BUSAN – AdStars handed out two “Grand Prix of the Year” awards this 2015, the second time in its eight-year history.
The Grand Prix of the Year is given to the best campaigns among the Grand Prix winners. There are two categories for the top prize, namely Products & Services and Public Service Advertising (PSA). The winners bring home a plaque and cash prize of US$ 10,000 each.
The viral “Like a Girl” campaign produced by Leo Burnett for P&G brand Always is the big winner for the Product & Service category, flipping the tired old phrase from an insult to a source of confidence and strength among women.
Matt Eastwood, worldwide chief creative officer J. Walter Thompson Worldwide and part of the executive jury, shared that Samsung Safety Truck by Leo Burnett Argentina was also in running for the top award but 80% of the jury voted in favor of Like a Girl.
New Zealand Transport Agency’s “Mistakes” produced by Clemenger BBDO secured the Grand Prix of the Year for the PSA category, which shows the shifting responsibilities between perpetrators and victims during accidents.
“Like a Girl” was also a contender for the Grand Prix of the Year for this category, Eastwood said, together with “I Touch Myself” project from the Cancer Council NSW by J. Walter Thompson Sydney.
AdStars got a stellar response this year, receiving a total of 17,698 entries from 67 countries, up by around 40% from 2014 and its largest turnout to date.
Among 1,717 entries in the final round, 361 entries earned honors including 13 Grand Prix recipients. There were 47 Gold winners, 113 Silver winners, 131 Bronze winners and 57 Crystal winners.
Going Beyond
“The human insights of both winners we have seen before on accidents on the road, on teen behaviors. But you look for a new human insight. It becomes fresh and very real,” Merlee Jayme, Chairmom of DM9 JaymeSyfu and member of the executive jury, said.
AdStars 2015, with the theme “Share Creative Solutions, Change the World,” observed that campaigns that presented new alternatives beyond social prejudices or fixed ideas have been holding the spotlight.
“Accordingly, those ad works that appeared to have potential as creative solutions for the next generation were highly regarded in the festival this year,” the organizers said in a statement.
Jayme explains that often times the judging for the campaigns starts even before the competition starts thanks to the discerning public.
“The ads that were judged here were already pre-judged online. They are already winners. In the jury, we asked ourselves if the campaigns resonate well in the category. What is the most powerful?”
Eastwood ads that the top Grand Prix winners had “a mission of pursuing creativity that changes the world.”
“There is a trend towards purpose-driven work. Brands are embracing the age of transparency. Our job as creative directors is to lift the standard of creativity. Uplift society, uplift life to a new level.”
