COLLIS JUDGES FIRST EVER INTERCONTINENTAL AD CUP

Sixteen of the world’s top creatives - including Leo Burnett Australia ECD Mark Collis - met in Valencia, Spain yesterday to begin judging the first-ever Intercontinental Advertising Cup.
The panel includes some of the world’s most awarded creative directors including Marcello Serpa, CD and Co-CEO of Almap BBDO in Brazil; Toni Segarra, Founder and Chief Creative Director of S,C,P,F Barcelona in Spain; Sebastian Turner, Partners and CEO of Scholz & Friends in Germany; Ami Hasan, Founder & Chief Creative Officer and Chairman of Hasan & Partners in Finland; Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and CD of Ogilvy & Mather in India; Akira Kagami, Executive Officer and ECD of Dentsu in Japan; Marie-Catherine Dupuy, Vice Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of TBWA in France; Rafa Anton, ECD of Vitruvio Leo Burnett in Spain; Carlos Baccetti, Co-Founder of El Cielo y EI Infierno in Argentina; Tham Khai Meng, Co-Chairman & ECD of Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific in Singapore; Johannes Newrkla, President of Art Directors Club of Europe in Austria, Filip Nilsson, Chairman & CD of Forsman & Bodenfors in Sweden; Mark Collis (top row, far left), executive creative director of Leo Burnett in Australia; Agustin Elbaile, Vice President & CD of McCann Erickson in Spain, Igor Lutz, Co-Chairman & CD of BBDO in Russia, and Rishad Tobaccowala, CEO of DeNuo Group, Publcis Media, in USA.
Michael Conrad (bottom row, centre), President of Berlin School of Creative Leadership being the non-voting Honorary Chairman of the Jury is working with the 16 juries, spending three days examining the winners of four regional festivals: ADFEST (Asia Pacific), FIAP (Ibero-America), Golden Drum (Eastern Europe) and ADC*E (Europe). “I have always hated the idea, ‘Think Global Act Global,” says Michael Conrad, jury chairman of The CUP. “Any great idea has to start in a place. Many local ideas have a freshness and uniqueness that can shake up the world. Yet these ideas don’t always get the applause they deserve at global festivals. So why not have an award show based on this very thought?”
The CUP offers a radical alternative to global award shows like Cannes, D&AD and The One Show, which tend to favour Anglo Saxon ideas over campaigns based on local language, culture, landscape and humour.
Many creatives feel frustrated when their work is overlooked at global advertising festivals when judges do not understand the context in which their work is created. The CUP offers a point of difference to other advertising festivals by celebrating ‘Genius Loci’ – the guardian spirit of a place or location.
When the jury arrived for judging yesterday, they were surprised to find 16 colourful chairs waiting for them in a courtyard in Valencia. Each judge was asked to sit down in the chair they liked best. Some of the chairs were super-modern, others were classically designed, and others were striking and bold. It turns out the chairs were a gift from furniture design company Vitra, which donated the chairs as a symbol of creative excellence. Thrilled with their new chairs, the judges were ready to begin a long day of judging.
Besides, the Intercontinental Advertising Cup has an innovative judging system, which ignores traditional media boundaries in favour of great ideas.
Entries to The CUP will be judged in 19 categories such as food, beverages, fashion, cars, luxury, travel and retail. But instead of dividing the entries by media (TV, press, radio, outdoor, interactive etc), the campaigns will be judged on the strength of the idea alone. This means a poster will go head-to-head against a TV commercial, print, radio or interactive campaign in the same category.
It is a radically different way of celebrating creativity, which embraces great ideas regardless of which media they are created for.
The judges also choose Best of Show winners from the 19 category finalists including: Best of Film; Best of Radio; Best of Press; Best Media Innovation; Best of Design; plus three awards that celebrate local ideas such as Best Use of Local Culture.
The winners of The CUP will be announced in Valencia, Spain on 22-24 November 2007.