Stripped of all Loeries awards: MetropolitanRepublic not happy

For more:

• IOL: 'They should not have stripped our Loeries'... Alison Deeb, MetropolitanRepublic's chief executive, is reported to have said on Sunday, 20 October 2013, that the agency "is 'aggrieved' and found it 'strange' that it was required to give back all its awards." Presumably, the unhappiness is due to the fact that there are issues around just one award - so why lose the lot?

  The agency had, prior to Deeb's comments, already responded to Loeries issue with a statement...

  "MetropolitanRepublic says it would be withdrawing each of the awards won on the night for brand MTN."

  In its statement, the agency says, "The matter has been under discussion with management since the awards were won, as it has been established that due process around entering the awards had not been followed nor cleared with the executive team within MetropolitanRepublic nor our client.

  "The fact of the matter is that whilst the overarching conceptual idea and creative executions had been presented and approved by our client, the concept is still in development.

  "Once due diligence is completed to allow for the campaign to roll out, we will work closely with our client to ensure the intended impact of this initiative.

  "As an agency that believes in the integrity and privilege of client relationships and the work they allow us to do, we are sincerely apologetic for our lack of process around how the entries were allowed to go ahead in the absence of formal approval."

  As a result of the issue, the agency says it has "instituted a very rigorous process around entries from this moment on which ensures total eligibility and written approvals from the CEO and chief creative officer."

  Back to MetropolitanRepublic being stripped of all its awards, perhaps Loeries management feels it's best to be safe than sorry... Let's face it, one scandal is one too many.

  There are those who might suggest, however, that given that winning a Loeries award is a pretty big deal, and winning a top one is even bigger, management in every agency submitting entries should ensure 100% that nothing is submitted without top management's approval. Furthermore, if something slips through, someone needs to put their hand up and do the necessary to eliminate the potential problem.

  One hopes that something positive will come from this.

• EWN: Woolies scandal: 'Naïve risks to blame'... It's easy for a large company to come under fire on social media - and elsewhere - when a small supplier might feel (justifiably or not in the final analysis) hard done by, thanks to the perceived actions of a large company with which it has done business.

  What is equally important is that those commenting on social media and elsewhere don't jump to conclusions and post risky comments until the full story is out there.

  And on that subject...

• Times LIVE: Woolies' hummingbirds both from the same nest... It appears that the birds in question, seem to be "from the same nest".