2Buffels Advertising and FCB Johannesburg were the big heroes this year at the gala event of the thirteenth annual Pendoring advertising competition that was held on 7 September at Vodaworld in Midrand. 2Buffels’ advertisements over several mediums for the Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging (ATKV) received lots of praise. This agency won a golden and silver award in the category television/cinema for Gerhard and Marcelle for the ATKV; a golden Pendoring in the radio category for the campaign Paraffienlampie, Konstabel, Triljoen in collaboration with Koloni/NineNovember for Media24’s publication Son; as well as a golden Pendoring in the category Original Afrikaans, also for Gerhard (Kom uit vir Afrikaans) for the ATKV. FCB, who usually walks away with a bunch of Pendorings each year, did it again this year by taking home four awards. FCB Johannesburg was awarded a golden Pendoring in the category radio/jingles for Eet biljong for SABC2. The agency also received a silver award in the magazine category for Hondeasem for Brandline; a golden award in the category online advertising for Hand for Toyota; as well as a golden Pendoring in the category direct marketing and promotions for Uitsettingsbevel for SC Johnson. Leo Burnett, Joe Public, Foxp2, Baie-Lingual Concepts, JWT and Ogilvy Johannesburg each took home one award. The category radio/jingles specifically made the judges take notice this year, not only because of the record number of entries in this category, but also because of the high standard of the entries. It is therefore not surprising that this year’s Prestige Award went to a radio entry. This specific award, which apart from a cash prize also entails a study tour abroad, was won by 2Buffels Advertising Koloni/NineNovember for the radio campaign Paraffienlampie, Konstabel, Triljoen for Media24’s publication Son. According to Xander Smith, copywriter at TBWA Paris, France and this year’s international judge, this campaign stood out head and shoulders above the other entries. “Radio is a very difficult medium in which to create and therefore often comes off second best compared with television. However, these three advertisements managed to reconcile a brilliant concept with excellent language usage – something that was lacking in the other entries. The humour also keeps the listener’s ears pricked, while the advertisements are spot-on for the target market.” “With regard to the entries in general, there were a lot of average work, while some could easily compete with their international peers. This makes one very proud of Afrikaans and South Africa,” Smith said. The category Genuine South African that was combined with the category Tuisgebak/Homegrown this year, produced excellent work. According to Festus Masekwameng, creative director at McCann Worldwide, all the entries in this category were of a high quality. “The growth in the number of entries in other languages for the Genuine South African category was heartening. The standard of these entries was also very high.” In this category Ogilvy Johannesburg’s radio entry Tsotsikaans for M-Net’s Channel O walked away with a golden Pendoring, while the television advertisement Ubuntu by JWT for Ford was a worthy winner of a silver award. Student entries As was the case in previous years, the student entries drew a mixed response. The finalists in the category online advertising and mixed-media campaign (through the line) were very good, while the entries in the category advertising (above the line) were disappointing. The North-West University Potchefstroom Campus’ online entry Mossie was awarded a golden Pendoring, while the excellent Vat jou goed en trek! by Kate Butcher of the University of Stellenbosch also won a gold. Vat jou goed en trek! was also selected as the overall student winner, thereby pocketing a study bursary. No award was made in the category advertising (above the line). According to Hanlie Kriel, judge and prize-winning copywriter of Saatchi & Saatchi in Cape Town, tertiary institutions are facing a challenge with regard to student entries. “In many instances the core of a good idea was present, but the students could not deliver a well-thought-out final product. The students would be more successful if they were guided to complete their thinking process in their work.” Other categories that the judges also felt did not deliver the quality of work to justify an award, were posters, outdoor advertising, ambient, mixed-media campaign and promotions/below the line campaign. According to Xander Smith, many entries could boast with sharp language usage, while the concept came second. Others again, had brilliant concepts, but were not work that could stand on genuine Afrikaans legs. “The days of using just a smart catch-phrase are gone. The advertisements that are able to marry all the ingredients are the successful ones.” Smith said. A series of firsts Pendoring was characterised by several firsts this year. Not only could agencies for the first time enter electronically thanks to the use of the Loeries online entry system, judging also took place according to the Loeries’ internationally acknowledged judging system. Pendoring also made its soap debut in Egoli – place of gold! Two new awards this year were the Legend Award and the People’s Choice Award. For the latter the public could vote for their favourite Afrikaans advertisement. The three most popular advertisements according to the public’s vote were Boer by FCB for Toyota, Boesmans by FCB for Vodacom and Vriendelike Frikkie by FCB for Klipdrift (Distell). The striking advertisement Boesmans of Vodacom was eventually the public’s biggest hero for 2007. The Legend Award is awarded to the person who makes or has made a significant impact on Afrikaans advertising as well as a lasting contribution to the advertising profession. This year the award went posthumously to Johan Roux. Roux has made his mark and as copywriter and creative director of brilliant advertisement material for television, radio and the printed media and not only won several local awards, but also made his mark internationally. The gala event and submissions The gala event was held on 7 September at Vodaworld in Midrand and was a spectacular occasion! The hosts for the evening were Elana Afrika and Martin Bester, and Karen Ferreira, Brandon October and Eden provided entertainmentb between the awards. More than 750 guests were present. More than sixty agencies, advertising schools, freelance writers and smaller creative agencies entered a record number of 400 pieces for this year’s Pendoring advertising competition and project. FCB was in front in the finalist choir with 15 finalists, followed by 2Buffels Advertising with 9 finalists. TBWAHuntLascaris had 5 finalists, followed by Joe Public with 4 and Leo Burnett with 3 finalists. With regard to the student categories, Vega and the North-West University’s Potchefstroom Campus each boasted with 3 finalists and the University of Stellenbosch with 1 finalist. Judging This year’s Pendoring panel of judges consisted of Hanneke Schutte, lecturer: Vega School of Advertising; Liezl-Mari Long, creative director: Joe Public; Xander Smith, copywriter: TBWA Paris, France; Vidette Kay, art director: Leo Burnett; Festus Masekwameng, creative director: McCann Worldwide; Stefanus Nel, creative director: 2Buffels Advertising; Hanlie Kriel, copywriter: Saatchi & Saatchi, Cape Town, and Pieter Klerck, senior manager: advertising and marketing communication: Toyota South Africa. The specialist judges were Sarel du Plessis, general manager and publisher: RCP Media; Uwe Gutschow, director: Saatchi & Saatchi AtPlay; and Amanda Olivier, public relations officer: RSG. Sponsors and partners Pendoring depends on the financial support of several friends. This year’s project was made possible by the ATKV, First National Bank, Media24, Rapport, Sanlam, Toyota and Vodacom. Other partners without whom Pendoring 2007 would not have been possible, are 24.com, Beeld, Caxton (Community Newspapers), Caxton (Magazines), Die Burger, Dagbreek Trust, Interactive Market Systems, Intiem, Jacaranda, Klipdrift, kulula.com, kykNET, Newsclip, RSG and Swartland Wine Cellar. Pendoring’s founder members are the ATKV, Caxton, the Copywriters’ Forum, De Kat, kykNET, Media24, RSG and Rapport.