AdFest 2021 Lotus Awards: TBWA\Sydney and Leo Burnett Melbourne score Grande trophies; Mindshare Sydney named Media Agency OTY
ADFEST has unveiled the winners of the AdFest 2021 Lotus Awards, announced at today’s online ceremony on Thursday 8th April 2021, 12:00pm (UTC+7). With 62 jurors, the judging process was guided by Grand Jury President Judy John, global chief creative officer at Edelman, Toronto.
TBWA\Sydney and Leo Burnett Melbourne have both been awarded Grande trophies and Mindshare Sydney named Media Agency of the Year. TBWA\Sydney has won the Media Lotus Grande for ‘PLAY NZ’ created for Tourism New Zealand with Mindshare, Sydney and AIRBAG, whilst Leo Burnett Melbourne has won the Grande for Humanity for Bonds’ ‘Bonds Out Now’.
Says Jimmy Lam, president of ADFEST: “We would like to thank everyone who entered ADFEST 2021 in spite of the challenges we faced as an industry last year. We thank you for sharing your ideas with the world and for showing how in dark times, the most innovative creative ideas shine bright.”
ADFEST’s highest accolade is the ‘Grande’ trophy, with 4 Grande winners at ADFEST 2021:
• Direct Lotus Grande: Wunderman Thompson Thailand, Bangkok for Thai Airways’ ‘Stay Home Miles Exchange’
• Film Lotus Grande: Wolf BKK, Bangkok for Central Midnight Sale ‘Shop Unfriend’, with production by Factory01, Bangkok
• Media Lotus Grande: TBWA, Sydney for ‘PLAY NZ’ created for Tourism New Zealand with Mindshare, Sydney and AIRBAG
• Grande for Humanity: ‘Bonds Out Now’ for Bonds, by Leo Burnett Melbourne
John Koay, executive creative director at Ogilvy Hong Kong, judged Design Lotus and Print & Outdoor Craft Lotus. He said: “2021 was hard for everyone and not just people in the creative industry. However, these winning pieces of work remind us that no matter how difficult it is, design and creativity can defy all odds and inspire us to have fun and do things differently with a twist in our everyday lives.”
Abhinav Tripathi, executive creative director at McCann Worldgroup India, joined the Audio Lotus, Film Lotus, Outdoor Lotus & Press Lotus jury. He adds: “I think one of things we celebrated along with creativity was resilience. We were all amazed by the quality of the work we were seeing. Which really is a testament to our industry’s hard work and determination.”
AUDIO LOTUS
There are no Grande, Gold, Silver or Bronze awarded in the Audio Lotus category.
BRAND EXPERIENCE LOTUS
There are 1 Gold, 4 Silver and 5 Bronze Lotus winners in the Brand Experience category.
Wunderman Thompson Thailand, Bangkok has won Gold for the Thai Airways ‘Stay Home Miles Exchange’ campaign.
The four Silver Lotus trophies go to:
• Ogilvy Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur: Coca-Cola ‘The Galactic Bottles’ won two Silver trophies
• Beijing Creative & Interactive Digital Technology Company Limited, Beijing and CIG Beijing: Huawei Device Co., Ltd. ‘Half Piano’
• ADK Creative One, Tokyo: NTT DOCOMO ‘Memories Forever’
BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT LOTUS
In Branded Entertainment Lotus, there are 3 Silver and 5 Bronze Lotus winners, plus two finalists.
Silver winners:
• Edelman Singapore: Causes for Animals Singapore ‘The Perfect Voiceovers’
• Leo Burnett, Melbourne: Bonds ‘Bonds Unplugged’
• United Communication Group / Uni-Surf Digital Marketing, Taipei: Heng Leong Hang Co. Ltd (Braun) ‘‘Braun X Formosa Chang’
Says Baris Gencel, creative director, brand consultant and creative digital and technology, Shanghai: “‘The Perfect Voiceovers’ was a brilliant idea to change people’s perceptions of shelter animals, and help these animals to be seen as desirable rather than leftover. With zero dollars spent on media, adoption enquiries increased by 21%. As for ‘Braun X Formosa Chang’, this unusual campaign aimed to change the traditional image of Braun and it caught young people’s attention. I love the beautiful art direction as well.”
DESIGN LOTUS
There are 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze winners in the Design Lotus category.
The Gold winner is Dentsu Inc., Tokyo for Ezaki Glico Co., Ltd.’s ‘Pocky the Gift’.
Says Jameilee Que, creative director at BBDO Guerrero, Manila: “Everyone knows and loves Pocky. It’s an iconic product. And it’s very difficult to redesign the packaging of something that’s so well recognized. But Pocky was able to create a new look that was minimalist, modern, and playful yet still 100% Pocky. Plus, the new packaging is just cute AF.”
Two Silver trophies are also awarded to:
• Dentsu Inc., Tokyo: Ezaki Glico Co., Ltd.’s ‘Pocky the Gift’
• SIX Inc., Hakuhodo Inc., and HAKUHODO Kettle Inc., Tokyo: Code Sony Music Labels / Reissue Records for artist Kenshi Yonezu, ‘A Ciphered Release Of Music Video: Stray Sheep’
Says Koay: “‘A Ciphered Release of Music Video: Stray Sheep’ was a very interesting way to grab people’s attention online. Using an unconventional design language, it was fresh in the category – that’s why it was deserving of a Silver Lotus.”
DIGITAL CRAFT LOTUS
This year, there are no Gold or Silver winners, only 4 Bronze winners in Digital Craft Lotus.
DIGITAL LOTUS
There are 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze Lotus award winners in Digital Lotus.
Gold winners include:
• Taproot Dentsu, Mumbai: Facebook ‘Pooja Didi’
• Innocean Worldwide, Seoul: Young Chemical / Facebook Korea, ‘The Cheering Bandage’. This campaign also won 1 Silver trophy in this category
Says Kalpesh Patankar, chief creative officer MENA, VMLY&R Dubai and Jury President of Digital Lotus, Digital Craft Lotus & Mobile Lotus: “Both of these campaigns showed us that in such a difficult period, people’s desire to do good for others was more effective and heart-warming.
“As a group, we were looking for ideas that sympathize with what we all face as humanity together. The winning campaigns use empathy, diversity and human-centric technology, showing us that creativity can really help people and also that bold ideas can make the power of the brand even more powerful.”
DIRECT LOTUS
There are 1 Grande, 1 Gold and 1 Bronze in the Direct Lotus category.
Wunderman Thompson Thailand won the Grande trophy for Thai Airways’ ‘Stay Home Miles Exchange’ along with one Gold trophy. This campaign was entered into the ‘Resilience in Creativity’ sub-category, which celebrates ideas that demonstrate the strength of the human spirit in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
eCOMMERCE LOTUS
2 Silver Lotus winners:
• Dentsu Inc., Tokyo: Kura Sushi, Inc. ‘Tuna Scope 2020’
• Wunderman Thompson Thailand, Bangkok: Thai Airways International ‘Destination Menu’
EFFECTIVE LOTUS
There are 3 Gold awards, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze in Effective Lotus.
The Gold winners are:
• Grey Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur: WWF, ‘Your Plastic Diet’, which won 2 Golds
• Dentsu Inc., Tokyo: Kura Sushi, Inc., ‘Tuna Scope 2020’
Says Gencel: “By showing people how much plastic we eat, it compelled them to sign one of the fastest and largest petitions ever created in WWF history. Tuna Scope goes beyond clicks and likes – it was an amazing piece of work where innovation combined with creativity delivered simple yet brilliant work that still and will be used for years to help businesses.”
FILM CRAFT LOTUS
This year, there are 3 Gold, 3 Silver, 15 Bronze awards in Film Craft Lotus.
The Gold winners:
• Wolf BKK, Bangkok: Central Department Store ‘Shop Unfriend’, with production by Factory01, Bangkok
• Taiyo Kikaku Co., Ltd., Tokyo: Toagosei Co. Ltd.’s Aron Alpha ‘Too Short for TV Ads campaign’ created for Yomiko Advertising Inc., Tokyo
• Squeak E. Clean Studios, Sydney: Facebook ‘Facebook Kazoo’ for Wieden + Kennedy Portland
Says Diederik van Middelkoop, executive creative director at Amp.Amsterdam: “All winners show that taking smart humor to the next level, even if it borders on something somewhat absurd, actually helps a great deal to stand out and get a message across. A great creative concept is one thing, but to push it to its extremes in its craft and execution, makes all the difference.
“My absolute favourite was the ‘Too Short for TV Ads campaign’. I feel they are like a breath of fresh air amidst a lot of serious and long-format content. The ads that make up the campaign are original, short, daring, unexpected, delightful and mildly absurd. They are perfect, really.”
FILM LOTUS
In the Film Lotus category, there were 1 Grande, 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze awarded.
The Grande winner is Wolf BKK, Bangkok for Central Midnight Sale ‘Shop Unfriend’, with production by Factory01, Bangkok.
Says Abhinav Tripathi, executive creative director at McCann Worldgroup India: “We often use the word ‘clutter-breaking’ in our industry. But I feel this time, this film truly deserves that title. It stands out in so many ways. It’s either a fashion film that uses humor really well, or it’s a funny film that’s incredibly fashionable. Either ways, it breaks multiple stereotypes while being able to deliver its message very effectively.”
Says Brandie Tan, executive creative director at Wunderman Thompson Philippines: “’Shop Unfriend’ was probably the freshest story out of all the films we saw. When the friend drives away with half of the car you think it’s the end of the story but, it’s not. This makes the film unexpected, funny and worth watching over and over.”
The Sour Bangkok Co. Ltd., Bangkok won Gold for ‘Maepranom’, created for Phiboonchai Maepranom Thai Chilli Paste Co., Ltd., with production by Phenomena Co., Ltd., Bangkok.
INNOVA LOTUS
The “Magnificent Seven” Jury Presidents, headed by Judy John, global chief breative officer at Edelman, Toronto, judged the INNOVA Lotus, Lotus Roots, and Grande for Humanity.
The INNOVA Lotus category rewards genuine innovation, talk-value and results. Cheil Worldwide, Seoul is the sole INNOVA Lotus winner for Emart’s ‘Light Saver’.
LOTUS ROOTS
Unique to ADFEST, the Lotus Roots category celebrates ideas that embody local values whether in terms of culture, religion, beliefs, traditions, or language.
There were 2 Lotus Roots winners at ADFEST 2021:
• Fact, Tokyo: ‘Pillows are for fighting’ – Ito City’s City Promotion
• FINCH, Sydney: Spark’s ‘Kupu Tell Your Story’ created for Colenso BBDO Auckland
MEDIA LOTUS
In the Media Lotus category, there were 1 Grande, 2 Gold, 4 Silver, and 2 Bronze awarded.
TBWA\Sydney is the Grande Winner for ‘PLAY NZ’ created for Tourism New Zealand with Mindshare, Sydney and AIRBAG.
Gold winners are:
• Leo Burnett, Melbourne : Bonds ‘Bonds Out Now’ with media by OMD Sydney
• United Communciation Group/Uni-Surf Digital Marketing, Taipei: Heng Leong Hang Co. Ltd (Braun) ‘Braun X Formosa Chang’.
MOBILE LOTUS
In Mobile Lotus, there are 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze awards.
This year’s Gold winner is Wunderman Thompson Thailand, Bangkok, for Thai Airways, ‘Stay Home Miles Exchange’. The agency also won 1 Silver award for the same campaign.
Says Jury President Kalpesh Patankar, chief creative officer MENA, VMLY&R Dubai: “Thai Airways helped reinforce the brand at a time when nobody was flying. It showed how something negative can become a strength by rewarding people for staying home. Creativity when applied right inspires and moves us all.”
NEW DIRECTOR LOTUS
In the New Director Lotus category, there is 1 Silver award, and 1 Bronze award.
The Silver trophy is awarded to Graph Studio Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur for a short film titled ‘Setting Moon’, created for the Kancil Awards 2019, hosted by the 4AS (Association Of Accredited Advertising Agencies) Malaysia.
Says van Middelkoop: “This unusually spiritual and mystical topic choice is especially unexpected for a young director. We were impressed by the sincerity of the subject, and the love and care director Chan Teik Quan has put into the film. We all eventually say goodbye to our loved ones, and this film is a highly original depiction of an imagined road to farewell.”
OUTDOOR LOTUS
In the Outdoor Lotus category, there were 1 Gold, 4 Silver and 3 Bronze awards.
Leo Burnett, Melbourne picked up a Gold trophy for the Bonds ‘Bonds Out Now’ campaign.
Says Tan: “‘Bonds Out Now’ was a true Outdoor campaign. It communicated from afar with big bold letters, a short headline and beautiful portraits of real people. It looks and feels authentic the second you see it.”
Silver winners:
• Daiko & DAIKO WEDO, Tokyo: Burger King Japan, ‘True King Listens’
• United Communication Group / Uni-Surf Digital Marketing, Taipei: Heng Leong Hang Co. Ltd (Braun) ‘Braun X Formosa Chang’
• Hakuhodo Indonesia, Jakarta: Sushi Sei’s ‘Flavour of Home’.
• Leo Burnett Sydney, Sydney: Bonds ‘Bonds Out Now’
PR LOTUS
In PR Lotus, there were 3 Gold, 4 Silver and 7 Bronze awarded.
Gold PR winners:
• IRIS, Singapore : Warner Music Asia, ‘Unsung’
• Leo Burnett, Melbourne: Bonds ‘Bonds Out Now’
• TBWA\Sydney: Tourism New Zealand, ‘PLAY NZ’.
PRESS LOTUS
In the Press Lotus category, there were 1 Silver and 1 Bronze winners.
TBWA\Thailand, Bangkok has won Silver for McThai Co. Ltd.’s (McDonald’s) ‘Burger & Me’ campaign with print production by Le Photographe Co. Ltd., Bangkok and Visionary Bangkok.
Says Tan: “‘Burger & Me’ stood out for its quick wit — its cleverness. There is a truth about how people love McDonald’s burgers and the agency was able to show this in a fresh new way. I’m not the first to say this: the best ads don’t look like they belong in their category and this places QSR in another mindspace.”
PRINT & OUTDOOR CRAFT LOTUS
In the Print & Outdoor Craft Lotus category, there were 1 Silver and 1 Bronze winners.
Silver winner:
• Le Photographe Co. Ltd., Bangkok: McThai Co. Ltd.’s (McDonald’s) ‘Kiss 1’ created for TBWA\Thailand, Bangkok, with print production also by Visionary Bangkok.
Says Que: “A burger is convenient. It’s quick, it’s easy, you can eat it with one hand. It’s a very unfussy food. To see it depicted as a love interest, a sex object even, genuinely made me laugh. In a good way. I can honestly say I’ve never seen a burger that way.”
Koay agrees: “This piece of work is a fine example of a classic print ad done well. You look at it, then it hits you with the ‘ah-ha’ moment when you realise you’re looking at something else, the product. Nice one.”
GRANDE FOR HUMANITY
The Grande for Humanity, which recognises excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility or Public Services & Cause Appeals, goes to Leo Burnett Melbourne for ‘Bonds Out Now’, created for Bonds.
Says Tripathi“It’s very hard to balance capitalism with a social point-of-view. I think we all loved how effortlessly this campaign managed to do that. It uses well established formats of advertising to proudly celebrate and encourage the LGBTQ community. For a big brand, that was a pretty bold move and it was executed with class.”
AUSTRALIAN WINNERS:
BRAND EXPERIENCE LOTUS
Bronze:
TBWA\Sydney, Tourism New Zealand, PLAY NZ
BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT LOTUS
Bronze:
Leo Burnett Melbourne, Bonds, Bonds Out Now
DESIGN LOTUS
Bronze:
Leo Burnett Melbourne, Bonds, Bonds Out Now
EFFECTIVE LOTUS
Bronze:
Leo Burnett Melbourne, Bonds, Unplugged
FILM CRAFT LOTUS
Gold:
Squeak E. Clean Studios Sydney, Facebook ‘Kazoo’ (Wieden + Kennedy Portland)
Silver:
Alt.vfx Brisbane, Toyota, Heroes (Saatchi & Saatchi LA)
Bronze:
Revolver, ANZ, Love Speech (TBWA\Melbourne)
GRANDE FOR HUMANITY
Leo Burnett Melbourne, Bonds, Bonds Out Now
LOTUS ROOTS
FINCH Sydney, Spark, Kupu Tell Your Story
MEDIA LOTUS
Grande:
TBWA\Sydney, Tourism New Zealand, PLAY NZ
Gold:
Leo Burnett Melbourne, Bonds, Bonds Out Now
Silver:
Leo Burnett Sydney, The Minderoo Foundation, Walk Free
MOBILE LOTUS
Gold:
Leo Burnett Melbourne, Bonds, Bonds Out Now
Silver:
Leo Burnett Melbourne, Bonds, Bonds Out Now
PR:
Gold:
TBWA\Sydney, Tourism New Zealand, PLAY NZ
Silver:
Leo Burnett Sydney, The Minderoo Foundation, Walk Free
No winners for Australia in Digital Craft Lotus, Digital Lotus, Direct Lotus, eCommerce Lotus, Film Lotus, Mobile Lotus, New Director Lotus, Press Lotus or Print & Outdoor Craft Lotus.
ADFEST’s Special Awards are awarded to the creative businesses that win the highest number of Lotus Awards.
Says Vinit Suraphongchai, chairman of ADFEST: “Every year, ADFEST’s Special Award winners set the benchmark for the year ahead. This year’s winners are all the more impressive because they demonstrate the power of creativity in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. By building agile, resilient brands, or simply by making us smile, this year’s Special Award winners must be commended for producing brilliant, impactful ideas in the strangest of years.”
Special Award winners of ADFEST 2021:
NETWORK OF THE YEAR
Hakuhodo wins ADFEST’s Network of the Year. The works from 11 offices across the region contributed to this well-deserved win including:
– Hakuhodo Inc., Tokyo
– Hakuhodo Inc., Osaka
– Hakuhodo Kettle Inc., Tokyo
– Hakuhodo Indonesia, Jakarta
– Hakuhodo Design Inc., Tokyo
– Happy Hours Hakuhodo Inc., Tokyo
– Medialand Digital Strategy Limited, Taipei
– Signing Ltd., Tokyo
– SIX Inc., Tokyo
– United Communication Group/Uni-Surf Digital Marketing, Taipei
– Wolf BKK, Bangkok
AGENCY OF THE YEAR
The Agency of the Year goes to Wunderman Thompson Thailand, Bangkok, which created “Stay Home Miles Exchange” for Thai Airways International Public Company Limited. This campaign won multiple Lotus trophies, including the Direct Lotus Grande.
INDEPENDENT AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Sour Bangkok wins the Independent of the Year for “Maepranom”, created for Phiboonchai Maepranom Thai Chilli Paste Co., Ltd., with production by Phenomena Co., Ltd., Bangkok.
DIGITAL AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Wunderman Thompson Thailand, Bangkok also wins Digital Agency of the Year along with Innocean Worldwide, Seoul.
Wunderman Thompson Thailand, Bangkok wins the accolade for works including “Stay Home Miles Exchange” for Thai Airways International Public Company Limited, while Innocean Worldwide, Seoul wins the accolade for works including “The Cheering Bandage” for Young Chemical / Facebook Korea.
MEDIA AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Mindshare, Sydney wins ADFEST 2021 Media Agency of the Year for “PLAY NZ” for Tourism New Zealand, created by TBWA\Sydney. This campaign won the Media Lotus Grande.
PRODUCTION COMPANY OF THE YEAR
The Production Company of the Year is awarded to One Cool Production Co., Ltd., Bangkok for “Shop Unfriend” for Central Midnight Sale and “Free Your Hunger” for GrabFood.
ADVERTISER OF THE YEAR
The Advertiser of the Year goes to Thai Airways International Public Company Limited for its creative solution to incentivise people to stay home and earn miles during the pandemic, “Stay Home Miles Exchange”, by the agency Wunderman Thompson Thailand, Bangkok.
Congratulations to all the ADFEST 2021 Special Awards winners.
Says Lam: “Thanks to everyone who made ADFEST 2021 possible – our hard-working jury, all of the creative companies who entered their work, and our own team here in Bangkok. We know our judges would have loved to be in the room together, but despite meeting virtually, the quality of debate and the ingenuity of the winners chosen are testament to the enduring strength of our industry.”
Founded in 1998, ADFEST is Asia’s longest-running and most celebrated regional creative festival. ADFEST is included in the WARC Rankings, successor to The Gunn Report, which combine the winners’ lists from the world’s most important awards to establish the annual worldwide league tables for the global advertising industry.
For the complete list of ADFEST 2021 Grande, Gold, Silver and Bronze winners, click here.