GPY&R Melbourne claims Australia’s most awarded agency status at Spikes Asia 2012
There is quite a bit of controversy over the results of the Agency of the Year Award at Spikes Asia this year with George Patterson Y&R Melbourne claiming it was the most awarded Australian agency at Tuesday night’s awards presentation. GPY&R took out a total of 11 awards of which included seven Gold – the most Gold ever awarded to an Australian agency, they claim.
The second most awards on the night went to DDB Sydney with seven awards as well as the ‘Agency of the Year’ title.
In an agency PR release it states: It is interesting to note that the prestigious ‘Agency of the Year’ Award, won by DDB Sydney, does not take into consideration several categories that GPY&R won including Mobile, Direct and Promotion & Activation.
The controversy has come about due to the quite unique (but clearly explained) counting method employed by Spikes Asia to decide their major awards. Network of the Year is given to the agency network that obtains the highest score for entries in the Film, Print, Outdoor, Radio, Digital, Direct, Promo & Activation, Media, Design, Film Craft, Print & Poster Craft, Integrated, Mobile and PR categories. However Agency of the Year is given to the agency that obtains the highest score for entries in the Film, Print, Outdoor, Radio, Print & Poster Craft and Film Craft sections only, irrespective of whether these have been entered by the agency or another party.
Game Signatures, created as part of the ‘This is Greatness’ campaign for the 2011 Toyota AFL Final Series, was awarded a Gold for Outdoor and a Gold and Silver for Promotion & Activation. Mobile Medic, the first medically diagnosable advertising created with VML for Defence Force Recruiting, took out two Gold Award’s for Promotion & Activation, a Gold Award for Outdoor and another for Direct, and both a Silver and Bronze Award for Mobile.
‘Life Cycle’, created for Medibank, was awarded Gold in the Film category. The Box, a TVC created for drug and alcohol rehabilitation organisation Odyssey House, completed GPY&R’s medal hall with a Bronze Award for Film.
8 Comments
What Patt’s is saying is true. The only reason why DDB got the gong was because of the antiquated award definition for Agency of The Year. Anyway great news for both agencies!
Dear Spikes,
if your rules say that Mobile and Promotion & Activation are not worthy of points for Agency Of The Year, yet craft categories are, then it’s about time you sat on one of your own awards. Without lubricant.
Much love,
Not from GPY&R
I think you will find Whybin\TBWA Sydney won 16 Spikes awards, including 4 Gold and runner up for Media Agency of the Year
Please can someone do the due diligence on reporting this properly
Thanks
This article reads a bit weird.
No one at Patts is saying we think we are better than any other agency, won the world cup or ending poverty.
All power to DDB, it’s a great win for great work.
As was all the great Oz stuff. In fact Australian agencies dominated Spikes this year, many peeps from many shops will be proud of their efforts.
It’s also a good day at our office, Seven gold at an international show is no small thing and it’s nice to see it reported, even if the report makes us look like wankers.
Promo and Direct are not counted, but craft categories are.
Doesn’t make sense!
The rules need to be revamped.
A Film Craft award usually has a lot to do with the skills of a director / post house / vfx artist / editor, and so on. Yet an agency can benefit from these points in Agency Of The Year. But for some bizarre reason, truly great brand-building work in Mobile, Direct and Promotion & Activation counts for nothing there.
It’s in these categories that the communications industry is moving forward, not in the standard, tired, “hey I slapped 3 posters up and ran them in print as well, here’s my client letter” formula that Asian agencies have milked, year after year after year.
Which do you want to encourage and celebrate, Spikes?
Kim maybe you can shed some light on the points system Spikes uses for each category, would make it easier to know whom the winner is and if Mobile and Promotion & Activation would have made a difference. It is rather strange that the space we all want to be in, Spikes doesn’t even reward.
@Points – It’s all in the http://www.spikes.asia site under “enter the awards” in the category and rules section.
And, very interestingly Independent Agency of the Year is completely different to Agency of the Year.