Welcome to the Campaign Media Awards 2001. These are the fourth
Awards and a credible barometer of the state of media thinking and
ingenuity.
There can be no doubt that media has come a long way since the days when
the choice of where to advertise was usually a matter of gentlemanly
debate between client, account director and creative director. Thank
goodness for that. The question is, has it come far enough?
Of the 230 entries this year, there were very few complete duds - though
why should there should be any at all? Overall, the judges felt that the
media activity on display was professional, competent, well-executed and
well-presented. Entries came from a wide spread of agencies and category
winners (and many runners-up), were good submissions and well-deserving
of their prizes and commendations.
Truly sparkling case histories were, however, thin on the ground.
Workmanlike and skillful - in abundance; bold and fresh - too few. "Too
much of exactly what you'd expect," one judge said.
I guess the entries that excited us the most were those that pursued an
idea beyond the bounds of conventional media. These were those that
linked media in different and provocative ways, that really nailed the
evidence for success, that opened up opportunities for new creative
executions, and - let's be honest - that were stimulating and fun to
read. Some of the best papers made us laugh.
So, congratulations to all the winners and particularly to the Gold
winner, which hit the spot with all the judges. I think we can be
confident that our industry is in good shape and that the best is very
good indeed - even if it is not yet abundant enough.
My thanks to Campaign and especially to the judges whose experience,
nous and exacting standards made the judging process both challenging
and fun.
THE JUDGES
Stef Calcraft - Partner, Mother
John Harlow - Partner, Naked Communications
David Patton - Marketing Director, Sony PlayStation
Martina King - Managing Director, Yahoo! UK & Ireland
Simon Mathews - Managing Director, Optimedia
Robert Campbell - Creative Director, Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R
David Fletcher - Vice-Chairman, CIA UK
Douglas McArthur - Chief Executive, Radio Advertising Bureau
Ann Franke - Vice-President, European Petcare Marketing, Pedigree Foods
Simon Marquis - Chief executive, Zenith UK (Chairman of the Judges)
Nick Manning - Chief Executive, Manning Gottlieb Media
Nick Emery - Chief Strategy & Planning Officer, MindShare
Kimberley Fortier - Publisher, The Spectator
