Channel O wins five Loeries

The brand came out with five awards - including a Grand Prix in the Experiential Mixed Media Campaign category for ‘Young, Gifted & Black's,' which also won a Craft Certificate in the category Crafts - Art Direction as well as a Bronze for TV Identity and Content Promos. Channel O's ‘Tree' campaign earned a Craft Certificate in the category Crafts - Animation and a Silver for TV Identity and Content Promos.

In creating the ‘Young, Gifted and Black' and the Tree campaigns Lester Din, Channel O and Vuzu, worked with the team from Ogilvy Johannesburg.

“This is a stunning achievement for M-Net's Channel O team and Ogilvy Johannesburg. The Grand Prix in particular shows how effective the Young, Gifted & Black campaign has been and we're proud to be able to take that campaign forward into the ‘Young, Gifted & African' theme of this year's Channel O Music Video awards. Congratulations to everyone involved especially marketing manager Lester Din and his team,” says M-Net CEO, Patricia Scholtmeyer.

‘Young, Gifted and Black' takes its impetus from the 1970 Nina Simone song ‘To Be Young, Gifted and Black' and celebrates the incredible music talent that is found in Africa, both historic and current.

“This brand campaign set out to consolidate Channel O's commitment to the world class musical talent of this continent. Winning the Grand Prix is confirmation that our message is clear, relevant, and supported. It is a daily pleasure to provide a platform for local music and, as the channel approaches its 12th birthday, we are still the only urban music channel made by Africans for Africans in Africa,” comments Yolisa Phahle: director of Special Interest Channels (SA).

Adds Jonathan Beggs, creative director Ogilvy Johannesburg, “The YGB campaign truly has become a living movement - right across the continent. It's a complex, integrated campaign that many people at the agency poured their hearts and souls into, so it's been a great validation and boost for the agency and for our client. The Loeries was like a fairytale ending to an amazing journey - but it ain't over yet!”