AME Awards announces 2014 Winners
The Grand Jury members presented the top-honour AME Grand Award to JaymeSyfu, Philippines. Saatchi & Saatchi LA/North America; Heimat Werbeagentur GmbH Germany/Europe; and Leo Burnett Tailor Made, Brazil/Latin America each earned AME Regional Platinum Awards.
The 2014 AME Grand Jury panel comprised interactive and multidisciplinary marketers, planners, and creatives from all over the world, awarded 21 Gold AME Awards, 24 Silver, 25 Bronze and 28 Finalist Certificates to entries submitted from 22 countries around the globe for generating stellar creative and tangible results for their brand. Trends this year included campaigns for social benefit, social video and celebrities.
DDB DM9 JaymeSyfu, Philippines was in the spotlight this year, earning both the prestigious AME Grand Award and Regional Platinum Award/Asia Pacific for "Smart TXTBKS" for client SMART Communications Inc. Smart TXTBKS eases Philippine elementary school students' burden of learning using mobile phones as an alternative to heavy schoolbooks, with lessons condensed into 160-character messages. The results: School bags were 50% lighter, class attendance climbed to 95%, and average test performance hit of 90% during implementation. The campaign also earned two Gold AME Awards.
"It was an idea that did not use high technology and complicated innovation. So every day, it amazes us on how more and more people have recognised it as a powerful, world-changing idea. Today, we continue to help 'lighten the load' of children in schools and orphanages, not just here in the Philippines, but in other countries as well." - Merlee Cruz-Jayme, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer, DDB DM9 JaymeSyfu, Philippines
Three international agencies also earned AME Regional Platinum Awards
North America: Saatchi & Saatchi LA, USA
Saatchi & Saatchi LA USA earned the Platinum AME Award/North America for "Tundra Endeavor" for client Toyota. During a live event, a stock Toyota Tundra towed the 136,000kg Space Shuttle Endeavor and delivered the American icon to the California Science Centre. This campaign re-established Tundra's full-sized pick-up capability and delivered one of the most talked about and memorable campaigns in Toyota's history. The results? Following the tow, Tundra's year-over-year sales for November 2012 grew by 32%, outpacing all key competitors, social conversation increased by nearly 400% and the campaign was named one of the most memorable campaigns during its time on air according to Nielsen IAG, outperforming key domestic competitions. The campaign also earned five Gold AME Awards.
"What is really great is that we've won awards across the range from PR, creative and now effectiveness awards which is the ultimate accolade - winning effectiveness awards, in my opinion, is always the perfect testament to how earnest you are in your endeavours as an agency and client team. It gives the initiative even more credence." - Erich Funke, Vice President, Creative Director, Saatchi & Saatchi LA, USA
Europe: Heimat Werbeagentur GmbH, Germany
Heimat Werbeagentur GmbH Germany was honoured with the Platinum AME Award/Europe for "All Eyes on S4" for client Swisscom. To launch the new Samsung Galaxy S4, a specially designed interactive billboard with an S4 installed inside was placed in busy hotspots challenging consumers to a 60-minute staring contest and the chance to win a new S4. Police dogs, motorcyclists, and actors distracted the players, while 1.5 million people joined the action live on major Swiss news sites and 150,000 people interacted via a special micro-site. The video went viral in one day with over three million views in just one week. The story was featured in public media worldwide, generating over 12 million ad impressions - reaching every third person in Switzerland and ensuring Swisscom's position as #1 in the Swiss market. The campaign also earned five AME Gold Awards and an AME Silver Award.
Myles Lord, Managing Creative Director, Heimat Berlin, Germany had this to say about the agency's recent success: "We are deeply honoured to be recognised by this year's AME judges and absolutely thrilled at receiving this prestigious award. We'll be partying extra hard in Berlin tonight."
Latin America: Leo Burnett Tailor Made, Brazil
Leo Burnett Tailor Made Brazil earned the Platinum AME Award/Latin America for "Bentley Burial" for client ABTO. The campaign, created to increase organ donation, enlisted the help of famous eccentric Brazilian millionaire, Count Chiquinho Scarpa. The Count posted on his Facebook page his intention, inspired by the Pharaohs who took their treasure with them upon death, to bury his US$500,000 Bentley in the yard of his mansion. People were revolted and the media criticised the Count's decision, all declaring it was wasteful. The day of the burial, during a live media broadcast, Scarpa interrupted the ceremony and declared "I won't bury my car, but everybody thought it absurd. Absurd is what people do every day: bury their healthy organs." The results? Organ donations increased by 31.5%-in 1 month. More than 172 million people were impacted on social networks, resulting in US$22m of earned media and rising with the "Bentley Burial" emerging as the #1 trending topic in Brazil and #2 in the world. "Bentley Burial" also earned an AME Gold Award.
"All the Leo Burnett Tailor Made team is really thrilled with this recognition. The Bentley Burial campaign is very special to us-it increased the organ donations in Brazil by 31.5% in one month," said Marcelo Reis, Partner and Creative Vice-President, Leo Burnett Tailor Made Brazil.
Asia-Pacific: Bartle Bogle Hegarty, China
Bartle Bogle Hegarty China earned the 2014 Green Award for "The Digital Earth Hour - Reaching Millions of People in 1 Hour" for client WWF China. The campaign combated a lack of environmental education in China and featured a programmed a piece of code that digitally turned off the "lights" on social sites in support of WWF. BBH China estimates that based on daily traffic figures for each site, the campaign reached over 50 million people in 1 hour without spending a single cent on media and web traffic to WWF site increased by 630%. The campaign was also was recognised with both an AME Silver and Bronze Award.
"We are very honoured and proud to have earned this award. It is particularly rewarding for both our clients and us who value creativity that are potent in its effectiveness. This project started with a simple desire to make a difference; to bring a certain awareness in a market that's notorious for its indifference towards environmental issues. Our solution is a symbolic one but, the hope has always been that this "surprise" a user experiences online could spur them to genuinely participate in making a change," said Johnny Tan, Executive Creative Director Bartle Bogle Hegarty, China.
"We believe the world today is in desperate need for great creative solutions for the slew of challenges it's facing. We are proud to have contributed ever so slightly towards making a difference."
Campaigns championing worthy causes scored multiple medals. Leo Burnett Worldwide Melbourne's "Volunteer to Promote Volunteering" for SEEK Volunteer earned 3 Gold AME Awards and 3 Silver AME Awards in their effort to enlisted media owners, celebs and real people to volunteer their media space. Grey Düsseldorf GmbH Germany's "Lost Choir" for client International Children's Fund was honoured with a Gold AME Award for their campaign that raised awareness for dying children worldwide with a choir performance. Agency59 Canada's "The UnDeading" for Heart&Stroke Foundation earned a Silver AME Award for their campaign featuring a record-breaking one-day CPR training challenge.
Celebrity-focused campaigns were in the winner's circle with campaigns enlisting star-power to promote brands: PHD Network China's "Love In Different Tense" recruited popular Chinese actors Chen BoLing and Ke ChenDong, and singer Fu XinBo for client Cornetto, earning 3 Silver AME Awards and 1 Bronze. BBDO China's "Gillette Shave Sexy" enlisted famous Japanese adult movie star Aoi Sora in the brands plea for the return of wet shaving. The campaign earned both a Silver AME Award and a Bronze. Iconic vehicles turned "stars" were featured in other campaigns: "Tundra Endeavor," a live event chronicling a Toyota Tundra towing the 300,000-lb Space Shuttle Endeavour, earned 5 Gold AME Awards; and Heimat Berlin's "Hornbach Hammer," starred an old Soviet tank melted down to create a limited-edition hammer and earned 1 Gold AME Award, 3 Silver AME Awards and a Bronze.
Pranks went viral via social video with multiple entries taking home the Gold. OMD USA's campaign, "Jeff Gordon: Test Drive" for Pepsi Max earned 2 Gold AME Awards. In the video sports icon/celebrity/NASCAR star Jeff Gordon, in disguise, takes an unsuspecting car sales representative for the ride of his life. Abby Norm Sweden's "Photoshop Live - Street Retouch Prank" for client Adobe earned 1 Gold AME Award and 1 Silver AME Award. The prank used a hidden camera crew and crack Photoshop artists to capture the reactions of unsuspecting commuters who were secretly photographed while waiting for a bus, and then Photo shopped into amusing situations. FRED & FARID Paris' entry "The Countrywide Joke" for client Carambar earned 1 Gold AME Award and 2 Silver for creating the first social-media-powered joke... on an entire country. The prank, played on all of France, announced that Carambar decided to remove the jokes that had been printed on their wrapping paper for 45 years... and replace them with boring school exercises.
To view the complete 2014's AME Award Winners List please click here. For more information, please visit: www.ameawards.com.