PATTAYA, THAILAND – ADFEST is delighted to announce the winners of the ADFEST 2020 Lotus Awards, announced at today’s online ceremony on Monday 15th February 2021, 6:00pm (UTC+7). These awards were scheduled to take place in Thailand last year, but were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. With 60 jurors, the judging process was guided by Grand Jury President Judy John, Global Chief Creative Officer at Edelman, Toronto.
Vinit Suraphongchai, Chairman of ADFEST, said: “After a turbulent year, it was wonderful to come together again as an industry – albeit virtually – to celebrate ground-breaking ideas. Our jury was looking for ideas with innovative thinking at the core, along with powerful brand messages with strong impact. It is no easy feat to win a Lotus trophy: all winners should be very proud.”
Jimmy Lam, President of ADFEST, said: “We would like to thank our all-star jury for their dedication to judging these awards, along with everyone who has waited so patiently for these results after a long postponement. All winning work proves the power of creative problem solving and the diversity of ideas in our region. Congratulations to all winners.”
ADFEST’s highest accolade is the ‘Grande’ trophy, with 11 Grande winners at ADFEST 2020:
- Brand Experience Lotus Grande: Foxtel ‘Grave of Thrones’ campaign by Revolver, Sydney and DBB Sydney, Sydney
- Design Lotus Grande: Mori Building’s ‘Mori Building Brand Movie Designing Tokyo’ by Dentsu Creative X Inc., Tokyo and Dentsu Inc., Tokyo
- Digital Craft Lotus Grande: Amazarashi’s ‘The Dystopia Experience’by Six Inc., Tokyo, Hakuhodo Inc., Tokyo and Hakuhodo Kettle Inc., Tokyo
- Direct Lotus Grande: NRMA Insurance ‘NRMA Safety Hub’ by CHE Proximity, Melbourne
- Film Craft Lotus Grande: Mori Building’s ‘Mori Building Brand Movie Designing Tokyo’ by Dentsu Creative X Inc., Tokyo and Dentsu Inc., Tokyo
- Film Lotus Grande: DB Export’s ‘I’m Drinking it for You’ by Colenso BBDO, Auckland
- INNOVA Lotus Grande: Tuna Scope for Sojitz Corporation by Dentsu Inc., Tokyo
- Mobile Lotus Grande: Amazarashi’s ‘The Dystopia Experience’, by Six Inc., Tokyo, Hakuhodo Inc., Tokyo and Hakuhodo Kettle Inc., Tokyo
- Outdoor Lotus Grande: ANZ Bank Australia’s ‘Signs of Love’, by Revolver, Sydney and TBWA\Melbourne, Melbourne
- Print & Outdoor Craft Lotus Grande: Chupa Chups ‘A Sweet Escape Campaign: Homework/Music/Tidy-Up’ by Cheil, Hong Kong and Illusion CGI Studio, Bangkok
- And the Grande that recognizes excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility or Public Services & Cause Appeals, the Grande for Humanity: ‘A Team of One’ for Tencent Foundation’s China Organ Donation by Loong, Beijing.
Ted Lim was one of seven Jury Presidents overseeing Branded Entertainment Lotus & Effective Lotus. He said: “We need forums like ADFEST to recognise good work and set standards so the industry has a North Star to look to and learn from, to produce more of the ads that people love and less of the ads that people loathe.”
James Burchill, Creative Founder of Rumble/Rumbletown Group in Brisbane, was another juror who judged Branded Entertainment Lotus & Effective Lotus. He said: “Asia leads the way in ‘unpredictability’. There’s always surprising work, and curious work. Even non-sensical work. But it is that special blend of creativity which is unique in the world, and which means we needn’t feel we should be looking anywhere else for what great work looks like. I felt I came away from the experience a better creative. Actually, in my jury, we all felt that way.”
AUDIO LOTUS
There were 61 entries in the Audio Lotus category with 2 Silver and 2 Bronze winners awarded, but no Gold or Grande winners.
BRAND EXPERIENCE LOTUS
There were 203 entries to Brand Experience Lotus Category. Congratulations to Revolver, Sydney and DDB Sydney which has won the Grande Lotus in Brand Experience for the Foxtel ‘Grave of Thrones’ campaign.
“It was just so simple, so direct and so perfectly in keeping with the brand of Game of Thrones. Anyone who saw the work instantly wanted to experience it for themselves and that is exactly what great brand experience is all about,” said Rory Brett, VP, Group Creative Director at Jack Morton Worldwide, Singapore, who judged these categories.
Jamal Hamidi, Executive Creative Director, Global Business at DDB Group Hong Kong adds: “The level of craft in the execution was simply stunning, and as an experience, it really lived and breathed the subject matter. In a category where you tend to see a lot of CSR and social purpose work, the fact that it had measurable business results in the form of pay TV subscriptions really lifted this entry up above the competition.”
The Gold winners in this category are:
- TBWA\Hakuhodo, Tokyo won two Gold trophies for the Para Ping Pong Table’s ‘The Most Challenging Ping Pong Table’ and ‘The Restaurant of Mistaken Orders’ campaigns
- Revolver, Sydney and TBWA\Melbourne, Melbourne: ANZ Bank Australia ‘Signs of Love’
- Loong, Beijing : Tencent Foundation’s China Organ Donation ‘A Team of One’
- McCann Worldgroup, Tel Aviv: IKEA ‘ThisAbles’.
“All the work we saw was really inspiring but I think the piece that really stood out to me was ‘The Restaurant of Mistaken Orders’ by TBWA\Hakuhodo. It had such a beautiful humanity to it, taking a topic normally kept behind closed doors and making it accessible with thoughtfulness, care and positivity,” adds Brett.
Regarding IKEA’s ‘ThisAbles’ by McCann Worldgroup, Tel Aviv, Hamidi adds: “I like how it took 3D printing technology, something that we’ve all come to think of as a bit of a gimmick, and used it in a meaningful way to make a difference.”
Regarding Loong, Beijing’s win, he says: “We were struck by the sheer power and emotion of ‘A Team of One’. For people who think that brand experiences exist purely to fit some cliched notion of “surprising and delighting” people, ‘A Team of One’ proves that a great experience can touch audiences on a deeper, more profound level.”
Overall, there were 1 Grande, 5 Gold, 4 Silver and 5 Bronze winners in the Brand Experience Lotus category.
BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT LOTUS
From a total of 132 entries to the Branded Entertainment Lotus category, there were 1 Gold, 7 Silver and 3 Bronze Lotus awards, but no Grande awarded in this category. Congratulations to Gold-winner TBWA\Hakuhodo, Tokyo, which has won Gold for the Para Ping Pong Table’s ‘The Most Challenging Ping Pong Table’.
“This was a simple yet remarkable design idea that visualised the challenges faced by para-athletes,” said Ted Lim, Jury President of Branded Entertainment Lotus & Effective Lotus and an independent Creative Consultant based in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
James Burchill, Creative Founder of Rumble/Rumbletown in Brisbane, adds: “This campaign connected us with Paralympians in a new and deeply thoughtful way. We felt the campaign would create a whole new respect for the players and the sport. The idea, including the Ping Pong tournament, was irresistible.”
DESIGN LOTUS
Design Lotus received 174 entries, with 1 Grande, 3 Gold, 6 Silver and 10 Bronze Lotuses awarded. Congratulations to Grande winner Dentsu Creative X Inc., Tokyo and Dentsu Inc., Tokyo which wins the top Design accolade for Mori Building’s ‘Mori Building Brand Movie Designing Tokyo’.
“The detail is stunning and seamless. It is long, but you are never bored with it. And it is so rare to experience a piece of motion graphics that you are happy to re-watch – there’s so much to discover in it. Just beautiful,” said Mark Braddock, Co-Founder and Creative Director at Block Branding in Perth.
Three Gold trophies are also awarded to:
- Dentsu Inc., Tokyo won two Gold trophies for The One Show 2019 Exhibition in Japan ‘Creativity, Uncaged.’
- McCann Worldgroup, Tel Aviv : IKEA ‘ThisAbles’.
DIGITAL CRAFT LOTUS
This year, there were 74 entries in the Digital Craft Lotus Category with 1 Grande, 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 11 Bronze winners. Congratulations to Six Inc., Tokyo, Hakuhodo Inc., Tokyo and Hakuhodo Kettle Inc., Tokyo, the Grande of Digital Craft Lotus winner for AMAZARASHI’s ‘The Dystopia Experience’.
“The Dystopia Experience is an inspiration. It raises the bar for the Mobile category and shows where amazing craft can take us. In a live concert, there is no room for errors. To still maintain brilliant execution in delivering an audience-wide immersive mobile experience requires a truly commendable effort,” said Digital Lotus, Digital Craft Lotus and Mobile Lotus Jury President Kalpesh Patankar, Chief Creative Officer MENA at VMLY&R Dubai.
Hamish Stewart, Creative Partner at GHO Sydney also judged these categories. He adds: “’Dystopia Experience’ actually did justice to the term ‘experience’, shaping an incredible, immersive live experience for tens of thousands of concertgoers, with an unfolding story that led to a rewarding payoff. Orchestrating something like this is incredibly challenging, with little margin for error. Doing it to this level of craft, while making the most of the technology available, makes it an undeniable Grande.”
There are also 2 Gold winners in Digital Craft Lotus:
- McCann Worldgroup Hong Kong, Hong Kong: Cigna’s ‘See Stress Differently’
- Dentsu Inc., Tokyo : ‘Tuna Scope’ for Sojitz Corporation
DIGITAL LOTUS
From a total of 118 entries to the Digital Lotus category, there were 4 Silver and 2 Bronze Lotus awards. There was no Gold or Grande awarded
Kalpesh Patankar, Chief Creative Officer MENA at VMLY&R Dubai and Jury President of Digital Lotus, Digital Craft Lotus and Mobile Lotus said: “Amidst all the wonderful work, there were a few pieces that stood out, creating a great deal of debate and discussion among the jury such as ‘Eva Stories’ and KFC’s ‘Pocket Franchise’.”
“We decided not to award a ‘Grande’ to any piece this year. This does not take away from the creative mettle of the entries, but encourages game-changing efforts for the coming year,” he adds.
Hamish Stewart, Creative Partner at GHO Sydney adds: “Now that digital isn’t so new anymore, creating ideas that don’t feel somewhat familiar is harder than ever. To really stand out, whether it’s in the marketplace or the jury room, the work needs to be truly surprising, evoking that sense of humility that makes us all want to try harder. To win Gold, you really need to demonstrate a level of innovation with the technology itself.”
DIRECT LOTUS
There were143 entries in the Direct Lotus Category with 1 Grande, 4 Gold, 2 Silver and 10 Bronze winners. CHE Proximity, Melbourne has won the Grande for the second year running – this time for NRMA Insurance ‘NRMA Safety Hub’.
Jamal Hamidi, Executive Creative Director, Global Business at DDB Group Hong Kong said: “‘Safety Hub’ was a fantastic demonstration of how powerful a direct marketing idea can be. We really admired how it used data and personalization to create a win for everyone involved, providing a genuinely better experience for customers, while at the same time, saving NRMA money as a business.”
Congratulations to this year’s Gold winners in Direct:
- CHE Proximity, Melbourne also won two Golds for NRMA Insurance ‘NRMA Safety Hub’ and one gold for RACV ‘Cover for their Overconfidence’
- Accenture Interactive China, Shanghai : KFC’s ‘Pocket Franchise’
- Leo Burnett, Mumbai, India : HDFC Bank ‘#StopMithani’.
eCOMMERCE LOTUS
There were 16 entries to the eCommerce Lotus category with 1 Gold and 1 Silver winners, but no Grande Lotus in this category. Congratulations to Gold winner BBDO Bangkok, Thailand for the JD Central Valentine’s Day Campaign, ‘Targeted Gift’.
“The idea is brilliant: using your partner’s past browsing history on JD to find the perfect gift for her/him,” says Cyril Drouin, Chief eCommerce Officer China & North Asia of Publicis & Co-CEO of Performics China, Shanghai.
“Overall, I think Asia does lead the way in terms of eCommerce but is definitely behind in terms of creative. The maturity is not here yet. Budgets might be an issue as well.”
EFFECTIVE LOTUS
This year, there were 50 entries in the Effective Lotus category with 2 Gold, 3 Silver and 1 Bronze winners. There were no Grande in this category.
The Gold trophies are:
- Loong, Beijing : Tencent Foundation’s China Organ Donation, ‘A Team of One’
- Dentsu Inc., Tokyo : Tohoku Shinkansen, ‘Get back, Tohoku!’
“’A Team of One’ was a brilliant idea done on a massive scale and succeeded where previous organ donation campaigns failed. It moved some of us to tears. ‘Get Back, Tohoku!’ was an endearing and enduring campaign that has surprised us year after year. The craft and consistency of the work were remarkable,” said Jury President Ted Lim, an independent Creative Consultant based in Singapore and Malaysia.
Akae Wang, Executive Creative Director at Tencent, Shenzhen, also judged these categories. He adds: “With simple artwork and timeless copywriting, this series of posters uses the quietest voice but has the power like a tsunami to touch every user who loves railroad travel. This is already a classic, and years later, this set of works still continues to look at the scenery in those inconspicuous stations. If I could see it, I would love to steal it, really.”
FILM CRAFT LOTUS
This year, the Film Craft Lotus Category received 269 entries. There were 1 Grande, 4 Gold, 11 Silver and 16 Bronze Lotus awards. Congratulations to Film Craft Grande Lotus winner Dentsu Creative X Inc., Tokyo and Dentsu Inc., Tokyo, which won the top gong for Mori Building’s ‘Mori Building Brand Movie Designing Tokyo’.
“This is a very well thought-through piece of work. From transition, to VFX, to art direction and the like, you can tell how thoroughly and articulately planned out it was from the beautifully-crafted result,” said Sling Ng, Film Director & Co-Founder of Directors Think Tank, Singapore.
Congratulations to all Gold winners in Film Craft:
- Dentsu Creative X Inc., Tokyo has also won a Gold trophy for Mori Building’s ‘Mori Building Brand Movie Designing Tokyo’
- Grey Japan, Tokyo : WildAid’s ‘Hankograph’
- Dentsu Inc., Tokyo : Panasonic Corporation ‘Mr. Oil’
- 116 Pictures, Ho Chi Minh City and The Purpose Group, Ho Chi Minh City : The Coffee House ‘2 Letters – TET’ campaign.
“Each of these four pieces of work shines and tells their stories differently. While ‘Designing Tokyo’ and ‘Hankograph’ were more technical, ‘Mr Oil’ tells its story by painting it frame by frame – a totally charming and good old way of filmmaking. ‘2 Letters – TET’ comes through as honest and moving in storytelling,” explains Ng.
FILM LOTUS
In the Film Lotus category, From 272 entries, there were 1 Grande, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze winners. The Grande is awarded to Colenso BBDO, Auckland, for DB Export’s ‘I’m Drinking it For You’.
“‘I’m Drinking it for You’ doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it works. It’s clever, bold and hugely entertaining. And the more you watch it, the funnier it gets,” said Paul Chan, Chief Creative Officer at Cheil Hong Kong, who judged this category.
Choojai and Friends, Bangkok won Gold in Film for Night Night’s ‘Bad Genius -Watch to Sleep version’.
INNOVA LOTUS
The “Magnificent Seven” Jury Presidents, headed by Judy John, Global Chief Creative Officer at Edelman, Toronto, judged the INNOVA Lotus, Lotus Roots, and Grande for Humanity.
This year, the INNOVA Lotus Category received 38 entries. There were 1 Grande and 6 Gold Lotus awards.
The INNOVA Lotus category rewards genuine innovation, talk-value and results. Dentsu Inc., Tokyo in Japan has won the Grande INNOVA Lotus for ‘Tuna Scope’ for Sojitz Corporation.
There are also 6 INNOVA Lotus winners:
- Dentsu Inc., Tokyo : ‘Tuna Scope’ for Sojitz Corporation
- BBDO Bangkok, Bangkok: Homepro, ‘7:1 Furniture Collection’
- McCann Worldgroup, Tel Aviv: IKEA, ‘ThisAbles’
- Innocean Worldwide, Seoul : Hyundai Motor Group, ‘The Quiet Taxi’
- ADK Creative One Inc., Tokyo: Ory Laboratory, ‘Avatar Robot Café’
- Havas Ortega, Manila: City of Valenzuela, ‘Project Save’.
Ted Lim, an independent Creative Consultant based in Singapore and Malaysia, said: “My favorite INNOVA Lotus winner was IKEA ‘ThisAbles’. The idea was brilliantly simple and has the market potential to benefit many people. I call this ‘useful creativity’. Innovation is not the monopoly of developed nations. Creative thinking and innovation can come from anywhere. The challenge is to recognise a great idea when we see one and get it to market first.”
Mark Braddock, Co-Founder and Creative Director at Block Branding in Perth and an ADFEST juror, adds: “‘ThisAbles’ was impressive for its scope. There are a lot of ‘creativity for good’ projects about at the moment and most feel, at best, a little scammy – just enough has been done to make them eligible for award shows – and at worst, outright exploitative. Whereas this was executed on an IKEA-scale. The solutions were simple yet effective and the overall approach sat nicely with the whole Scandi nature of the IKEA brand. The whole thing reinforced the IKEA brand without ever feeling tokenistic.”
LOTUS ROOTS
Unique to ADFEST, the Lotus Roots category celebrates ideas that embody local values whether in terms of culture, religion, beliefs, traditions, or language.
The Lotus Roots Category received 90 entries. There were 3 Lotus Roots winners awarded, but no Grande winner awarded to this category.
Lim explains: “The Lotus Roots award is unique to ADFEST. The work awarded has to demonstrate a cultural relevance that is unique to its place of origin. Entries from Japan should taste like wasabi, work from Thailand should smell like Tom Yum.”
Congratulations to all three ADFEST 2020 Lotus Roots winners:
- Geek Pictures Inc., Tokyo and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc., Tokyo : RCC Broadcasting’s ‘Relief Drama’
- TBWA\Sri Lanka: Aura’s ‘Aura Incense Barricade’
- Dentsu Inc., Tokyo: Euglena’s ‘The Last Day of Sushi.
MEDIA LOTUS
There were 132 entries to the Media Lotus category with 4 Gold, 8 Silver and 5 Bronze winners. There was no Grande awarded. Congratulations to Gold winners:
- Taproot Dentsu, Mumbai : Free Press Journal’s ‘Free Initiatives’
- Innocean Worldwide, Seoul : Hanwha’s ‘Solar Boat: Clean up Mekong’
- Loong, Beijing : Tencent Foundation’s China Organ Donation’s ‘A Team of One’
- Accenture Interactive China, Shanghai : KFC, ‘Pocket Franchise’.
Cyril Drouin, Chief eCommerce Officer China & North Asia of Publicis & Co-CEO of Performics China, Shanghai says: “Taproot Dentsu’s Free Press Journal campaign is my favourite Gold winner because it’s really a bold idea and a really brave idea for a newspaper to change their header.”
MOBILE LOTUS
Mobile Lotus category received 74 entries, with 1 Grande, 5 Gold, 5 Silver and 7 Bronze trophies. Congratulations to this year’s Grande Mobile winner, Six Inc. Tokyo, Hakuhodo Inc., Tokyo and Hakuhodo Kettle Inc., Tokyo, which was awarded the top award in this category for Amazarashi’s ‘The Dystopia Experience’.
The five Gold Mobile trophies are awarded to:
- Dentsu Inc., Tokyo won two Gold trophies for Sojitz’s Corporation Tuna Scope
- CHE Proximity, Melbourne : NRMA Insurance ‘NRMA Safety Hub’
- McCann Health Shanghai, Shanghai : GlaxoSmithKline ‘Breath of Life’
- Leo Burnett Israel, Tel Aviv : K’s Galleries ‘Eva Stories’.
NEW DIRECTOR LOTUS
In the New Director Lotus category, there were 17 entries in this category, with 1 Silver and 2 Bronze winners.
OUTDOOR LOTUS
In the Outdoor Lotus category, there were 143 entries to this category with 1 Grande, 1 Gold, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze awarded. The Grande is awarded to Revolver, Sydney and TBWA\Melbourne for ANZ Bank Australia’s ‘Signs of Love’.
“This is ambitious, powerful and exquisitely crafted – a beautiful idea that spreads the Mardi Gras love beyond Sydney to reach people all over the country. And it goes beyond a big idea to create real, meaningful impact. As a jury, we had a lot of love for this campaign,” says Paul Chan, Chief Creative Officer at Cheil Hong Kong.
Cheil, Hong Kong picked up a Gold trophy for the Chupa Chups ‘A Sweet Escape Campaign: Homework/Music/Tidy-up’.
PR LOTUS
In PR Lotus, there were 172 entries with 4 Gold, 7 Silver and 7 Bronze winners, but no Grande awarded.
Congratulations to all Gold PR winners:
- Dentsu Inc., Tokyo : Kissme, ‘We’re hiring… based on looks!’
- TBWA\Sri Lanka, Colombo : Aura’s ‘Aura Incense Barricade’
- Loong, Beijing : Tencent Foundation’s China Organ Donation, ‘A Team of One’
- Leo Burnett, Mumbai : HDFC Bank, ‘#StopMithani’.
Seung Eun Jang, CEO & CCO at Overman Inc. in Seoul, also judged these categories. She adds: “Personally, ‘A Team of One’ by Loong Beijing is my favorite. It delivered the value of organ donation in a way that had never been thought of. Social media and public participation made this campaign even bigger and stronger. I was green with envy when I met this campaign.”
PRESS LOTUS
In the Press Lotus category, from a total of 58 entries, there were 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze winners, but no Grande awarded. Cheil, Hong Kong is the sole Gold winner, winning Gold for the Chupa Chups ‘A Sweet Escape Campaign: Homework/Music/Tidy-up’
PRINT & OUTDOOR CRAFT LOTUS
In the Print & Outdoor Craft Lotus category, there were 105 entries with 1 Grande, 2 Gold, 7 Silver and 6 Bronze winners. The Grande Lotus trophy is awarded to Cheil, Hong Kong for the Chupa Chups ‘A Sweet Escape Campaign: Homework/Music/Tidy-up’, production by Illusion CGI Studio, Bangkok.
“This is one of those campaigns where it is hard to imagine how it could have been executed better. After viewing a lot of self-important, self-righteous work it was great to see a lollypop brand happy to be a lollypop brand and not trying to solve the world’s problems. I appreciated the honesty of that,” said Mark Braddock, Co-Founder and Creative Director at Block Branding in Perth.
Congratulations to Gold winners in Print & Outdoor Craft Lotus:
- Illusion CGI Studio, Bangkok: Chupa-Chups ‘Homework’ for Illustration
- Cheil, Hong Kong: Chupa Chups ‘A Sweet Escape Campaign– Homework/Music/Tidy-up’ for Use of Illustration
GRANDE FOR HUMANITY
The Grande for Humanity, which recognizes excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility or Public Services & Cause Appeals goes to Loong, Beijing for Tencent Foundation’s China Organ Donation ‘A Team of One’.
Ted Lim, an independent Creative Consultant based in Singapore and Malaysia explains: “The jury was torn between ‘A Team of One’ and IKEA’s ‘ThisAbles’. Both were brilliant pieces of work that worked. They were different and made a huge difference. Much as we loved ‘ThisAbles’, ‘A Team of One’ had a bigger challenge and was produced on a bigger scale. The jury rewarded the team that reached the top of a higher mountain.”
Founded in 1998, ADFEST is Asia’s longest-running and most celebrated regional creative festival. ADFEST is included in the WARC Rankings, successor to The Gunn Report, which combine the winners’ lists from the world’s most important awards to establish the annual worldwide league tables for the global advertising industry.
ADFEST will announce the finalists of the ADFEST Lotus Awards 2021 in March, followed by a virtual awards ceremony on 8 April, 2021 at 12pm (UTC+7).
For the complete list of ADFSEST 2020 Grande, Gold, Silver and Bronze winners, click here.
