This follows the withdrawal of their MTN Project Uganda entry that was awarded a Grand Prix and a Gold Loerie, which was found not to have met the Loeries entry criteria. The Loeries disqualified all the agency's other entries, banned members of the agency from judging and applied additional requirements on all the agency's entries for the next two years.

In the statement, MetropolitanRepublic's group chief executive officer Alison Deeb states, "We recant the commentary made during the SAFM interview that would appear to lay blame on the Loeries and their internal processes, and unreservedly apologise for any offence this may have caused."

The agency adds that it fully respects the terms and conditions of the Loeries and that it accepts the decision to retract all awards won by the agency in 2013. In addition to apologising to the Loeries, Deeb's statement also apologised "for referring to the industry as a whole," during the SAFM interview.

Deeb concludes by saying, "We deeply regret this error, and we will take the strictest measures to ensure that this issue never repeats itself."

Maintenance of high standards 'vital'

"The board of the Loeries accepts the apology from MetropolitanRepublic for the unfortunate entry and subsequent comments made," says Andrew Human, Loeries CEO.

"We believe the sanctions applied are appropriate and we'll continue to require that agencies ensure their information submitted is correct, and that they obtain approval from their brand partners. There will always be an implicit expectation of honesty but we will review our processes, terms and conditions, as well as ensure that appropriate sanctions are in place for entries that are found to be ineligible."

"The aim of the Loeries continues to be to showcase the value that creativity and innovation can add as a business tool. It's vital that we maintain our high standards, and this is especially so for the Ubuntu category where our aim is to showcase the value that great brands can add to our lives."

Justin Apsey, vice president for Homecare, Unilever SA, who sponsored the Ubuntu category for the first time this year, adds: "As a partner of the Loeries we support their decision to deal decisively with this issue. While an unfortunate situation for all parties involved, we look forward to supporting the Ubuntu award into 2014 and hopefully seeing more strong entries that have had an impact on society, while delivering scale and business results in the marketplace."