media update’s Adam Wakefield was at the Durban ICC where he spoke to Serena van der Nest and Sean Shields from the AAA School of Advertising Cape Town about why bees are vital for sustainable living, and how it feels winning a Loerie Award.

The Gold Award earned by Van Der Nest, Shields, and Emma Mortimer who was unable to travel to Durban for the awards, was in the Student Collateral Design category. Titled Bee Sustainable and Bee Development in the form of a calendar, the calendar focused on the profound effect bees have on the world, including their importance in the food chain.

“The concept behind the calendar was because bees help sustain the world, everything in the calendar is sustainable. There are the 12 sheets, per month. The sheets are 100% cotton which is reinforced by bees,” Shields said.

“The bees help grow the cotton, then it’s reinforced with bees wax, basically a replacement of plastic wrappers for food. Everything is biodegradable and each month teaches you about different aspects of bees, what bees can do, or what bees actually do.”

For the three students, as they delved deeper and deeper into the world of bees for their second year project, completed in December last year, the more fascinating their journey became.

With only two weeks to finish the project, Van Der Nest said they decided to do something different that gave back to the environment, instead of taking from it.

Winning a Gold Loeries® before your first real ad job

The group’s achievement of winning a Gold Loeries® before their respective advertising careers have even begun was described as “surreal. A copy writer without words” by Shields, and “difficult to find words” by Van Der Nest.

Beyond winning the award, it was the first time both Van Der Nest and Shields had attended The Loeries®, a moment described by Van Der Nest as the first time is was “real”.

“You hear about The Loeries®, you see the history, and now we are here. It is mind blowing.”

Both Shields and Van Der Nest agreed that the constrained time scale the three of them had to complete the project was an excellent reflection of the pace the industry operates at.

“Doing it so quickly was intense. We’ve learned to work hard, be diligent, and complete stuff on deadline,” Van Der Nest said.

While the pair were definitely going to celebrate the award, work and a flight were waiting for them back to Cape Town the following day.

The value of The Loeries® for students

Before beginning their celebrations, Van Der Nest and Shields were asked what value The Loeries® holds for future entrants, with Van Der Nest putting the evening in perspective, with Shields concurring.

“I think you need to work hard to be here. That was my goal, but it is not everything. You have to work, but you have to design to make yourself happy and do what you like to do. It’s not all about the awards,” she said.

“Yes, It’s great to win, well done for us, but it doesn’t define who you are. If you design for your passion, it is going to take you a lot further and it will drive you to be in the industry. If you like it, you will carry on doing it and not just for the awards.”

For more information, visit www.loeries.com 

The Friday of Loeries® Creative Week is always an anticipated one, with international judges addressing delegates about pertinent issues affecting the advertising industry. Read more in our article, Loeries® 2017: DStv Seminar of Creativity.

*Image courtesy of Gallo Images. The image was altered