UM London scoops top prizes at PPA Advertising Awards

By Nick Batten, mediaweek.co.uk, Friday, 12 October 2012 10:32AM

UM London romped home with two of the six categories in last night's PPA Advertising Awards held at the OXO2 on London's South Bank, in the ceremony that has just returned after a five-year hiatus.

The agency won Most Effective Campaign of the Year for H&M’s 'A stylish match' campaign with Condé Nast’s GQ, and Innovative Campaign of the Year for its work launching the Forza Motorsport 4 game on Xbox 360.

Also on the winning sheet was Mindshare, who picked up the Print Campaign of the Year award for its work on Argos/Chad Valley.

MPG Media Contacts won the award for digital campaign of the year for its Balanced Lifestylers campaign for Shock Absorber, and the Integrated Campaign of the year was awarded to Manning Gottlieb OMD for Sony and 'Men In Black 3'.

DFS was named Advertiser of the Year, with the judges praising the company’s investment in magazine brands and its "consistent approach to the medium through a range of creative options".

Barry McIlheney, chief executive of the PPA, said: "The winners of this year’s PPA Advertising Awards, and indeed our impressive shortlisted entries, show how publishing brands, agencies and advertisers are collaborating to deliver targeted campaigns that create real impact among today’s consumers.

"These awards are an important part of our work to support and acknowledge the creativity, strategic thinking and hard work behind the most effective magazine media advertising campaigns."

James Papworth, marketing director of the PPA and organiser of the event, said: "We’re really pleased to have re-established this event as both a celebration of the UK’s media planning and buying expertise, and to highlight the sophistication and effectiveness of advertising campaigns that have magazine brands at their core."

Julian Lloyd Evans, chair of PPA marketing and managing director of advertising at Dennis Publishing, who presented the awards, said: "The awards are a fantastic showcase for the power of magazine brand advertising, and in my new role as chairman of the PPA marketing board, I'm keen to take the momentum of this event forward into some of the exciting initiatives we have planned for the coming months: a study of the science of measuring magazine advertising effectiveness, and a comprehensive study into tablet ownership.

"These two studies demonstrate what PPA Marketing is all about – unashamed to talk about the value of print advertising in an ever more fragmented media world, whilst having the confidence to draw the attention of our members to new areas where we can grow and innovate."

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This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk