By Remy Raitt

CEO of the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) and the host for the evening Odette van der Haar proudly announced that the funds raised from this years’ awards will provide eight bursaries to communications students between the Cape Town and Johannesburg AAA School of Advertising campuses. With her hilarious, co-host comedian Nik Rabinowitz, an Oprah moment was staged as four of the unsuspecting bursary winners were surprised with the good news.

Rabinowitz spent the night trying to get to grips with the world of advertising and marketing. “I’ve watched Mad Men,” he said, “so I guess advertising is just about smoking, drinking and having affairs.” Van der Haar was quick to correct him, introducing the eclectic and esteemed judging panel, who really know what makes an outstanding campaign.

Comprising of 32 industry experts, including Chris Botha of The Media Shop, CEO of 25AM Andre Steenkamp, Joe Public CEO Gareth Leck and MD of Quirk Justin Spratt, the jury had their work cut out for them.

Spratt is quoted as saying he believes an APEX is the hardest award to win. “It is both a function of the quality of the award and the difficulty in quantifying the revenue attributable to the marketing efforts,” he said. “Those that win deserve high acclaim and respect.”

The big winners of the night included the Cape Town and Johannesburg Ogilvy & Mather agencies, FoxP2 and Lowe + Partners Cape Town. 

The SABC Launch Category for brands that are less than 12 months old, with no significant history of advertising had no Gold winners. Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg clinched Silver for their KFC – Discover Life - Discover the Crunch campaign for Yum! Restaurants International. Two Bronze statues were awarded, one to FoxP2 for their Garagista Anti- Hipster Campaign and the other to Joe Public and Mediology for Canine Cuisine – for dogs with really good taste.

The Sandton Convention Centre Change Category for new campaigns from previously advertised brands that resulted in significant short-term effects on sales and behaviour saw many winners. The biggest winners were Lowe + Partners Cape Town who walked away with the Grand Prix and Gold for their touching Get me to 21 campaign for The Organ Donor Foundation. Gloo and Ogilvy + Mather Johannesburg also clinched gold for the FNB ATM Switch with House of Brave winning Silver for their work on the 1 Life – Putting life back into 1 Life campaign. Two Bronze awards were handed out; the first to Ogilvy + Mather Johannesburg for KFC Ka-Ching and then to DDB South Africa’s Aromat – Chasing 53 Million Eggs for Unilever South Africa.

The SABC Sustain Category for campaigns that benefited a business by maintaining or strengthening a brand over a long period saw one Gold go to Ogilvy + Mather Cape Town for the Castle Lite- Extra Cold campaign for South African Breweries. OIL @ Lowe + Partners Johannesburg won Silver for their work for Merck Pharmaceuticals’ Slow-Mag, as did FoxP2 for the FOMO campaign for Ster-Kinekor Theatres.

The Unilever and Millward Brown Special Awards Category, an award for the entry that demonstrates the most ingenious response to limited advertising or research funds and an award for the most successful submission for a charity or NPO or cause saw two winners. Gloo and Ogilvy + Mather Johannesburg for their FNB ATM Switch were recognised for their clever approach with limited funds, and Lowe + Partners Cape Town for the Get me to 21 campaign for their work with a charity organisation.

As key note speaker Justin Apsey, VP of Brand Building: Home and Surface Care, Unilever South Africa says; “This industry is on a voyage to a brighter future”. He encouraged the attendees to realise the power brands have and the differences they can make in the world. Through effective campaigns like the ones awarded last night, he believes brands can become a real force for good.

For more information, visit www.acasa.co.za.