Jupiter takes Agency of the Year

"The prestigious AdFocus awards have been established as the leading survey of the advertising and communications industry and are used as a year-long reference by marketers and the industry itself. The Jupiter Drawing Room has proved themselves a force to be reckoned with and truly The Agency of the Year," says Mxolisi Buthelezi, brand manager: Financial Mail.

Last year saw Jupiter Drawing Room Johannesburg scooping the cream of advertising accounts, including Absa, MTN and Sasol. Its great success may also be attributed to its knack for attracting and keeping talent in an industry known for its fickleness.

It is also evident in its rating as the best company to work for, as rated by Deloitte & Touche and Financial Mail, as one of only three companies (along with Microsoft and PPC) to be ranked in the top 20 companies to work for in three consecutive years. They come out on top in terms of their corporate social investment, company growth and still maintaining to be the most empowered agency that is profoundly 100% locally independent. The AdFocus judges believe that it is a best agency in the country at the moment.

Outstanding performance

TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris won the Roger Garlick Innovation Award for the innovative Tsotsi campaign for Safact (the South African Federation against Copyright Theft). The Roger Garlick Innovation Award was conceived in 1999 to recognise outstanding performance in the area of media strategy.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was scooped by Graham Warsop, whose work has been recognised with 22 Cannes Lions, 10 One Show Pencils, 12 Clio statues, 23 London International Statues and 60 Medals at the New York Festival. Warsop is the most awarded creative director in the history of South African advertising, and was honoured as the top creative director in the world by the London International Advertising Awards last year.

Other winners included:

• Branding and Design Agency of the Year: Grid
  
• Media Agency of the Year: Universal McCann South Africa
  
• Agency Leader of the Year: Renee Silverstone
  
• Young Operative of the Year: Groovin Nchabeleng

Creative Circle Member Awards

• Marketer of the Year - Creative Circle: George Sombonos

Brand activation specialists Cinevation took home an Advertising Media Association of South Africa (AMASA) Gold Award for its XBox360 cinema campaign, which launched the concept of live commercials on cinema screens at Nu Metro Theatres across the country in December 2006. This is the third AMASA Gold for Cinevation, which has previously won three RGA Awards and scooped three international Cannes Media Lions Awards.

The awards were held at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg.