DDB Canada, Vancouver and PHD China Awarded AME Regional Platinum Awards; AME Green Award Goes to Heimat Werbeagentur GmbH, Germany

New York, NY – March 20, 2013: The International AME Awards® for the World’s Best Advertising and Marketing Effectiveness™ announced the 2013 competition award winners. The Grand Jury presented the prestigious AME Grand Award and Regional Platinum Award/Europe to DDB Tribal Germany. DDB Canada, Vancouver/North America and PHD China/Asia-Pacific also earned AME Regional Platinum Awards.

The 2013 AME Grand Jury awarded 17 Gold AME Awards, 20 Silver, and 23 Bronze Awards to entries received from 27 countries worldwide. Celebrity-focused brand interaction was a huge trend, with campaigns employing actual celebrities or creating contests where the consumer or their ideas would be the star. Entries submitted into newly launched categories, including Social Benefit, Branded Entertainment, and Use of Discipline/Low-Budget also scored Gold Awards for multiple campaigns.

DDB Tribal Germany was honored with the AME Grand Award and AME Regional Platinum Award/Europe for “Don’t Make Up and Drive,” for client Volkswagen AG. The campaign exposed women to the danger of applying make-up while driving by partnering with online make-up star, Nikkie, whose tutorial is interrupted by a crash delivering an impactful, life-saving message. The campaign mobilized community support to persuade women that life’s not worth risking, even for the most beautiful make-up, scoring 2 Gold AME Awards, as well as 1,364,000 views, thousands of re-tweets, blog posts, and world-wide PR.

“We are as happy as we are proud to achieve the highest recognition for “Don´t Make Up and Drive” not only at the most important creative shows but also at the most prestigious shows that judge effectiveness,” said Eric Schoeffler, Chief Creative Officer, DDB Tribal, Germany. “We are grateful to have the creative talent and a client that really motivates us to explore new forms of creativity. The AME means a lot to us.”

The AME Grand Jury awarded two global agencies the AME Regional Platinum Award: DDB Canada, Vancouver received the Platinum AME Award/North America for “Canada. Keep Exploring” created for the Canadian Tourism Commission. The campaign employed consumer participation and leveraged the power of peer-to-peer influence by presenting real journeys documented by fellow travelers. The marketing effort shifted perceptions amongst international travelers propelling Canada to the #1 country brand two years in a row, and reversed the decline in international visitation to Canada. The campaign also earned an AME Gold and Silver Award.

“If you think the work's good, wait until you see the country,” said Cosmo Campbell, Creative Director, DDB Canada, Vancouver.

PHD China earned the Platinum AME Award/Asia-Pacific for “Dive Into Love” for Cornetto. The campaign targeted young lovers in China, and was designed to help Chinese teens and young adults navigate modern love. The campaign employed a series of four 12 minute films focused on different aspects of love with Cornetto ice cream as the star, using product placement and branding woven into the story lines. The results: Cornetto doubled their sales over a two year period, and the medium launch generated a total of 320 million video views, and over 2.8 million posts on Sina Weibo.

“I think it demonstrates the power of a great idea, well executed, that allowed us to build a meaningful connection between our brand and our target customers, ultimately delivering fantastic business results,” said Mark Heap, CEO, PHD China.

Heimat Werbeagentur GmbH, Germany was honored with the 2013 AME Green Award for “CNN Ecosphere”. CNN International created an interactive digital ecosystem based on Twitter where politically and environmentally active opinion leaders around the globe could take part in a worldwide debate on climate change during COP17. The motto: “Plant a thought, watch it grow”. Every Tweet containing #COP17 was added to a visualized discussion on the ECOSPHERE micro site and became part of a worldwide debate on climate change. CNN ECOSPHERE gathered more than 227,000 tweets, generating more than 6.7 million unique media impressions around the globe. “CNN Ecosphere” also scored 2 AME Gold and 2 Silver Awards.

“Instead of bringing the Climate Change Conference to the world we brought the world to the Conference - with the power of a hashtag,” commented Myles Lord, Creative Managing Director for Heimat Berlin.

This year, celebrity-focused campaign themes scored high. DDB Hong Kong “McDonald’s Chinese New Year McGreeting” featuring comedic duo Soft Hard earned 2 Gold AME Awards and 3 Silver; DDB Chicago’s “GED Pep Talk Center” for the Ad Council, featuring celebrities such as Christopher Lloyd and Terry Crews, was honored with 3 Silver AME Awards; and Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO’s “Going from Good to Great” for PepsiCo/Walkers, starring British comics Stephen Fry and Jimmy Carr, received a Silver AME.

To view 2013’s AME Award Winners: http://www.ameawards.com/winners/2013/ and for more information: www.ameawards.com

All press inquiries should be directed to Gayle Mandel: gmandel@internationalawardsgroup.com.

About the AME Awards for the World’s Best Advertising and Marketing Effectiveness™: Founded in 1994, the AME Awards® honors work that demonstrates ground-breaking solutions to challenging marketing problems. To earn a coveted AME Award, an entry must exhibit specific marketing goals and objectives accomplished through creative execution and strategic planning. Entries are judged by an international panel of top interactive and multidisciplinary marketers, media planners, strategy directors, social media experts, and creative directors.

About International Awards Group: Founded in 1957, IAG organizes advertising and programming competitions for the following brands: AME Awards® for Advertising Marketing Effectiveness; Midas Awards® for Financial Services Communications; The Global Awards® for Healthcare Communications; NYF International Advertising Awards®; NYF International Television & Film Awards®; and NYF International Radio Programs & Promotions Awards®. Entries to each of the competitions are judged by international panels of professionals considered experts in their respective industries. For more information, go to www.internationalawardsgroup.com.

New York, NY – March 12, 2013: New York Festivals International Advertising Awards® announced six additional appointments to the 2013 Executive Jury. The following prominent executives will join the elite group of worldwide chief creative officers to select the World’s Best Advertising® across all mediums from the shortlist selected by the online Grand Jury.

Recently appointed Executive Jury members:

• Fernando Bellotti, Regional Chief Creative Officer/President, Leo Burnett ,Argentina
• Wain Choi, Worldwide VP & Global ECD, Cheil Worldwide, South Korea
• Mariano Duhalde, Chief Creative Officer, Havas Madrid, Spain
• Rob Feakins, Chief Creative Officer/President, Publicis Kaplan Thaler, USA
• Dave Rolfe, Director of Integrated Production, BBDO, USA
• Yang Yeo, Chief Creative Officer, JWT Shanghai, China

The Executive Jury “Dream Team” convenes April 27 – May 1st for five days of live judging to determine the Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Grand winners, as well as the one entry worthy of being named the World's Best Idea™.

“This year marks NYF’s 3rd year of gathering together the most respected and award-winning chief creative officers in the world to select those entries that will earn recognition in the 2013 competition. This group is as committed to the task of selecting the World’s Best Advertising, as they are to their own high standard of creative excellence,” said Michael O’Rourke, President International Awards Group/New York Festivals.

To view the 2013 Executive Jury visit: http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/NYFJuries/

Award-winning entries will be announced at the New York Show™ awards presentation on Thursday, May 2rd, 2013. The New York Show, a two-day series of creative events, will take place at the landmark New York Public Library's Beaux-Arts building, located at 455 Fifth Avenue, at 40th Street in New York City. Festivities will be held on Wednesday and Thursday May 1st and 2nd, and includes the Executive Jury Press Conference, keynote speakers, creative panel discussions, networking events, and exhibits of the Shortlisted work. Thursday evening features the 2013 New York Show awards ceremony and after-party to honor the winners in true New York style.

The final deadline for the 2013 competition is March 15th. For more information, please visit: http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/main.php?p=2,10

To purchase tickets for the New York Show please visit: https://www.newyorkfestivals.com/Events/

Ticket prices for the 2013 New York Show: Full Access Pass to all events, including panel sessions, screenings and award show - $250; Award Ceremony - $100; Executive Jury Press Conference and individual panel sessions - $30 per session.

Press inquiries should be directed to Gayle Mandel: gmandel@newyorkfestivals.com. Ph: 1 212 643 4800.

International Awards Group, founded in 1957, organizes advertising and programming competitions for the following brands: AME Awards® for the World’s Best Advertising & Marketing Effectiveness™; Midas Awards® for the World’s Best Financial Advertising™; The Global Awards® for the World’s Best Healthcare Advertising™; New York Festivals® for the World’s Best Advertising®; New York Festivals® for the World’s Best TV & Films™; and New York Festivals® for the World’s Best Radio Programs™. Entries to each of the competitions are judged around the world by panels of peers in their respective industries. For more information, go to http://internationalawardsgroup.com/

The legendary Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors’ Showcase (NDS) has become one of the genuine highlights of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, and the 2013 edition will mark the 23rd year of this unique event. The NDS features the very best new directing talent, identified through our global network of agencies around the world, and through our relationships with key Internet sites. Hundreds of submissions are viewed by the Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide Creative Board who make the final selection. Last year, 18 directors made the cut.

Open to directors of all film formats and styles, the NDS is free to enter, and the lucky few who are chosen for the 2013 showreel will have their film shown at the NDS on Thursday 20th June in The Grand Auditorium in Cannes. The NDS is one of the most popular events at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, which in 2013 celebrates its 60th year as the key event in the calendar of the international advertising and creative community.

If you think your work might make the cut, or you know a super talented director whose work you think merits consideration for the 2013 reel, you can submit work to the Saatchi & Saatchi contact in your region. Deadline for entries is Monday 15th April 2013.

Full list of contacts, eligibility and details on how to enter can be found here:
http://www.saatchi.com/new_directors_showcase/how_to_enter

Notable directors who have appeared in past Showcases and gone onto enjoy stellar careers include; Chris Cunningham, Jonathan Glazer, Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze, Danny Kleinman, Damian Kulash, David LaChapelle, Chris Palmer, Jason Reitman, Tarsem and Ivan Zacharias.

View last year’s Showcase here: http://www.youtube.com/nds

Image from Andrew Thomas Huang's 'Solipsist', featured on the 2012 NDS Showreel.

• Tourism Australia has retuned one of the most successful campaigns in recent years and relaunched its 'Best Job In The World' campaign with six jobs up for grabs this time, each with a six-month contract and a £67,000 package.

• WPP is understood to be holding discussions about merging its integrated agency G2 into Ogilvy Group.