Adverts as far as the eye could see.
Acres of smiley families, wobbly arsed toddlers, impossibly blue skies and seas, timetables and sche-dules, aeroplanes ... and caravans.
The tables in the Coronation Room in the Hilton groaned under the weight of polyboard. The dull, the worthy and the respectable are always over-represented. It was ever thus.
But the good stuff was in there too.
Every year BA and Virgin Atlantic duke it out with fresh new campaigns and brave one-off topical ads - 2001 was no exception. Fallon, too, has now entered the fray with intelligent work for United Airlines.
There were inspired pieces of ambient material and ingenious trade promotions.
The Martin Randall brochure could adorn anybody's coffee table long after its prices are out of date.
But the year belonged to Club 18-30.
I have had some experience of the Club 18-30 organisation. Many (many) years ago I accompanied some 30 gentlemen from Bermondsey on a stag weekend to an 18-30 in Bognor Regis.
It was an interesting experience. And these press ads certainly go some way to indicating the type of entertainment facilities provided. (Emptying your bags takes on a completely different meaning on an 18-30 excursion.)
Because of the high testosterone levels, emptied fire extinguishers and numerous police visits, I, like every other male guest, returned without my £10 deposit.
Now some might say that coming up with an award-winning campaign for a client such as Club 18-30 should be a doddle. It should be as easy as taking a penalty. But I've seen many similar opportunities go wildly astray. This one has been neatly tucked away.
THE JUDGES
Mike McKenna - Leo Burnett (chairman)
Tom Allen - Theme Park Holidays
Russell Amerasekera - Travel consultant
Keith Betton - ABTA
Dave Dye - Campbell Doyle Dye
Andy Green - Andy Green Photography
Rob Jack - BMP DDB
THE ORGANISERS
The Chartered Institute of Marketing Travel Industry Group:
www.cimtig.org
OctopusCommunications
MULTIMEDIA CAMPAIGN (Sponsored by Travel Channel)
Gold: United Airlines
Agency: Fallon
Silver: Virgin Trains
Agency: Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R
Silver: Teletext
Agency: Delaney Lund Knox Warren
COLOUR PRESS AD (Sponsored by MGN)
Gold: Club 18-30
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Silver: Eurostar
Agency: TBWA/London
SMALL PRESS SPACE (Sponsored by The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday
Telegraph)
Gold: Virgin Atlantic
Agency: Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R
Silver: United Airlines
Agency: Fallon
CINEMA AD
Gold: Club 18-30
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Silver: Visit Scotland
Agency: 1576 Advertising
COLOUR PRESS CAMPAIGN (Sponsored by MGN)
Gold: Club 18-30
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Silver: Eurostar
Agency: TBWA/London
BUSINESS PRESS CAMPAIGN (Sponsored by Times Newspapers)
Gold: British Airways
Agency: M&C Saatchi
Silver: Virgin Atlantic
Agency: Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R
CREATIVE MEDIA PLAN
(Sponsored by The Guardian and The Observer)
Gold: British Airways
Agency: iTraffic
Silver: South African Airways
Agency: Universal McCann
RADIO AD
Gold: Teletext
Agency: Delaney Lund Knox Warren
Silver: Wales Tourist Board
Agency: Red Cell
BROCHURE (Sponsored by Highbury-Columbus Travel Publishing)
Gold: Martin Randall Travel
Silver: The Ski Company
Agency: Bobbett Design
TRAVEL TRADE PROMOTION (Sponsored by Travel Weekly)
Gold: Virgin Atlantic
Agency: Start Design
Silver: British Airways
Agency: Tullo Marshall Warren
DIRECT MAIL
Gold: Virgin Holidays
Agency: Eventer Design
Silver: Virgin Atlantic
Agency: Start Design
LOW BUDGET TV AD (Sponsored by Campaign)
Gold: Seacat
Agency: Union Advertising Agency
Silver: Birmingham International Airport
Agency: McCann-Erickson
OUTDOOR AD (Sponsored by Clear Channel)
Gold: British Airways
Agency: M&C Saatchi
Silver: Virgin Atlantic
Agency: Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R
OUTDOOR CAMPAIGN
Silver: DFDS Seaways
Agency: BMP DDB
LEISURE TV AD (Sponsored by Campaign)
Gold: Eurostar
Agency: TBWA/London
Silver: P&O Cruises
Agency: Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy
BUSINESS TV AD (Sponsored by Campaign)
Gold: British Airways
Agency: M&C Saatchi
Silver: Virgin Atlantic
Agency: Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R
CONSUMER PROMOTION
Agency: Start Design
Silver: Club 18-30
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
TRANSPORT
Gold: Club 18-30
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
WEBSITE (Sponsored by Netgain Networks)
Gold: Opodo
Silver: Eurostar
Agency: Redwood Media
Silver: STA Travel
.jpg)
.png)