LOWE HUNT TEAM MAKE TOP TEN IN YAHOO'S 'BIG SHOT IN CANNES' COMPETITION

Yahoo!7 today announced the ten finalists in its international Big Shot in Cannes competition in which an Australian creative team is included. Ben Smith and Neil McGuirk (pictured), from Lowe Hunt, Sydney, have been handpicked by a distinguished panel of judges for their environmental online campaign, ‘Switch Off’.
The Big Shot in Cannes competition was launched in April and offered the industry the chance to win a trip to the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival by creating a campaign which raised awareness of a worthy environmental issue in the form of an online video public service announcement. This user generated content initiative was launched across the United States, France, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Korea, Spain, United Kingdom and Australia.
The ten finalists include:
• “Switch Off” by Ben Smith, Lowe Hunt - Australia
• “Change One Bulb, Change the World,” Bill McBrayer – United States
• “Paper Plane” by Oorna Datta, Lowe – India
• “Talking Fish” by Robert Meagher, Martin Agency – United States
• “Recycle for Life” by Diego Duprat, Freelance – Spain
• “Paper Earth” by Eva Miquel, Conill Advertising/Saatchi & Saatchi – United States
• “Trees” by Evan Barber, Student (The Art Institute Fort Lauderdale) – United States
• “Play Responsible” by Nicolas Gregoire, TBWA Interactive/Paris – France
• “You vs. Him” by Pranav Harihar Sharma – India
• “One Sunny Day” by Kristen Cahill, freelance – United States
The finalists entries can been viewed at http://promotions.yahoo.com/bigshot.
Says Ben Smith from Lowe Hunt: “It is great to be named as one of the top ten finalists in this international Yahoo! Competition. Neil and I created our ‘Switch Off’ ad by concentrating on the idea that small things can make a big difference - turning off a light switch is effortless and something that anyone can do. We borrowed a few pairs of hands from our circle of friends and colleagues and filmed them switching things off at home and around the office. Hopefully the ad demonstrates an important environmental message in a simple, but powerful manner and encourages people to act.”
Smith and McGuirk graduated from AWARD School in 2005, and have worked at The Glue Society, Three Drunk Monkeys and now Lowe Hunt.
Markus Barnikel, Chief Sales Officer, Yahoo!7 added: “It is fantastic to see a local team in the top ten which showcases Australian creativity on the worldwide stage. More importantly, The Big Shot in Cannes competition has demonstrated how key messages and environmental issues can be driven through user generated content. We believe this competition will help the advertising community better understand the opportunity that online provides for building message awareness and reaching Australian communities.”
The distinguished panel of judges choose the top ten finalists and will choose the three grand prize contest winners. Judges include;
Danny Searle, Creative Director and Deputy Chairman, Clemenger BBDO Sydney
David Apicella, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy & Mather New York
Jeff Benjamin, VP and Interactive Creative Director, Crispin Porter+Bogusky
Susan Credle, EVP, Executive Creative Director and Board Member, BBDO NY
Marie Catherine Dupuy, Vice Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, TBWA Paris
Pete Favat, Chief Creative Officer and Managing Partner, Arnold Worldwide
Jeff Goodby, CEO and Co-Chairman, Goodby Silverstein
Bob Greenberg, Chairman, CEO and Global Chief Creative Officer, R/GA Associates
Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and National Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather India
Linda Kaplan Thaler, CEO and Chief Creative Officer, The Kaplan Thaler Group
Mark Waites, Partner, Mother London