WIN $10,000 + LONDON TRIP IN THE LONDON INTERNATIONAL YOUNG CREATIVES COMPETITION

The London International Awards has released details of their young creatives competition for this year. The entry deadline is June 30th, 2006.
There is a young creatives competition as well as Student categories. US$10,000 will go to the individual or creative team that wins, plus the winner will receive a trip to London to attend the 2006 Annual Awards Presentation scheduled for November 2006. The trip will include airfare and hotel accommodations. The jury panel will be comprised of renowned advertising professionals, elected officials and political commentators from across the globe. Entrants are asked to create an Interactive, Print/Press, Radio or TV advertisement or website. Target audience teens to 30 year olds.
See www.liaawards.com for all the details.

LOOK! HITCHCOCK AND LANCASTER WIN CANNES TRIP

MTC Auckland's Jamie Hitchcock and Josh Lancaster have taken out the (NZ) Look Billboard Awards for their poster for Cuisine, and win a trip to Cannes for their trouble.

AFA YOUNGBLOODS WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOUNG AD PEOPLE REALLY THINK

AFA Youngbloods wants to find out what’s inside the minds of the under-30s working in the advertising industry.
AFA Youngbloods, a division of the Advertising Federation of Australia, is conducting a survey to better understand the attitudes and aspirations of its members.
The survey results will be used to lift the profile of the Youngbloods on a national level, attract sponsors and increase attendance at Youngbloods events.
The aim of AFA Youngbloods is to provide opportunities for young people to learn from business leaders, network with their peers and have a say on industry issues and future direction.
It is represented in all states by a core committee of young people working in the industry.

DETAILS
The AFA Youngbloods will be launching a nationwide online survey to their database of members.
The Survey will be launched 30 March, 2006.
Those who complete the survey will go into the draw to win an iPod Nano.
The winner will be drawn 20 April, 2006.
The database consists of over 1,115 names, of those under the age of 30, working in the advertising and media profession.
Survey aims to gather data on those working as professionals in the advertising and media industries.
The AFA – Youngbloods state chairpersons, have worked together to write a series of 32 multiple choice research questions that they hope will provide them with a closer understanding of the under 30s segment of the profession.

A) Ambitions, aspirations and the professional status of Youngbloods members.

B) Attitudes and opinions about the Advertising profession by Youngbloods members.

C) Attitudes and opions about management structures and styles in agencies.

D) Professional development aspirations.

For full access to the complete survey:
Go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=925101716411
The results will be used to lift the profile of the Youngbloods on a national level, attract sponsors and increase attendance at Youngbloods events.
The results of the survey will also be released to the media and industry stakeholders for reference.
The survey will close on 19 April, 2006.
The survey will also be available to complete on the AFA website:
www.afa.org.au

For any further questions about the survey, please contact AFA Youngbloods Victorian chairperson, Tess Blair: 03 8416 6729.

TAINE TAKES WORTHINGTON'S SPOT ON CLIO AWARDS JURY

Publicis Mojo, Auckland's Nick Worthington was selected the NZ judge for the Clios this year but unfortunately, due to work commitments was unable to attend. So he's passed the mantle on to MTC Auckland chief Jeremy Taine, who's off Stateside tomorrow to Palm Springs for a week of full-on judging - joining Australia's Emma Hill, CD of Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne.
A double honour for MTC as the agency's strategist, Michael Prentice will be the Media Lions judge for Cannes this year.

ADELAIDE AD COMMUNITY GEARING UP FOR AADC AWARDS MONDAY NIGHT

The Adelaide Advertising and Design Club celebrates its 29th year with record entries into the AADC Awards.
Held this Monday night (April 3rd) the Club have also confirmed 450 guests will be attending the award show ceremony and dinner at the Adelaide Oval.
The judging panel was headed by Chairman of Judges, Jack Room from Badjar, Melbourne.
All judges are from interstate, making the AADC Awards one of the fairest judging systems in Australia. And where possible the AADC fly them over for the 3 days judging this weekend prior to awards.
Secrecy has always been paramount in the AADC awards ceremony, despite the award annual being printed and ready for distribution on the night.
The newly constructed AADC website at aadc.com.au will feature the awards annual in pdf format from Tuesday.

Chairman of Judges
Jack Room

Advertising Panel
Paul Bruce
Alex Derwin
Peter Murphy
Steve Gill
Robbie Brammell
Emma Hill (pictured)
Steve Crawford
Matt Garbutt
Simon Langley
Sean Lavery

Design Panel
Michalea Webb
Amanda Roach
Andrew Ashton

TV Craft Panel
Jamie Doolan
Mick Connelly
Joylyn Watkins

Photography Panel
Eryk Fitkau
Mary Cook
Rob Anderson

Audio Panel
Philip Webster
Allie Knox
Ernie Rose

IT Panel
Sean Ganann
Kieran Ots
Mark Addy

KODAK GONGS: CALL FOR ENTRY DEADLINE EXTENSION UNTIL APRIL 11

The Kodak Gongs have extended their deadline two weeks, and is now 4pm, April 11, 2006.
The extension is a result of the recent announcement of The Gongs inclusion in CB Asia’s Creative Rankings and the resultant level of interest in entering in this year
from a dramatically increased number of agencies and production companies throughout Asia.
The 2006 Kodak Gongs Award Program recognizes excellence in the ideas and craft of commercial moving images in Asia Pacific.
Also this year The Kodak Gongs have introduced four new award categories to increase the award chances of entries that are based upon local cultures and plays on local language or visuals.
They are:
Best of North Asia
Best of North East Asia
Best of South East Asia
Best of Pacific
Aimed to cover entry from all facets of Production, Production Design, Animation and
Post Production, Advertising Agencies, New Media, and Online Developers within the
Asia- Pacific region, The Gongs will recognise excellence in the craft and ideas of the commercial moving image.
The Kodak Gongs Call for Entry is now open and closes on April 11, 2006. Entries can
be submitted online: www.thegongs.org
The Kodak Gongs are judged in two rounds by panels of experts from the Asia Pacific
Region and the rest of the world. The round one judging panel includes the following:
Round 1 Australia & New Zealand judge’s will be available on The Kodak Gongs
website, with Asian Representatives to follow shortly.
CALL FOR ENTRIES CLOSE 4PM APRIL 11, 2006
Visit www.the gongs.org

MICAH WALKER TO CREATIVE DIRECTOR AT FALLON LONDON

CB hears former Leo Burnett Sydney CD, Micah Walker, who has been at Fallon in London for the past year, together with Juan Cabral, have been promoted to the positions of creative directors. The move sees Fallon's creative heads, Richard Flintham and Andy McLeod, assume the titles of joint executive creative directors.
Cabral, 28, wrote and art directed the Sony 'Balls' spot for Sony Bravia, which won the platinum award at the Creative Circle Awards, as well as Best of Show at the YoungGuns Awards. It is a strong contender for the Grand Prix at Cannes in June.

WHO'S WITH DICK DOWN UNDER?

Looks like Sir Richard Branson had a good time during his recent visit to Australia.

PALACE DEBUT FOR 3

The Campaign Palace, Sydney has put to air its first commercial for 3, the account won from The Moult Agency late last year. The spot was created by Yanni Pounartzis and Dean Hunt, and directed by Rey Carlson from Revolver.

PADC ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING NEXT WEDNESDAY 5 APRIL

The PADC is the biggest, most active, advertising and design club in Australia. If you want to be a part of the action, come along to hear how they can make your membership work. It’s free booze and toasted sandwiches, but more importantly they want to tell you what they have planned for the next twelve months.
It is being held at The University Club of Western Australia in Meeting Room 3 (First Floor), Hackett Drive in Crawley next Wednesday 5 April. It starts at 6.00pm and should finish around 7.30pm. The cost is free so there is no excuse not to turn up.
To RSVP contact lizbb@padc.com.au or phone 1300 764 555

MENZIES JOINS FILM CONSTRUCTION

Producer Kate Menzies has joined top production company Film Construction. Formerly at @radical.media where she headed the sales and marketing team in Sydney, Menzies then had great success at Prodigy Films producing for local directors in Australia and overseas. She will be teamed with in-demand director Matt Palmer.
Contact kate@filmconstruction.com

LOWE HUNT STAYS KEY OFFICE IN GLOBAL GROUP

Lowe Hunt’s global recognition for its creative work for Australian Wool Innovations, A League and Lynx Jet has guaranteed its place in the Lowe network, as the international group plans a very positive restructure for the future.
Ben Colman, Lowe Hunt’s Group Managing Director, says “There is enormous interest amongst local clients and the Lowe Network around our concept of ‘Brand Explosions” - the unique process behind the Lynx Jet and A League campaigns.
“This new initiative announced yesterday by Lowe Worldwide further strengthens Lowe’s focus on creating a tight network of outstanding creative offices of which Lowe Hunt Sydney is a key part to service local clients and multinational brands.
Colman said that Lowe Worldwide CEO, Stephen Gatfield, has confirmed that Lowe Oceania would remain intact. Lowe Oceania includes Lowe Hunt, Lowe New Zealand and a shareholding in Cummins & Partners, Melbourne.
Adds Colman: “Everyone at Lowe Hunt is very excited about the future and right now we have some of the most exciting briefs going through the agency that we have ever worked on.
“I’m particularly enthused by the success we are enjoying with our Interactive Department. Our new Head of Interactive, Mark Ashley-Wilson, is doing a brilliant job and is aggressively growing his department as Interactive is a key component of our agency’s growth strategy”.

CANNES TRIPS UP FOR GRABS FOR NZ YOUNG CREATIVE COMPETITION WINNERS

The search is on for New Zealand’s leading young creatives…
If you think you’ve got what it takes, log on to www.stuff.co.nz on Friday 7 April for the brief.
This is your chance for you and a team-mate to be named Fairfax Media Young Creative of the Year, and win a trip for to the Cannes Lions 53rd International Advertising Festival in June 2006.
Once there, you will have the chance to showcase your talent to the world as New Zealand’s representative in the international ‘Young Creative’ competition. You will be up against the best young creatives in the world, competing against teams from over 30 countries for a sought after Cannes Lion – the highest accolade for any creative person anywhere in the world.
The NZ Challenge
Entry is in teams comprising of one art director/graphic designer and one copywriter. You will have exactly two weeks to combine creativity and leadership skills to develop a print ad.
Judging will take place on the week commencing 24th April 2006 and a function to announce the winning pair will be held on the 27th April 2006.
The winning pair will then travel to Cannes in June, courtesy of Fairfax Media to compete for top international honours.
Eligibility
You must be born after 24 June 1977.
You must be currently employed by a New Zealand agency.
You must hold a current New Zealand passport.
Diary These Dates
7 April 2006: Competition opens, brief available from www.stuff.co.nz
21 April 2006: Competition closes
24 & 26 April 2006:n Judging
27 April 2006: Function to announce winner
18 – 24 June: Cannes International Advertising Festival, France

CANNES LIONS 2006: ENTRY DEADLINE EXTENDED

The entry deadline for the 53rd Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival has been extended. Entry companies can submit work in all categories – Film, Press, Outdoor, Lions Direct, Media Lions, Cyber Lions, Radio Lyons, Titanium Lions and the new category, Promo Lions
Entry forms can be completed online at www.canneslions.com

Deadlines
Press & Outdoor Entries: 7 April 2006
Film Entries: 7 April 2006
Radio Lions Entries: 7 April 2006
Lions Direct Entries: 7 April 2006
Promo Lions Entries: 7 April 2006
Media Lions Entries: 7 April 2006
Cyber Lions Entries: 7 April 2006
Titanium Entries: 7 April 2006

Delegate registrations are already open. To attend the Festival, please go to www.canneslions.com

JWT AUCKLAND LANDS HENNAH FOR CD GIG

CB hears Angus Hennah, senior writer at Clemenger BBDO, Wellington has been lured to the CD gig at JWT Auckland. Hennah, 36, was responsible for a lot of Clems' awarded work, and this will be his first CD gig.

DDB WORLDWIDE CHIEF KEN KAESS DIES IN THE U.S.

Ken Kaess, the President and CEO of DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc, known for expanding his legendary and award-winning advertising agency into digital and other marketing service sectors, died on March 27 in Westport, CT. He was 51.
The cause was cancer.
Under Mr. Kaess’ leadership, DDB, originally founded as Doyle Dane Bernbach in 1949, became a leader in the new creative revolution, expanding beyond traditional advertising to interactive, direct marketing and retail marketing communications.
“He was the driver behind DDB’s success these last five years and, of course, I will miss him in that role,” said John Wren, CEO of Omnicom Group Inc., DDB’s parent company. “But I also will miss his friendship and positive spirit.”
Active within the industry and the community, Mr. Kaess was committed to bringing greater diversity to the advertising business. He founded the Bill Bernbach Minority Scholarship Fund in 1998 to assist in the development of minority talent in the creative field. He was honored for his commitment to diversity by the New York Urban League which bestowed upon him the Frederick Douglass Award in May 2004. Also a member of the boards of the Ad Council and the American Education Foundation, Mr. Kaess was presented The Hope Award in 2000 by D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education).
In 2002 Mr. Kaess was named Chairman of the American Association of Advertising Agencies and became the first chairman to serve two consecutive terms. He also was a two-term chairman and founder of Advertising Week, an industry festival that began in New York in 2004.
"Anheuser-Busch extends its deepest condolences and we express our heartfelt sadness to the family, friends and employees of DBB on their tragic loss of Ken Kaess. Ken was a close personal friend, colleague and partner. Ken's humor, humanity and leadership will be missed by the many people he touched," said August A. Busch IV, President of Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
A global network of Omnicom, DDB has long been recognized for creating and producing effective, well-known and award-winning campaigns for clients. Named Global Agency of the Year by both Advertising Age and Adweek magazines in 2003 and again in 2004 by Adweek, DDB and Mr. Kaess have been widely recognized for innovative, creative business solutions for clients’ brands and businesses.
DDB’s creative DNA was prized by Mr. Kaess who actively sought to attract and retain top creative talent from around the world. He was known for his strongly held belief that “People are our asset.”
In January of this year, AdWeek magazine named Tribal DDB Worldwide Interactive Agency of the Year and its individual offices were recognized in local markets around the world from North America to Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific.
“Ken was an inspiration to all of us and he will be sorely missed,” Keith Reinhard, Chairman of DDB Worldwide, said. “Ken was at the top of his game, and in so many ways, he represented the future, not only of our company but of the industry itself. And as many people have said, it’s amazing how someone so nice could get so far, so fast.”
Mr. Kaess was born on July 30, 1954, in Waterbury, CT, and grew up in Watertown, CT. A graduate of the McTernan School, Suffield Academy and Vassar College where he received a B.S. in psychology, Mr. Kaess also was an accomplished pianist who after graduating from college toyed with the idea of becoming a professional rock musician. “When there was no call from an agent, I moved to New York City,” Mr. Kaess once said in an interview with his school magazine.
In New York, he landed his first job at Doyle Dane Bernbach in 1976 as an account executive working on the Mobil account. He went on to become a Vice President at Jordan, McGrath, Case & Taylor and then Vice President of Children’s Programming at New World Entertainment where he was responsible for the Emmy award winning “Muppet Babies.” In 1990 he returned to DDB as President of DDB Entertainment in Los Angeles and in 1992 became President of DDB Los Angeles. In 1994 he became President of the agency’s flagship New York office and was promoted to President of DDB US in 1997. In 1998 he was named President of DDB North America and in 1999 he was appointed President of DDB Worldwide and Chairman of its Worldwide Operating Committee. In January 2001 he assumed the additional position of CEO of DDB Worldwide.
Mr. Kaess is survived by his former wife, Heidi Kaess and their two children, Courtney and Christopher; his father, Dr. Kenneth Richard Kaess, Sr. of Redding, CT; a sister, Karen Clark of Greenwich, CT; and brother Karl Kaess of Wilton, CT.
Contributions can be made to:
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
1275 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10021.
Builders Beyond Borders
8 Willard Road, Norwalk, CT, 06851.

A Memorial Service will be held in Manhattan at a date to be announced.
Contact: Pat Sloan 212-415-2109

CANNES LIONS 2006: OUTDOOR AND PROMO LIONS JURIES ANNOUNCED

London – The Organisers of the 53rd Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival announced today the members of the 2006 Outdoor and Promo Lions jury.
Fernando Vega Olmos, President of VegaOlmosPonce, Argentina and Unilever Worldwide Creative Director will head the first dedicated Outdoor jury. The judging will commence in Cannes on 16 June with the winners being announced on 20 June. Launched this year, the new Promo Lions competition will be chaired by Lor Gold, Executive Vice President & Chief Creative Officer of Draft Chicago, USA. Voting will start in Cannes on 14 June and the winners will be honoured on the evening of 19 June.
“We are extremely excited about these two innovations for this year’s event,” said Terry Savage, Executive Chairman of the Festival, “this will be the first time we have a dedicated jury for Outdoor, so we are thrilled to have such an international, talented and award winning group to honour great work in this category. The new Promo Lions jury face a challenging time as there will be a lot of interest to see what innovative and creative work is being produced in this field that will be inspirational to the industry.”
Australia is represented on the Promo Jury by Glen Condie, Director, Maverick Marketing & Communications, Sydney. And indirectly on the Outdoor jury by Aussie expat, Dave Alberts, now chairman and ECD of Grey Worldwide, London, representing the UK.

OUTDOOR JURY
Argentina, Fernando Vega Olmos, President, VegaOlmosPonce (Jury President)
Brazil, Keka Morelle, Art Director, F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi
Chile, Joaquín Bascuñán, Chief Creative Officer, BBDO Chile
Finland, Ilkka Kärkkäinen, Creative Director/Senior Partner, Dynamo Advertising
France, Benoit Devarrieux, Co-Chairman, devarrieuxvillaret
Germany, Kai Röffen, Executive Creative Director & Managing Director, TBWA Düsseldorf
India, Bhupal Ramnathkar, Executive Creative Director, Bates Enterprise
Italy, Lele Panzeri, Partner & Creative Director, La Scuola di Emanuele Pirella
Singapore, Linda Locke, Regional Executive Creative Director, Asia Pacific, Leo Burnett
South Africa, Wingwing Mdlulwa, Executive Creative Director, Twist Advertising & Marketing
Spain, Fabio Mazia, Executive Creative Director, Publicis Lado C
United Kingdom, David Alberts, Chairman & Executive Creative Director, Grey London
USA, David Baldwin, Executive Creative Director, McKinney+Silver

PROMO LIONS JURY
USA, Lor Gold, Executive VP/Chief Creative Officer, Draft Chicago (Jury President)
Argentina, Juan Pablo Manazza, General Creative Director, Wunderman Buenos Aires
Australia, Glen Condie, Director, Maverick Marketing & Communications
Brazil, Geraldo Rondon da Rocha Azevedo, President - Latin America, The Marketing Store
Canada, Rob Segal, President & Chief Creative Officer, Segal Communications
China, Owen Jia, CEO & CCO, ExisChina Advertising & Communications
Finland, Timothy Petersen, Creative Director, hasan & partners
France, Válerie Levy-Harrar, Chief Creative Officer, Euro RSCG 4D
Germany, Christoph Nitz, Creative Director, VOK DAMS GRUPPE
India, Pankaj Wadhwa, Managing Director, Kidstuff Promos & Events
Italy, Massimo Decursu, Strategic Planning & Creative Director, Promotions Italia
Japan, Keisaku Kunita, Executive Customer Marketing Director, Hakuhodo
Singapore, Sau Hoong Lim, CEO/Executive Creative Director, 10AM Communications
Spain, Alberto Canal Vega, President, Targeting Link Thinkers
The Netherlands, Emmy van Gool, Creative Director, QuA Associates
Turkey, Cem Topçuoğlu, President & CEO, TBWA\Istanbul Group
United Kingdom, Rob MacDonald, Creative Director, Euro RSCG KLP
United Kingdom, Phil Pawsey, Joint Creative Director, Dynamo Marketing Communications
USA, Greg Sullentrup, Snr. Vice President/Executive Creative Director, Momentum

“SO WHO THE BLOODY HELL ARE WE?" - SIREN AWARDS BREAKFAST AND MASTERCLASS TO FOCUS ON RADIO COMEDY

The winner of the 2006 Siren Awards for creative excellence in radio advertising will be announced at a gala breakfast in Sydney in May featuring renowned Australian comedy director, Ted Emery (right) and Nova’s Bianca Dye as host.
Emery will present the winner of the 2006 Siren Awards at the breakfast and also be guest speaker at the Sirens Masterclass, a creative seminar focusing on Australian comedy, and called “So Who the Bloody Hell Are We?”, which will follow the breakfast.
Arguably one of Australia’s greatest comedy directors, Ted Emery has an extensive history in the Australian film and television industry. Best-known for his work on the smash hit, Kath & Kim, Emery has also directed comedy programs D-Generation, Acropolis Now, Fast Forward, Full Frontal, Tonight Live, Eric Bana Special, Jimeoin and The Micallef Programme. He also directed The Craic and his TV credits include popular music series Countdown, documentaries and news and current affairs for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Emery will talk about the secret to Kath and Kim’s success and any lessons that can be learnt for advertising.
The Masterclass will also feature Senior Lecturer in Cinema Studies at La Trobe University, Dr Felicity Collins. Dr Collins has won a two-year Australian Research Council Discovery Grant looking at how comedy can be understood in terms of nationhood and identity and will talk about radio’s role in the formative years.
International creative expert and creator of the award-winning Australian radio brand campaign, Ralph van Dijk of Eardrum Australia will also talk at the Masterclass. Last week, Van Dijk’s agency, Eardrum, won five awards at the UK 2006 Aerial Awards for radio advertising including the Gold, Silver and Bronze in the Best Directing category. Commercial Radio Australia has contracted Mr van Dijk, who moved to Australia from the UK earlier this year, as consultant Creative Director with a general brief to promote radio as an advertising medium.
“This is not one of those Australia Day navel gazing exercises. The Siren Masterclass will provide practical insights to what makes Australians laugh and why. With so much advertising attempting to engage through comedy, creatives of all levels could do with improving their skills in this area,” said Mr van Dijk.
Chief executive officer of Commercial Radio Australia, Joan Warner said the annual Sirens breakfast and Masterclass provided a great opportunity to recognize the excellence in Australian radio advertising and also look at ways to further improve it.
“This year’s focus on comedy will help all those writing for radio to understand better about writing and performing Australian comedy for Australians,” Ms Warner said.
The winner of the 2006 Siren Awards will be chosen from the winners and highly commended from the five rounds of the Awards and will be judged by the Siren Creative Council - comprising leading creative directors from national advertising agencies. The 2006 winner will be automatically entered into the inaugural Cannes Radio Lions – to be held in June and will also win two tickets to attend the festival.
“This provides a fantastic opportunity for excellent Australian radio creative to be judged along with the world’s best at one of the most prestigious events held for creatives and will provide a great benchmark for the industry,” Ms Warner said.
Last year’s inaugural Gold Siren Award winner was the Victoria Bitter campaign. The commercial, written by Josh Stephens and Ben Coulson from George Patterson Partners Melbourne, with creative director, James McGrath, uses comedy and the well-known VB theme song to sell beer.
Both the Sirens breakfast and Masterclass will be held at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on May 11. The breakfast will run from 8am to 9:30am and the Masterclass will follow the breakfast and includes lunch. Tickets are on sale now at $550 for the breakfast and Masterclass combined and $60 for breakfast only. For more information contact phone 02 9281 6577 or to download your ticket booking form visit the dedicated website www.sirenawards.com.au.

DEADLINE LOOMS FOR KODAK YOUNG DIRECTORS AWARD

CANNES - Kodak will, once again, support and promote young creative talent in commercial film production through its sponsorship of the Young Director Award established by the Commercial Film Producers of Europe.
Now in its 8th consecutive year, winners of the Young Director Award will be presented on June 21st during the Cannes Lions 53rd Advertising Festival taking place from June 18th – 24th 2006.
With the primary purpose of the Young Director Award being to support and promote young creative talent in commercial film production from anywhere in the world, the young directors will have the chance to get noticed and network with around 8,000 key industry players from across 40 countries all congregating at the festival to view the best in international advertising and creativity.
“We are encouraged by the growing recognition of this event which is evidenced by the increasing number of entries submitted,” says Melanie Jones, Segment Manager, Television Commercial Production, Kodak Entertainment Imaging. “Commercials push the boundaries of visual storytelling and Kodak’s sponsorship of this initiative forms part of our worldwide program to support and recognise talented filmmakers at an early stage of their careers. We welcome this opportunity to focus on the new creative talents of the international advertising industry.”
Deadline for entries is April 20th 2006 and commercials may be entered in one of five categories; test commercials and broadcast, the recently added student category and two new categories, viral commercials and branded short films. Submissions must be one of the first four commercials ever made by the director and student category entries are strictly for students of filmschools.
Categories are further divided into European and non-European with first and second prizes on offer. Effectively, twelve prizes will be awarded with the addition of a Special Jury Award.
To enter, visit: http://www.yda2006.com/

2ND ANNUAL FAIRFAX AWARD COPY SCHOOL SET FOR MAY START - BOOK NOW

The 2nd annual Fairfax AWARD Copy School commences in May, so if you’re a young writer and serious about wanting to be an effective, creative copywriter, come and learn from some of the best in the business.
Sydney: May 8 to 12.
Melbourne: May 22 to 26.
Mornings only. Register now with Alma Kettles at AWARD.
Tel: (02) 9281 8004.
Email: alma@awardonline.com

“Thanks to email and blogging, the power of the written word has come full circle – and we’re seeing that come to life in campaigns for brands like Tesco in the UK – and our recent Elle Macpherson book of stories. When you are relying on just words to engage someone or communicate an idea, it forces you to be very clear about what your idea actually is. Copy School is an opportunity to learn how to think more individual and original thoughts and put those thoughts into action. Now, in particular, I’d say a course like this is invaluable.”
Jonathan Kneebone,
The Glue Society, Sydney

COUNTDOWN TO JUDGING D&AD

Next week (April 3-5), marks the official start of D&AD Congress 06, as over 300 of the world's top creative practitioners arrive in London to choose the best work entered into the D&AD Global Awards 2006. D&AD Judges, who all responded to the job description: "Obsessed with Creativity," must decide who, if anyone, should be awarded a D&AD Yellow or Black Pencil for groundbreaking creative work.
"Judging Week is the start of D&AD Congress 06 - four weeks with something for everyone who is passionate about creativity," said D&AD Chief Executive Michael Hockney. "I especially look forward to the public debate over the judges' selections at the D&AD Global Awards Nominations Exhibition at Old Billingsgate in May (3-5 May)."
D&AD Global Awards 2006 key facts:
1. D&AD's most successful Call for Entries to date with more entries across more categories from more countries than ever before.
2. Over 24,000 pieces of work were entered.
3. 61 countries entered work. First time entries came from: Bahrain, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bulgaria, Morocco and Serbia.
4. Australian and New Zealand entries have increased significantly, up by 17% and 3%, respectively.
5. There has been a significant increase in entries to craft categories across all sectors.
6. Over 300 judges will attend Judging Week from 23 countries, including Australia and New Zealand. The ANZACS are represented by Warren Brown, creative partner of BMF Sydney (Film jury), Nobby, ECD of Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney (Print Jury), Jonathan Kneebone (TV & Cinema Graphics Jury), Mike O'Sullivan, ECD of Saatchi & Saatchi NZ (Writing for Advertising jury), Dylan Taylor, Direct CD at BMF Sydney (Direct jury), Tom Eslinger, CD of Saatchi Interactive NZ (Interactive jury), Ashley Ringrose from Soap Creative (Interactive jury) and Marshal Heard from Noise (Digital Craft jury).

THE IDEAS GROUP REBRANDS AS THE FOUNDRY

National retail agency The Ideas Group has been reinvigorated with a management buyout, a new direction and a change of name.
The agency, with key clients including Capt’n Snooze, Radio Rentals and DaimlerChrysler trucks, will now be known as The Foundry and will be headed by former The Ideas Group GAD Simon Burrett and CD Ian Brown.
All The Ideas Group’s clients have come over to The Foundry, and all The Ideas Group staff has been moved across.
Brown and Burrett made the decision to take over the 23-year-old business on the strength of what they saw as clear potential for the future.
Burrett, who has helped secure key new business clients for the agency over the last 12 months, said his aim was to refresh and reinvigorate the agency for the benefit of its current client list, and to continue to drive new business growth.
Since joining The Ideas Group in early 2005, Brown has significantly changed the makeup of the creative department and this is now yielding results.
Both the Sydney and Melbourne offices will move in the next six months.
Prior to The Foundry, Brown worked as Group CD on Tooheys and Telstra for Singletons for five years, and before that three years at Colenso BBDO, Auckland.
Burrett is a former Director of CHE and Clemenger BBDO Sydney. He is a noted retail specialist, having written and delivered the AFA Adschool Retail Marketing course in 2005 and again 2006.

BMF LURES BIG POND 'GREAT WALL OF CHINA' TEAM FROM BWM

BMF Sydney has lured creative team Matt Lawson and Onur Kece, the creators of the highly praised Big Pond 'Great Wall of China' spot, from BWM Sydney. They teamed up in 2002 while studying at RMIT and while at university they completed AWARDSchool, won a position at the MADC mentor program and picked up a gong at MADC for best student entry. In 2004 they joined Frank Morabito at Spinach in Melbourne where they worked on Durex and Renault.
Soon after, they were lured up to Sydney by BWM. During their short time there they won best of show at AWARD Pie Night for their Qantas Poster and made their first television commercial- the Telstra BigPond "Great wall of China" spot, directed by Vikki Blanche. It has so far collected a gong at Mobius and a finalist at Young Guns with no doubt more to come.

SAM NEILL STARS IN THE PALACE PUSH FOR RED MEAT

Sam Neill stars in a classy spot for Meat & Livestock Australia promoting Red Meat via The Campaign Palace, Sydney. Created by Yanni Pountartzis and Dean Hunt, beautifully directed by Dave Denneen @ Filmgraphics.

WAS THE MELBOURNE GAMES "SIMPLY THE BEST" OR JUST THE BEST SINCE THE SYDNEY "BEST GAMES EVER" OLYMPICS?

Sydney vs Melbourne: Which city puts on the best show?
Monday morning discussion.

DAVIS HIRES THEOPHILAKIS AS GLOBAL CD ON UNILEVER

JWT has hired Aris Theophilakis, former group CCO at Springer & Jacoby, as a global creative director on Unilever, the WPP Group network's second-largest client after Ford.
Theophilakis, spent two years at Springer & Jacoby, whose key clients include Mercedes-Benz and Olympus. Before that, he was executive creative director for Europe at Bates in London. Earlier in his career, he was Bates' ecd for the Asian region in Singapore, working on brands such as Nokia, Heineken and Audi.
"Aris has a track record of creating big ideas for big brands across multiple markets and the media," said JWT global chief creative officer Craig Davis, to whom Theophilakis reports. "Those talents are precious."
JWT's Unilever business includes Knorr and Lipton in certain international markets and Sunsilk, Caress and Lever 2000 in the U.S. Last year, the agency lost its piece of Omo detergent outside the U.S., and in January JWT lost its share of oral care brands in Asia, Latin America and Africa to Interpublic Group's Lowe.
Said Theophilakis: "I'm doing this because it will be a tough challenge. I'm basically not a maintenance guy."

EYE EYE EYE, WHAT HAVE WE HERE FROM GREY MELBOURNE?

A new spot from Grey Worldwide, Melbourne promoting The Melbourne Comedy Festival created by Hilary Badger and Rob Beamish and directed by Matt Kaymen @ 37 South Films.

ROWE INGEVICS GETS IN THE LOOP

Melbourne based Rowe Ingevics & Partners, founded by Jonathon Rowe and (former The Moult Agency, Sydney CD) Phil Ingevics, has been renamed The Loop Agency, coinciding with the agency’s first anniversary.
Says Rowe: “Branding ourselves Rowe Ingevics was sensible at the outset because our names had some meaning in the market. Now we are more established, a moniker that better reflects our business model is appropriate.”
Says Ingevics: “More and more brand building opportunities emerge everyday. We’re about helping brands stay in the loop - from the perspective of changing consumer need states, and what’s actually possible.
“This means about half our revenue is derived from strategic work at both marketing and brand level, and the rest from creative. We pride ourselves on bringing creativity to any business problem a client might encounter.”
Clients include carsales.com.au, Hudsons Coffee, Cheviot Bridge Wines and The Long Flat Wine Company, David Lawrence and Jigsaw fashion labels, Creative Brands, Citrofresh Organic Products, Autopeople Automotive Recruitment and St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research

RADIO GURU TO ADDRESS PADC BREAKFAST

The national series of radio creative workshops run by international creative expert and creator of the award-winning radio brand campaign, Ralph van Dijk of Eardrum Australia, goes to Perth next week.
Van Dijk will be the featured guest speaker at a breakfast seminar for advertising agencies, to be held in conjunction with the Perth Advertising and Design Club (PADC), as well as holding a seminar for in-house radio copywriters.
The breakfast seminar and workshop are part of an ongoing national strategy by Commercial Radio Australia to provide support for creatives who are writing radio ads with the overall aim of ensuring consistently high quality radio ads throughout Australia.
Chief executive officer, Commercial Radio Australia, Joan Warner said better radio ads would help attract more advertising dollars and the radio industry must be proactive to providing support and opportunities for targeted professional development for the talented writers working on radio creative.
“We want Australian radio ads to consistently be amongst the best in the world – and while many agencies are doing excellent work it is up to the industry to work more closely with agencies to help foster talent, ideas and world class standards,” Ms Warner said.
The latest figures compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the five major capital city markets show the Perth radio advertising market is buoyant with growth of about five per cent for the eight months to the end of February, compared to the same timeframe last year, with total ad revenue of $41.4 million for this period.
Ms Warner said Commercial Radio Australia had contracted Mr van Dijk, who moved to Australia from the UK earlier this year, as consultant Creative Director with a general brief to promote radio as an advertising medium.
“Mr van Dijk is more then qualified to talk about world standards in radio advertising given his specialist agency, Eardrum, has won many international awards and, earlier this week, won five awards at the UK 2006 Aerial Awards for radio advertising including the Gold, Silver and Bronze in the Best Directing category.”
The breakfast seminar, to be held on Wednesday, 29 March at the University Club of Western Australia, will look at international trends, case studies and the power of radio.
A further workshop for radio station creatives, to be held later that day, will combine a combination of theory and hands-on studio work and seek to inspire and challenge the traditional way of approaching a radio brief.
“I have been running these workshops for the UK and Europe’s leading agencies and they never fail to inspire a greater level of enthusiasm for the medium. Effective radio requires good creative and good radio creative requires more care and attention than it currently gets. The workshop will open your eyes (and ears) to the potential of radio, and challenging the conventional ways of writing, casting and directing a radio ad,” said Mr van Dijk.

THIS IS YOUR LIFE!

JESUS! OR SHOULD WE SAY DROGA! BORN AGAIN OR DEJA VIEW?

Australia's creative messiah Dave Droga makes the cover of the latest U.S. Creativity magazine, which looks at the launch of Droga 5 in both LA and New York. It looks like he was on the same CB shoot as the Saatchi & Saatchi, NZ creative department - the pic appeared in our NZ Agency of the Year issue.

CANNES LIONS 2006: CYBER AND MEDIA LIONS JURIES ANNOUNCED

This year’s Cyber Lions and Media Lions juries were announced today by the organisers of the 53rd Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.
Matias Palm-Jensen, Creative President of Farfar, Sweden, will chair the Cyber Lions jury. The Media Lions jury will be headed by Renetta McCann, CEO of Starcom MediaVest Group. Both juries will start voting in Cannes on the 15th of June. The Media Lions winners will be honoured on Tuesday evening, 20 June and the Cyber Lions winners will be announced on Wednesday, 21 June.
“Since the introduction of Cyber Lions in 1998 and Media Lions in 1999, these competitions have become the most respected in the industry, and therefore we are delighted and honoured to have such international high-calibre jurors, the best in their profession, to judge and honour the work of their peers”, said Terry Savage, Executive Chairman of the Festival.
Australia is represented on both juries - Matt Cumming, CD Digital, M&C Saatchi Sydney (above) is on the Cyber Lions jury, while Gary Hardwick, managing partner of Ikon Communications Sydney is on the Media Lions jury. New Zealand is represented on the Media Jury by Michael Prentice, strategic director of MTC, Auckland
CYBER LIONS JURY MEMBERS
Sweden, Matias Palm-Jensen, Creative President, Farfar (Jury President)
Argentina, Fernando Barbella, Creative Director, OgilvyInteractive
Australia: Matthew Cumming, Creative Director Digital, M&C Saatchi Sydney
Austria, Anitra Eggler, Creative Director, holzhuber/impaction
Belgium, Erwin Jansen, Managing Partner, These Days
Brazil, Ricardo Figueira, Creative Director, AgênciaClick
Canada, Steve Mykolyn, VP, Creative Director, TAXI Canada
Denmark, Lars Cortsen, Creative Director, Framfab Denmark
France, Philippe Simonet, Co-CEO & Executive Creative Director, PublicisNet
Germany, Fabian Sax, Creative Director, Aimaq·Rapp·Stolle Interactive
Germany, Olaf Czeschner, Chief Creative Officer, Neue Digitale
Italy, Raffaella Bertini, Managing Director & Co-Creative Director, Nurun Italia
Japan, Yasuharu Sasaki, Creative Director, Dentsu
Korea, Hye won Oh, Creative Director, Cheil Communications
Norway, Jørgen Bøhle Bakke, Copywriter, TRY Reklamebyrå
Poland, Grzegorz Mogilewski, Chief Executive Officer, Max Weber
Spain, Ángel Ybáñez, President, BetyByte
Sweden, Gustav Martner, Creative Partner, Daddy
The Netherlands, Sicco Beerda, Creative Strategist, Euro RSCG 4D
United Kingdom, Seb Royce, Creative Director, Glue London
USA, Colleen DeCourcy, Chief Creative Officer, Organic

MEDIA LIONS JURY MEMBERS
USA, Renetta McCann, CEO, Starcom MediaVest Group (Jury President)
Australia: Gary Hardwick, Managing Partner & President, Ikon Communications
Austria, Friederike Müller-Wernhart, Managing Director, MindShare
Brazil, Paulo Stephan, Media Director, Talent Comunicação e Planejamento
Canada, Alain Desormiers, President, Touché! phd
Chile, Martin Osorio, General Manager, Mediaedge:cia
Colombia, Nelson Garrido, Managing Director, OMD Colombia
France, Marie-Laure Sauty De Chalon, Chief Executive Officer, Aegis Media France
Germany, Marianne Doelz, Managing Director, Initiative Media
India, Ashutosh Srivastava, CEO, South Asia, GroupM South Asia
Israel, Oren Yonayov, CEO, United Media
Italy, Riccardo Bandera, Founder/Managing Director, Maxus BBS
Japan, Miki Matsui, Executive Creative Director, Hakuhodo
New Zealand: Michael Prentice, Strategic Director, Meares Taine Creative
Norway, Eddie D'Sa, Managing Partner, Naked Communications
Portugal, Fernando Mendes da Cruz, CEO, Media Planning Group
Russia, Svetlana Shupe, CEO, ZenithOptimedia
South Africa, Lucinda Dare, Media Director, FCB Jhb
Turkey, Banun Erkiran, Managing Director, MediaCom Istanbul
United Kingdom, Derek Morris, Vice Chairman, ZenithOptimedia
USA, Jim Poh, VP, Director of Creative Content Distribution, Crispin Porter + Bogusky

ALARMING NEW SPOT FOR DURACELL VIA CLEMENGER BBDO, MELBOURNE

Using dental records as a means of identifying family members creates chilling image in the viewers' mind as to the possible consequences of not having a working smoke alarm in this new spot for Duracell via agency Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne. It was created by Richard Williams and Ant Phillips and directed by Adrian Bosich via Exit Films.

WATCH OUT - HOST ADDED TO LION NATHAN ROSTER

Lion Nathan has appointed HOST to complete a scope of work on the company’s craft beer offering, James Squire (alongside incumbent agency Giant Leap) and future innovation projects. The agency joins BMF, Clemenger BBDO and Saatchi and Saatchi on the Lion Nathan roster of agencies.
Marketing Director – Premium and Innovations, Brett Grebert, said: “HOST has a proven track record of delivering highly creative work that works. It also has a great deal of experience in delivering integrated campaigns across multiple touch points – something that is increasingly important at Lion Nathan.”
Says HOST Managing Partner, Anthony Freedman: “We are delighted to be working with Lion Nathan, a company that has repeatedly demonstrated its desire to produce great work. We have been challenged to create world class campaigns that get people talking and we look forward to doing just that.”
Grebert confirmed that the first work from HOST will be developed in conjunction with regular creative partner, The Glue Society (Glue's Gary Freedman and Jonathan Kneebone are pictured above), and will be in market mid-year.

ANIMATION FOR SANITARIUM

A new animated spot for Sanitarium via agency Adworks Ogilvy, Auckland. Created by Drew Ayers and James Bowman via Flux Animation.

INTERACTIVE TECH SHOW HEADED FOR SYDNEY NEXT YEAR

dmg world media, an international organizer of exhibitions and publications, are bringing their ad:tech conference, the world’s largest interactive marketing event, to Australia. The conference is scheduled to launch February 7-8, 2007 and will take place at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney.
In an article posted to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) website, Online advertising grows 60 per cent to $620 million with no sign of slowing, the inaugural Chairman Cliff Rosenberg states, “Internet ad growth is not surprising in itself, but the strength and ongoing potential for growth is stunning,” he said. “Revenue has romped past outdoor and cinema ads combined, and are now very close to catching magazines and radio.”
“We are thrilled to bring ad:tech to Australia,” states Don Knox, vice president of ad:tech events. ”The internet ad growth in the Australian market is huge and presents an incredible opportunity for ad:tech to deliver the best source of education, networking and technology solutions for interactive marketers. We couldn't be happier with our decision to serve this market with a tightly focused interactive marketing conference."
For more info visit www.dmgworldmedia.com.

AWARD SCHOOL ASIA GRADUATES PROVE IT'S WORTH IT

It’s the educational program made famous for producing many of the biggest names in creative advertising, including David Droga, and AWARD School Asia has already proved its worth in its first full year.
2005 graduates and McCann Singapore creatives Teng Run Run and Gayle Jill Lim sold their AWARD School ad for TEFAL, and it has since gone on to make a finalist at AdFest and picked up a Bronze and a Silver for best use of media at the Creative Circle Awards 2005.
Under McCann ECD, Ng Tian It, their TV spot for BIC permanent marker picked up a Bronze at AdFest this month, which also scooped silver in Cannes last year, a Silver in the Creative Circle Awards, a bronze in Malaysia's MC2 awards, and a finalist in Young Guns.
Says Tian It: “The AWARD School is one of the best things to happen on the local scene. It represents the best hunger meter I can ever find to identify potential talents.”
AWARD School is completely unique in that it is a course in IDEAS and how great creative thinking applies to advertising. It provides students with insight into the creative process and develops the creative disciplines of art direction and copywriting.
Says AWARD Regional Committee representative Tay Guan Hin (JWT Regional ECD South East Asia): " This school doesn’t just give you a head start in advertising; it’ll boost your chances of working in the agency you’ve always wanted “.
The 12-week part time course will run from June to September in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur 2006. To be accepted into the course, each person must respond to the application questions, which will go online at www.awardonline.com at the beginning of May.
Applicants for AWARD School do not need any previous experience in advertising – AWARD is searching for people who understand great ideas in advertising.
For further information regarding AWARD School Asia, please go to www.awardonline.com or contact Lucy Mckee.
Email lucymckee@awardonline.com or telephone +61407391229.

CANNES YOUNG CREATIVE COMPETITION: DEADLINE THIS FRIDAY

Fairfax, Australia's representatives for the Cannes International Advertising Festival, is once again running the ‘must win’ event for every aspiring young creative in the industry UNDER 28. A trip to Cannes is again up for grabs for the best young creative team in Australia. As with previous years, creative teams of two are asked to complete a newspaper brief and submit it to Fairfax.
The 2006 Australian Cannes judges will then analyse every entry and pick one winning team that will represent Australia at the World Young Lion competition in Cannes during the Festival in June.
To be eligible you must be:
- a team comprising of one writer and one art director/graphic designer.
Both team members must be:
- aged 28 years or under (ie born after 26th June 1977)
- be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
- be currently employed by an advertising agency in Australia
The brief is now posted on the

FAIRFAX AD CENTRE

website (Click on the Sydney Morning Herald section... you'll see it there.)
But hurry, the deadline is 5pm this Friday March 24th, 2006.

CANNES LIONS 2006: FILM AND PRESS JURIES ANNOUNCED

The Organisers of the 53rd Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival have announced the members of this year’s Film and Press juries.
U.S. based Australian David Droga (right), Creative Chairman of Drogafive, will preside over both juries in Cannes. The press judging will take place 15 to 20 June with the winners being announced Wednesday evening, 21 June. The Film entries will be judged 18-23 June culminating in the winners being honoured on Saturday evening, 24 June.
“These award winning creatives will bring together their global points of view to award great innovative and inspirational work that will raise the international creative benchmark” commented Australia's Terry Savage, Executive Chairman of the Festival.
Australia is represented on both juries, an honour bestowed on only 15 countries this year, including Thailand and India. The three countries are now considered the leading creative centres of the region - at least as far as Cannes is concerned! Australia's Film Juror is James McGrath, ECD of George Patterson Y&R, Melbourne and our Print Juror is Scott Whybin, chairman and ECD of Whybin TBWA. New Zealand is represented on the Film Jury by Nick Worthington, ECD of Publicis Mojo, Auckland.
FILM JURY MEMBERS
USA David Droga, Creative Chairman, Drogafive (Jury President)
Argentina Juan Manuel Ricciarelli, Creative Director, McCann Erickson
Australia James McGrath, Creative Director, George Patterson Y&R
Belgium Christophe Ghewy, Creative Partner, LG&F
Brazil Jader Rossetto, Creative Vice President, Fischer America Comunicação Total
Canada Judy John, Snr VP, Managing Partner, Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett
Denmark Carsten Schiott, Creative Director, BBDO
France Farid Mokart, Co-President, Marcel Paris
Germany Frank Dopheide, Chairman, Grey Worldwide Düsseldorf
India Prasoon Pandey, Director, Corcoise Films
Italy Pietro Maestri, Executive Creative Director, JWT Italy
Japan Yoshimitsu Sawamoto, Creative Director, Dentsu
Mexico Tony Hidalgo, CEO/Executive Creative Director, Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi
New Zealand Nick Worthington, Executive Creative Director, Publicis Mojo New Zealand
Norway Magdalena Kamøy, Creative Director, DDB Oslo
South Africa Sandra de Witt, Executive Creative Director, TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris
Spain Carlos Holemans, President/Creative Director, El Laboratorio/Springer & Jacoby
Sweden Malin von Werder, Art Director, Garbergs
Thailand Thirasak Tanapatanakul, Executive Creative Director, Creative Juice\GI
The Netherlands Jacqueline Donker, Creative Business Partner, FCB Amsterdam
United Kingdom Rosie Arnold, Creative Director, Bartle Bogle Hegarty
USA David Apicella, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy & Mather

PRESS JURY MEMBERS
USA David Droga, Creative Chairman, Drogafive (Jury President)
Argentina Carlos Perez, President, BBDO Argentina
Australia Scott Whybin, Chairman/Executive Creative Director, Whybin\TBWA
Belgium Sophie Norman, Associate Creative Director, Y&R
Brazil Ruy Lindenberg, Creative Vice President, Leo Burnett Brazil
Canada Elspeth Lynn, Partner/Co-Creative Director, ZiG
France Christophe Lafarge, President, Scher Lafarge
Germany Gepa Hinrichsen, Chief Creative Officer, ZOO Werbeagentur
India Preeti Vyas Giannetti, Chairwoman/Chief Creative Officer, Vyas Giannetti Creative
Portugal Luís Silva Dias, President & CEO, FCB Portugal
South Africa Rob McLennan, Executive Creative Director, JWT
Spain Urs Frick, Founder & President, Zapping
Sweden Andreas Ullenius, Art Director, Åkestam.Holst
Switzerland Juerg Aemmer, Creative Director, Euro RSCG Zürich
Thailand Wisit Lumsiricharoenchoke, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather
The Netherlands Hakan Coskunsoy, Creative Art Director, N=5
Turkey Ayse Bali, Creative Director, Rafineri
United Kingdom Jeremy Craigen, Executive Creative Director, DDB London
USA Joyce King Thomas, Chief Creative Officer, McCann Erickson

THE DONKEY GETS ANOTHER STARRING ROLE, THIS TIME FOR JEANSWEST VIA THE PALACE

Check out this latest spot for JeansWest via The Campaign Palace, Melbourne, created by Ben Birchall and Shane Dawson, directed by Nice Trees via production company, The Directors Group.

WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE ALL THE OTHER PARODIES?

AUSTRALIAN CREATIVES TO GET ANIMATED ON A WORLD STAGE

Having worked with the likes of Franz Ferdinand, U2, Madonna and the world’s advertising elites, the esteemed pioneer of contemporary animation is establishing representation in Australia.
FilmTecknarna Animation Stockholm is the architect responsible for reinventing the music video and is recognised as the pinnacle of commercial animation.
Continually creating new effects and techniques, their innovative approach to commuter graphics is often imitated, but their work remains distinct.
Having been nominated for Grammies and awarded at the MTV Music Video awards, and recently winning the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlin Film Festival, the company is now looking to continue its global presence and involved in the world’s most dynamic creative output.
The company believes creative standards in Australia are up there with the world’s best and Australian representative for FilmTecknarna, Lucy Verity of Cyclops Films, said they are now looking to work in conjunction with agencies that share their visual philosophies.
“There is simply no comparison to the work produced by FilmTecknarna. Their work is extremely impressive and you only have to see it to appreciate how ahead of their time they are,” Lucy said.
“The company has created work on campaigns for BMW, Absolut Vodka, McDonalds, Boddington’s, Kellogg’s, Toyota and Nestle and worked with agencies such as BBH, Leo Burnett, Modernista and Deutsch Inc. Now they want to be part of the creative action in Australia.”
FilmTecknarna was founded in 1981 by Lars Ohlson, Jonas Odell and Stig Bergqvist, when they were still attending school. All spare time was spent at the animation desk, producing mainly independent short films. However, when commercial television was introduced in Sweden only 15 years ago, the company found a niche in the market and started to contribute in the commercial sector, producing commercials and a couple of TV-series.
As Sweden had no such word for the work the company did, “FilmTecknarna” became, by definition, contemporary and graphics.
Today, the company has ten fulltime staff, representation in five countries, and produces work around the world.
“FilmTecknarna is extremely excited about the anticipation of working with key Australian creatives and brands, and we will be making contact with select firms with impressive and notable works, to discuss opportunities,” Lucy said.
“We believe the availability of FilmTecknarna in Australia will contribute greatly to the advertising and production industries.”
For more information on FilmTecknarna or to view a show reel contact 02 8353 3633.

CUMMINS&PARTNERS EXPAND PROACTIVE WITH INTERACTIVE HIRE

cummins&partners has recently appointed Ross Stewart as a key member of proactive; the DM & interactive division of the company. This will add an experienced creative to further strengthen its expanding services to clients. Ross’s responsibilities include working on the Virgin Blue, Carsguide.com.au, Velocity and Urban Pacific accounts as well as with the agency’s integrated planning team to provide customer-centric solutions to a broad range of clients.

KIWI BLOG BACK UP

Well bugger me, our fax machine is working again. ( nzcreativecircle.blogspot.com) Technical support suspect either a loose wire or a blown fuse or possibly just a build-up of dirt and grease around the top of the tub. So let's keep it clean for a few days, just in case. Address unchanged for now. Cheers, nzcreativecircle

KELLY DICKINSON RESIGNS FROM M&C SINGAPORE, SET TO JOIN BIG MULTINATIONAL

Kelly Dickinson, ranked #8 (2004/5) and #16 (2005/6) in the Campaign Brief Asia Creative Rankings, has resigned from her position as Creative Group Head at M&C Saatchi Singapore.
Commenting on the last year Kelly said: "I have enjoyed every minute of my
time at M&C this year and last. The creative work has been excellent. In
fact, we have done a lot of great TV which isn't bad for a print town! Not
to mention our pitch hit-rate which has been phenomenal so I am very happy".
Currently unable to give anything away, Kelly is planning to move onto a
larger international agency. She will be with M&C for a while longer and
will be focusing on new business and driving forward their creative work.
Previously she worked at Proximity Singapore and O&M Singapore under ECD Craig Smith.
On leaving M&C she says: "Of course, I am a little sad to leave because I'll miss working with Rich (Richard Johnson, ECD) and there is some great creative talent here. However, new opportunities are beckoning. I am very excited about my next challenge and looking forward to working on more ATL global brands again".

NZ CREATIVE CIRCLE OFF THE AIR FOR A FEW DAYS

The NZ creative circle site (www.nzcreativecircle.blogspot.com) is currently not publicly accessible for some reason. Anyway, working on it and expect to be up again soonish with a slightly new address. Thanks for your support.

THE KODAK GONGS INCLUDED IN THE CB ASIA CREATIVE RANKINGS - CALL FOR ENTRY DEADLINE: MARCH 31, 2006

Campaign Brief Asia announced the inclusion of The Kodak Gongs in the annual Creative Rankings at the CB Asia/Kodak Gongs Creative Director's lunch held at
Adfest, Thailand last week, to coincide with the imminent 2006 Call for Entries deadline: 4pm on the 31st March, 2006.
The Kodak Gongs was in attendance at Adfest to launch the 2006 program, calling for entries throughout the Region. All entries can be submitted online at www.thegongs.org (The site is available for viewing in Thai, Korean, Chinese, Japanese and English).
There is truly inspiring local work all over the region. In order to highlight and reward this work, four new Best of the Best categories have been created. These include:
1. Best of North Asia (China & Hong Kong, Taiwan)
2. Best of South Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia,
Philipinnes, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh)
3. Best of Pacific (Australia, New Zealand)
4. Best of North East Asia (Japan, Korea)
The Kodak Gongs aims to become the premier commercial moving image Awards
in the southern hemisphere and will judge work for all the emerging content platforms on the same level as television and cinema commercials.
The Kodak Gongs are supported by:
Naming Partner: Kodak
Major Partners: The LaB Sydney and AAV Regency.
Principal Sponsors: Frame Set & Match, Adstream, Autodesk, Atlab, Cutting Edge, Generator Interactive, Song Zu and Panavision
Sponsors: Avid Australia, Australian Creative, AdNews, Campaign Brief,
Campaign Brief Asia, Fin Design and Effects, Postmodern Sydney and Mike Reed
and Partners Post Production.
For Kodak Gongs enquiries please direct to the Regional Contacts below:
Australia:
Fiona Parker @ Two de Force
Fiona@twodeforce.com.au Tel: +61 2 9281 8788
New Zealand:
Stephen Douglas @ Film Construction
stephen@filmconstruction.com
Thailand:
John Galvin @ Oriental Post
john@orientalpost.co.th
Singapore:
Freddie Yeo @ Frameworks
fyeo@frameworks.com.sg
Japan:
Junichi Takeuchi @ Kodak
junichi.takeuchi@kodak.com

SIREN AWARDS CLOSE TODAY 5PM

Last chance to get your entries in for the final round of the 2006 Siren Awards.
Entries close 5pm today, so hurry!
You must enter Round 5 to be in the running for the Grand Prize - enter here
www.sirenawards.com.au/entry_form.cfm>.
Any commercial or campaign from the past 12 months is eligible for entry! (provided you meet the entry Terms and Conditions).

PALACE HIRE YAHOO! THINK TANK KIDS

The Campaign Palace, Sydney has hired young creative team, Kirsty Gavin and
Rupert Taylor. Originally in publishing and media (Kirsty as art director
and designer and Rupert as editor and journalist) the duo are a product of
the Yahoo! Think Tank ­late last year. (Good onya Palace, hope other shops follow suit - Ed).

EVERYONE INVITED TO ONE FOR ALL'S ST PATRICK'S DAY BASH TODAY

Today, Friday March 17th, One for All is having its 10th Anniversary St Patrick's Day Party at their premises at 12 Ann Street, Surry Hills from 1pm to 1am. "Everyone's invited", says One For All's Rob Willett, who is expecting it to be bigger than ever.

FCB NZ APPOINTS CRAWFORD AS CEO

FCB New Zealand has appointed an advertising outsider, Bryan Crawford, to the role of CEO, filling the vacuum left after the departure of Nick Baylis (together with CD Oliver Maisey) to M&C Saatchi, Auckland at the end of last year. Crawford has held senior management and marketing roles in a variety of industries, most recently, he was the Chief Executive of NGC, which was the largest integrated gas and electrical metering business in New Zealand in 2005.
According to the Hong Kong-based Senior Vice President for FCB Asia Pacific, James Holland, "The selection of an experienced CEO with strong connections to corporate New Zealand was deliberate. In a continuing effort to expand the talent pool beyond the classical advertising base, making appointments at this senior level fulfills a strategy to further understand, and add greater value to, our clients. An exceptional CEO with an impressive track record in diverse leadership roles, Bryan Crawford already has the corporate profile that will allow him to connect with businesses in a meaningful way.
"FCB New Zealand has a creative edge and achieved substantial growth in 2005. There is no doubt that Bryan will further add to the diversity of talent and dynamism in the team he now leads."
Adds Crawford: "I am delighted to have this opportunity to lead one of New Zealand's most successful advertising agencies. I look forward to continue growing the business while strengthening FCB's corporate profile beyond the advertising industry."

SAATCHI & SAATCHI NZ WINS ADMEDIA AGENCY OF THE YEAR

Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand was last night named the Fairfax AdMedia Agency of the Year at a function in Auckland. This comes on top of taking out both the Campaign Brief and B&T titles for NZ Agency of the Year.
"Saatchi & Saatchi is back to its glory days," the judges said, noting the agency had a "brilliant" year in 2005 with revenue up by 36% and profitability by 169%. Saatchi also won 86% of new-business pitches and hired 80 new staff (taking total numbers to 190).
(The judging panel was privy to Saatchi's dollar numbers but - thanks to the USA's post-Enron Sarbanes Oxley Act - the actual figures cannot be published.)
The accolades for Saatchi didn't stop there. CEO Andrew Stone won CEO of the Year (he also won this category last year), Saatchi-owned media agency Starcom won Media Agency of the Year, and account manager Dave Hewitt won Rookie Suit of the Year.
Compact Agency of the Year was Tequila, a division of Whybin TBWA.
The judges made a special one-off award to DDB chairman/CEO Martin O'Halloran, who was last month promoted to chairman/CEO of DDB Australia and New Zealand, based in Sydney. O'Halloran, who was the AdMedia CEO of the Year in 2004, was named Agency CEO 2000-2005. "For over 10 years he has stood head and shoulders above everybody else," the judges said.
Also honoured was the creator of the National Party billboards, veteran advertising creative John Ansell, who came out of left field to create the most talked-about campaign of 2005. Ansell has previously written ads for Labour. "I thought I'd retired from advertising," Ansell said. "But when I saw Don Brash on the horizon, I just had to put my hand up."
The judges were consultant Cindy Mitchener, ad-industry recruiter Peter Spencer, and Marketing Magazine editor Graham Medcalf.
Unlike most advertising awards, which focus on creativity, the Agency of the Year rewards business success and management excellence.
THE WINNERS
Agency of the Year: Saatchi & Saatchi.
Finalists: Clemenger BBDO, DDB, FCB, Y&R
Compact Agency of the Year: Tequila.
Finalists: Mr Smith, Promotus, Revo.
Agency CEO of the Year: Andrew Stone (Saatchi & Saatchi).
Finalists: Martin O'Halloran (DDB), Greg Partington (Advertising Works Ogilvy), Jon Ramage (Y&R).
Rising Agency of the Year: Colenso.99.
Finalists: Mr Smith, Tequila, Saatchi & Saatchi Interactive, WRC.
Media Agency of the Year: Starcom.
Finalists: Spark, OMD.
Rookie Suit of the Year: Dave Hewitt (Saatchi & Saatchi).
Finalists: Bridgette Crispin (DNA), Cameron Owens (Grey), Katey-Ellen Price (FCB).
Agency CEO 2000-2005: Martin O'Halloran (DDB).
Wildcard: John Ansell (writer).
Report: AdMedia

ADFEST WINNERS ONLINE

For all the winners at AdFest go to:

http://www.asiapacificadfest.com/main.htm

SIREN AWARDS: LAST CHANCE TO WIN A TRIP TO CANNES

NZ GIRL WINS BEST DM AT ADFEST

The multi-awarded NZ Girl 'Worst Boyfriend' campaign via DDB Auckland took out top honours last night in the Direct Marketing category at the 9th Asia Pacific Adfest Advertising Festival in Pattaya, Thailand. The campaign won the only Gold and Best of DM. Other winners from Australia and New Zealand were a Bronze to M&C Saatchi Melbourne for ANZ 'Big Pocket' and Tequila Auckland for Nissan Pathfinder 'Torn' was a Finalist. In all, there was one Gold, five Silver, nine Bronze and nine Finalists. In the Interactive Awards, RMG Connect, Sydney (a division of JWT) won Bronze for Veet 'Improve Your Chances'.

BIG AD TIPPED FOR BEST OF SHOW AT ASIA-PACIFIC ADFEST

A veritable swarm of Aussie and Kiwi creative and TVC production bods are heading up to Thailand this week to attend the annual Asia Pacific Adfest, held at the Royal Cliff Hotel in Pattaya Beach. While Asian agencies are sure to dominate Print, CB bets the Carlton Draught 'Big Ad', via George Patterson Y&R Melbourne will take out Best of Show in Film.
Almost every Australian and New Zealand TVC production company that has dealings with Asia will be there, plus a growing band of creatives, including many of the judges who are currently hard at work before joining other delegates from Thursday onwards to enjoy the Festival, which culminates in the Film Award ceremony on Saturday night.

NOKIA WINS NAB AD OF THE MONTH

Nokia’s “So many features you’ll think it does everything” newspaper ad, via Generator/ Y&R Auckland, is the New Zealand Nespaper Advertising Bureau’s February Ad of Month Winner.
February judges included Josh Lancaster (MTC), Jamie Hitchcock (MTC), David Brady (FCB) and Tony Bradbourne.
The winning ad will be sponsored into 2006 Axis Awards, and the winning creatives from Generator/Y&R will receive 2 x $200 Ticketek vouchers to see a show or concert of their choice. The ad will appear in the “What’s New” section of March AdMedia.
The overall “winner-of-winners” for Round 1 is to be announced very soon. Round 2 will be launched in the next few weeks and promises to be a ‘bigger and better’ newspaper creativity awards, to rival the other media creativity competitions.
For further information and the full terms and conditions, please visit
www.nabs.co.nz.

ADIDAS HONOURED AS CANNES 2006 ADVERTISER OF THE YEAR

Adidas will be awarded the prestigious Cannes Lions Advertiser of the Year award during the Festival in June, which will be presented to Erich Stamminger, President and CEO of the adidas brand, in honour of their creative and innovative advertising.
The award recognises the awe-inspiring, imaginative and original global communication of the adidas brand, as well as its worldwide influence on lifestyle trends with industry-leading products. Adidas ads have been awarded an outstanding 34 Cannes Lions across all media during the last decade, 11 of which were won last year.
“We are delighted to honour adidas in recognition of the brand’s success at Cannes over the last few years. Their numerous awards are a testament to a client who truly understands the creative process and is passionate about creating great work”, said Terry Savage, Executive Chairman of the Festival.
Erich Stamminger, also Executive Board Member of adidas-Salomon AG, responsible for Global Marketing and of the adidas brand’s business worldwide, will receive the prestigious Advertiser of the Year trophy at the Festival on the evening of Saturday 24 June.
Commenting on adidas winning the award, Erich Stamminger said, “We're honoured that the organisers of the Cannes Lions Festival have chosen adidas as Advertiser of the Year, the industry's most prestigious honour and a singular success for our brand. With our partners, TBWA and 180 Amsterdam, we continue to look for ways to push the creative boundary - creating powerful new campaigns, which can connect with consumers both emotionally and personally.”

YOUNGGUNS EXHIBITION HEADS TO ASIA NEXT WEEK

The International YoungGuns Award traveling exhibition, sponsored by Getty Images and Curious Film, is on the road again. All are invited to an exclusive party in Singapore and then Hong Kong to view the 2005 showcase. This is a great opportunity to see the best talent under 30, and celebrate the local Asian YGAward Winners and Finalists. Join them for great food, a drink or 10, and be inspired by the creative youth set to take over the industry... one day.
RSVP to livia@ygaward.com to secure your invite. Space in limited and there is no cost.

Tuesday March 14, 2006 from 7pm
@ Getty Offices,
87A/88A Amoy Street,
Singapore.

Thursday March 16, 2006 from 7.30pm
@ Hei Hei Club
3/f On Hing Terrace
Central, Hong Kong

COUNTDOWN TO CANNES: HOT YOUNG TALENT WANTED FOR SAATCHI & SAATCHI NEW DIRECTORS' SHOWCASE

Saatchi & Saatchi has launched their official call for entries to this year’s prestigious New Directors’ Showcase, one of the advertising industry’s most coveted events. This annual global search for the best new directorial talent aims to identify and promote the best directors of the future. Directors are eligible for consideration if they have been directing commercials for no more than two years. From those considered – over 500 reels and 2000 individual pieces – a shortlist will be reviewed by Saatchi & Saatchi’s Worldwide Creative Board, which includes Sydney ECD David Nobay, to make the final selections for the Showcase. The Showcase will be screened by Saatchi & Saatchi offices globally, following its premiere screening at the Cannes Lions Festival in June.
Last year the only director to make the Showcase from Australia/New Zealand was The Sweet Shop's Kezia Barnett (pictured). Her producer, Paul Prince, commented: “The Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors' Showcase is one of the most credible forums for promoting fresh directing talent. Being a global search and featuring anything from new short film, music, commercial to animation directors, it's no wonder this showcase is the most popular event at Cannes. Over the years the true greats in the game have been featured in this forum - Traktor, Gondry, Cunningham; people take notice of this showcase. After directing just three commercials, young Kezia Barnett was featured in the showcase; then followed a steady stream of scripts, international recognition and back to back jobs. Kezia's inclusion into this showcase in 2005 was both an honour and can be considered to be a cornerstone in her career as a commercial director.”
Adds Ali Grant, Head of TV Production at Saatchi & Saatchi, Sydney: “We receive many reels to review and the reality is that very few make Nobby’s list to our Worldwide Creative Board. In essence, we are looking for something VERY special and it may be in the form, for example, of a short film, music video, idents, visual design, or spec work that hasn’t yet been broadcast.”
The Worldwide Creative Board makes its decision based on the following characteristics:
The ability of the director to execute an idea on screen.
An innovative technique or style.
Outstanding directorial skill.
Entries: Send reels (on DVD) by 31 March, 2006. Please label clearly as “New Directors’ Showcase 2006” and include your contact details.

Address to:
Kate Whitfield,
Saatchi & Saatchi,
70 George Street,
THE ROCKS NSW 2000

whitfiek@saatchi.com.au

TURN YOUR BACK ON IT ALL WITH NINE MSN

ninemsn has launched a major campaign supporting its new-look entertainment offering. Created by Euro RSCG Worldwide Sydney, the campaign launched with a 45 second television commercial, supported with cinema and online activity throughout the campaign.
The campaign brings to life the ability to escape the daily grind, by enjoying the content found on the ninemsn Movies, Music and Games entertainment sites. The advertisements are designed to communicate how ninemsn empowers you to ‘turn your back on it all’ without even leaving your desk.
The TVC features a city worker looking to escape the confines of his working environment. We then follow our worker as he turns his back on everything that is annoying throughout his day. The song Long Hair, by Little Barrie, accompanies him has he ends up back where he started. It’s then revealed ninemsn entertainment helped him to ‘virtually’ escape the pressure.
The objective for the campaign is to generate traffic, from specific demographic groups, to the sites. The long-term objective is for people to form a relationship with ninemsn entertainment, reinforcing its position as Australia’s No. 1 entertainment site.
Campaign credits:
Agency: Euro RSCG, Sydney
ECD: Dale Rhodes
AD: Luke Thompson
Writer: Anthony Pitt
Agency Producer: Laura Langdon
Director: Mark Molloy
Production Company: Exit Films

ROBBER'S DOG FILMS UP AND RUNNING

Auckland based Robber's Dog Films is up and running! Former Silverscreen tvc directors Adam Stevens and Chris Dudman can now be contacted through producer, Mark Foster (for Stephens) and producer, Nikki Walker (for Dudman).
Contact numbers:
Mark Foster: +64 21 641 150,
Nikki Walker: +64 21 775 500.
Email: mfoster@robbersdog.co.nz;
nwalker@robbersdog.co.nz;
astevens@robbersdog.co.nz;
cdudman@robbersdog.co.nz

END OF RHODES AT EURO RSCG

In what appears to have caught the agency by surprise, Euro RSCG Sydney ECD Dale Rhodes has suddenly resigned after three years at the agency, but will stay on until the agency finds a replacement, which may take up to six months, according to sources. The latest shakeup comes after the agency replaced MD Glen Fraser with Brendan Tansey over the Christmas break, and the subsequent retrenchment of 10 staffers a few weeks back. Euro RSCG parent Havas also appointed Tom Moult as Australian chairman late last year and he has been working closely with Tansey to get the agency back on track after several lacklustre years on the new business front.

AMY SMITH TO DEPART WHYBINS FOR CEO OF JWT AUSTRALIA/NZ

Amy Smith is set to leave her post as managing director of Whybin TBWA Melbourne to replace Michael Connaghan as CEO of JWT Australia and New Zealand. The latter has moved to JWT shareholder STW Group Limited as CEO.
Smith, an Australian, has been in the Whybin gig for a couple of years since arriving from London fresh from a highly successful three years running Wieden + Kennedy. She is due to start in April and will run JWT out of Melbourne and report to JWT worldwide president Michael Maedel as well as STW.
Smith is being replaced by Philip O'Neill, who is currently general manager of Whybin TBWA, Auckland. O'Neill was, prior to joining TBWA, managing director of M&C Saatchi, Auckland where he ran the Tourism NZ account. In a terse press release just in, Scott Whybin, Chairman of Whybin\TBWA announced that "Amy Smith’s contract had been terminated, effective immediately" and that O'Neill will join on March 14th.
“This is an irresistible opportunity,” said Philip O’Neil. “The TBWA\ network is the best in the world. Melbourne is a city I’ve always loved. And I get to team up with Scott Whybin and a world-class creative department."
Smith is the latest in a line of senior appointments at JWT, following the Sydney office hiring of Mick Hunter as CD and Ian Morton as head of art, both from Whybin TBWA Sydney where they held the same titles, and Glen Ryan, ex CD of Leo Burnett for the CD gig at JWT Melbourne.

FYSH MOVES OFFICE

Twenty30 Communications Group, part owned by creative partner, Fysh Rutherford, has moved to: Level 5, 141 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, Vic 3000
T 61 3 9654 7788
F 61 3 9654 7122
M 0412 547 486
W twenty20.com.au

ROB JACK SET TO DEPART M&C SAATCHI, AUCKLAND

M&C Saatchi Auckland CD, Rob Jack is set to leave this week to go freelance just two months after Oliver Maisey joined the agency from FCB. At the time, the plan appeared to be to leave Rob Jack as CD of Auckland while Maisey would be in a National role with plans to beef up the fledgling Wellington office. However, with the loss of the NZ Tourism business, it appears the agency is not big enough to have two CDs.
Says Jack: "Over the last four months I've really enjoyed getting back into writing ads, through necessity. I've realised that, at this point in time, creating campaigns and strategies gives me more fulfillment than management. So I'm looking forward to writing some ads."
Jack joined M&C Saatchi a year ago from DDB Auckland (where he had been in a senior creative role for a year after being lured from London).
In London he worked at Simons Palmer, BBH and BMPDDB, and has won a swag of awards, including five D&AD silvers (four for Guess Jeans and one for Dial-a-Cab), one Cannes gold (VW Passat 'Driving Test'), one silver (VW Passat 'Dog'), two One show bronzes, three British TV silvers, AWARD Bronze (VW Touareg 'Surprise Nature') and teo Axis Silvers for VW Golf print campaign.

ARE ADVERTISERS LIKELY TO WIDELY EMBRACE CONSUMER CREATED ADS - AND ARE YOU A LITTLE WORRIED?

Until very recently, consumer-created ads have been little more than bad jokes -- things used occasionally for comic relief or to toy with absurdity-based marketing for its own sake. But as video cameras and desktop video editing gear have experienced leaps in quality and dramatic reductions in price, the concept of consumer-produced TV spots is showing signs of evolving into something else. Like all emerging advertising trends, it is the subject of curious observation, debate and no small amount of derision throughout the mainstream ad agency business. Last week, however, we saw what could be a watershed for the genre: Marketing giants Sony Electronics, Toyota Motor Sales USA and L'Oreal signed deals with Al Gore's Current TV network to participate in large-scale experiments using TV ads conceived and produced by consumers.
Do YOU think this is a folly in the making?
Or is it the dawn of a new era of grassroots creativity that has the potential to actually compete against the advertising service companies traditionally associated with the creation and production of TV commercials?
Are advertisers likely to widely embrace consumer-created advertising for their brands?

YES, MRS PRIME MINISTER

Zoo, Canberra has put to air an animated spot for Old Parliament House promoting the "Mrs Prime Minister - Public Image Private Lives" Exhibition.
The ad dramatises the role of a Prime Minister's wife which is undefined and often lonely and features highlights of the exhibition from Sonia McMahon’s famous White House dress, romantic love letters from Joe and Enid Lyons and a shanghai slingshot owned by Pattie Menzies.
Agency: ZOO Advertising
Animation: Eye Candy
Creative Director: Ken Buchan
Art Director/Copywriter: Ken Buchan
Director of Animation: Damian Stock

AUSTRALIAN STUDENT WINS TOP PRIZE AT KODAK FILMSCHOOL COMPETITION

LOS ANGELES – Shing Fung Cheung from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, and Cesar Gutierrez Miranda from Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos, UNAM in Mexico, have taken out the first prize places in the 2005 Kodak Filmschool Competition.
Recognising outstanding achievement in cinematography, the competition is open to students and recent graduates from both the Greater Asia and Japan and Latin America regions. Finalists from seventeen different countries competed for top honours with a first prize winner selected from each region.
For the second consecutive year, internationally renowned director of photography László Kovács, ASC generously judged the students' work. Kovács’ credits include such films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Paper Moon, Shampoo and Ghostbusters, among many others. Kovacs says he valued the opportunity to provide the cinematography students with constructive feedback and viewed each film personally.
"Judging these entries was very challenging because the cinematography in all of these films was impressive in different ways," Kovács observes. "Each of these cinematographers found innovative techniques to help support the emotions of their stories. I encourage all of them to pursue their dreams. I believe they all have the talent to succeed in this very competitive industry."
Cheung was awarded the Greater Asia and Japan regional first prize for his work on Beth Armstrong’s film, Danya. Miranda took the Latin America regional first prize for his work on Pepe Valle’s Quimera (Chimera). Both students will travel to the 2006 Cannes International Film Festival where their films will be screened at the Kodak Emerging Filmmaker Showcase. They will also participate in seminars and have the opportunity to network with key members of the international film community.
Danya is about an only child who realises she is different from other children, because she was raised without a mother. Danya's father was forced to give up his international music career after his wife's death. He coped with his loss by locking away her belongings. Danya presses her father for missing answers about her mother, but can't get them because he is consumed by grief.
"Shing Fung Cheung used simple, but artful photography that is beautiful for this story," Kovács says. "The lighting was right for the times and places where the story happens, and also for moods. I was especially impressed with how the close-ups of Danya were lit, and also with bleaker moments in the story where darkness was used to support the mood."
Quimera was inspired by the short story "The Secret Miracle" written by Jorge Luis Borges. The film is about a writer who is condemned to death. He attempts to write a book but falls asleep before finishing it. Right before his execution he asks for a miracle – enough time to finish his story.
"Quimera is a visually striking drama that portrays what film is capable of doing through processing – bleach bypass, contrast enhancements, monochromatic looks, and so on," Kovács says. "Composition, camera movement, unusual angles, close-ups, and dramatic lighting were always correctly used to express the emotional content of scenes without it being obvious."
Launched in 2000 as an extension of the Kodak Student Filmmaker Program, entries into the Kodak Filmschool Competition must be produced on film by a student crew. The competition provides international recognition and tangible support for talented young filmmakers at an important juncture in their careers.
Honourable mentions were given to Sandeep Patil from the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune for Their Story, and Pablo Gonzalez from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in Argentina for El Sereno (The Night Watchman).
"One of our primary goals when designing this competition was to provide support for talented young cinematographers and encourage them to pursue a career in cinematography," says Wendy Elms, Manager, Kodak Student Filmmaker Program, Greater Asia and Japan region. " We are indeed fortunate and most grateful for the support of such industry notables as László Kovács and this is one of many ways Kodak can recognize and showcase the work of our next generation of filmmakers and present them on an international stage.