Adfest 2012 draws to a close

A total of 35 awards were made in the Film category, which received nearly 370 entries. T&E won Best in Show for an entry for the Zeniya Honten pawn shop in Fukuoka. Drill was awarded two Golds for ‘Xylophone’ for Docomo's Touchwood.

Other entrants to win Gold included Ace Saatchi & Saatchi for ‘Pedicurist’ for Safeguard Soap; ADK for ‘Taxi’ for Sunshine Sakae; Dentsu for ‘With 10 years of life’ for E-core; DDB Auckland for ’60 things in 60 seconds’ for MySky; Hakuhodo for ‘All is not lost’ for Google; and Leo Burnett Melbourne for ‘See the Person’ for Scope.

Film and Radio Lotus jury president Trong Tantivejakul, chief creative officer of Y&R Bangkok, said that while truly impressive entries were scarce, the winners stood out for being able to “connect with the audience in an emotional way”.

In the Radio category, Gold was awarded to McCann Worldgroup Malaysia for a spot for Breast Cancer Awareness. Separately, Clemenger BBDO Proximity received a Grande 360 Lotus for ‘Break Up’ for the National Australia Bank, while Dentsu was awarded a 360 Lotus for ‘The 250km Wave’ for the Kyushu Shinkansen.

A Grande Innova Lotus was awarded to Hakuhodo Kettle for ‘Memories of the future’ for Google. A further three Innova Lotus awards went to Projector for ‘The Museum of Me’ for Intel; Party for ‘Bell’ for Androp; and McCann Worldgroup Hong Kong for ‘Visual Alphabet’ for Corbis.

In the inaugural Lotus Roots category, which aims to recognise work inspired by local cultures, the Grande Lotus was awarded to Hakuhodo Kettle for ‘Dear Japan from Phuket’ for the Dear Japan Project. A further Lotus Roots award went to the agency for Google’s ‘Memories of the Future’. JWT Sri Lanka was awarded a Lotus Roots for ‘Vesak Pandol Against Women’s Abuse’ for CARE International and to Hakuhodo for ‘Space Tankazu’ for Serena.

In the final award of the evening, the inaugural Lotus Legend lifetime achievement award went to Akira Kagami, executive advisor and global executive creative advisor at Dentsu. The award was in recognition of contribution to the industry and in serving as an inspiration to staff.

Among the highlights of the day’s speaker sessions was a presentation by David Elsworth, vice-president of creative excellence at Coca-Cola Japan, which suggested improvements to the working relationship between agencies and clients. Elsworth said that that in order to be successful in an age where branded communications are often disregarded, marketers must “speak to social truths, not just brand truths” and aim to “change behavior and culture” rather than simply convey a message.

Adfest 2012 attracted 1260 delegates, with a total of 343 awards made.