Glittering Loeries Ceremony to mark event's 25th anniversary

The Loerie Awards, which promote advertising creativity by recognising and rewarding advertising excellence, are held under the banner of the MFSA, the largest marketing body in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the years, the Loeries have served to enhance and upgrade the quality of advertising and marketing in the country.

"We have striven for the right mix of judges so as to succeed in creating a bigger awareness and appreciation of the creative works that we did not have access to in the past," said Ikalafeng.

Ikalafeng stated that the Brand South Africa Award, which replaces the Chairman's Award this year, would also encourage more "South African-inspired ingenuity in the advertising industry".

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Loerie Awards and the inaugural year of its hosting under the banner of the MFSA. A glittering ceremony is planned at Sun City on the weekend of 7-8 June to mark the special significance of this year's Loeries.

The print category, sponsored by Media 24, will be staged on 7 June while the MNET-sponsored electronic category will take place the following evening. Proceedings on both evenings commence promptly at 18:00.

"Judging is almost complete," said Sylvia Newby, the Loerie Awards' manager.

The Print Awards are expected to draw a total attendance in excess of 1800 guests. "There will be cinema-style seating for our guests during the presentations which will be followed by a buffet dinner," Newby explained.

Set to attract over 2000 guests, the Electronic Awards will take the format of a formal, black tie dinner. "The official ceremony will be followed by an after-party at the Superbowl," stated Newby.

She added that a scheduled exhibition at Sandton City ahead of the Awards ceremony of all entries that reached the final stages of judging, had been cancelled.

Acting CEO of the MFSA, Davy Ivins, expressed satisfaction that "positive steps had been taken by the Loeries Committee to advance the MFSA's commitment to transformation in the marketing industry".

"For example, the number of black judges was increased. However, it is too early to gauge the extent of black participation in creative teams. Only after the winners are announced will the Loeries Committee be able to ascertain any increase in black creative talent," remarked Ivins.

He added that entries in this year's Loeries had shown a significantly increase from last year. "It is heartening to note that the MFSA has taken a well-established brand and grown it."