be discussed include:

• Skills Development and the National Skills Framework – Upgradingexisting skills and addressing past imbalances.