FINCH scores Gold in ADFEST Sustainable Lotus category for Team Heroine ‘Correct the Internet’

ADFEST 2024 has announced the second round of Lotus Awards tonight in the final eight categories; Effective, Outdoor, Sustainable, Press, Radio & Audio, Film, INNOVA Lotus and Lotus Roots.

The Grande for Humanity and Special Awards were also announced to a packed hall at PEACH, Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya, Thailand.

A total of 1,587 entries were received for the Lotus Awards and 63 jury members from 23 cities were organized into 7 groups, chaired by Malcolm Poynton, Global Chief Creative Officer of Cheil Worldwide, to decide the winners of the ADFEST 2024 Lotus Awards.

Says Poynton: “In briefing the jury for ADFEST this year, I asked they judge with open hearts; to celebrate world-class ideas that come from and are true to the incredible local cultures of Asia and the Pacific. To be confident in voting for the creativity of Asia, leaving behind any ‘global’ view, any agency vs agency, country vs country views often seen at other shows.

“Overall impressions from the juries were one of truly world-class work rooted in local culture, along with a welcome shift toward more emotional work; the return of wit, humor and more personality in the work.

“I’m happy to say Human Intelligence is evident in all winning work. From Design and INNOVA to Digital, Mobile, Film, Film Craft, Effective, Lotus Roots and Lotus Grande, we’re seeing it takes creative minds to have the human insight and imagination to take the leaps that result in creative ideas that move people.”

JURY INSIGHTS: OUTDOOR LOTUS / PRESS LOTUS / RADIO & AUDIO LOTUS / FILM LOTUS

David Guerrero, Creative Chair for BBDO Guerrero, Manila was Jury President for Film, Outdoor, Press and Radio & Audio.

Says Guerrero: “I was excited to review and compare these categories to the last time I headed a jury at ADFEST almost 20 years ago. Back then these four categories comprised the entire festival. Now they represent “classic” creativity. And it’s good to see what has changed and what has not. Film is in some ways they least changed of the four.”

“If anything, the importance of good film-making, even in a classic 30 or 60 length, has only increased. Radio & Audio Lotus was not the strongest category before but has been revitalized to some extent by the “use of audio” component.”

“Outdoor is still interesting. There is a bias now towards activation and interactivity with social media. So classic billboards are less seen in the show.”

“Finally, Press still seems to be searching for a role. It’s no longer seen as a “mass” medium. It does however still have a vital role as a way to influence opinion. And there is still respect for the power of the printed word.”

OUTDOOR LOTUS AWARD

For the Outdoor Lotus category, 76 pieces of work were entered, with the Jury awarding 3 Bronze, 2 Silver, 1 Gold and 1 Grande.

The Gold award was won by Gigil, Manila for Netflix “4Dish Pot”.

Leo Burnett Korea, Seoul was elected as winner of the Grande award for work on McDonald’s titled, “Mom’s Bed”.

David Guerrero, Jury President of Press says: “The interesting thing here is the brand was willing to take a stand about a health policy matter. Many brands shy away from expressing a point of view on things like this and we all liked how the execution linked seamlessly to social and led to an action to address the problem.”

PRESS LOTUS AWARD

There were 17 entries recorded for the Press Lotus awards and the jury gave out 1 Grande award, won by Impact BBDO, Dubai for An Nahar Newspaper “The Newspapers Inside. The Newspaper Edition”.

Says Guerrero: “The role of the press in political debate is highlighted in this piece where banned newspapers were reprinted within one complete daily. It showed defiance and strength in the face of censorship. And also shows that it needs to be confronted in an actionable way.”

RADIO & AUDIO LOTUS AWARD

This year, there were 33 entries for the Radio & Audio Lotus Awards. There were 2 winners of Silver awards and 2 Gold were also announced.

Two Gold awards were presented to:
Leo Burnett Taiwan, Taipei for Taiwan Organ Sharing Registry & Patient Autonomy Promotion Center “Hear My Last Wish”
Dentsu Inc., Tokyo for McDonald’s “Fries Beat”

FILM LOTUS AWARD

One of the larger categories at ADFEST 2024 was Film Lotus where there was a total of 176 entries. The jury awarded 7 Bronze, 4 Silver, 1 Gold and 1 Grande awards.

The Gold award was presented to Wolf BKK, BANGKOK for Robinson Department Store “The Air Drummer”.

CHOOJAI AND FRIENDS, BANGKOK was won the Grande award for work on Sammakorn titled, “Sammakorn Not Sanpakorn”.

Guerrero said: “This film stood out for its embrace of a very authentic problem with the brand name. The script was illuminated by the performance of the lead character. The direction brought it all together as a confident comedic masterwork. All in all, this was a unanimous verdict by the jury for the best film in the competition.”

JURY INSIGHTS: EFFECTIVE LOTUS / SUSTAINABLE LOTUS

Malcolm Poynton, Global Chief Creative Officer, Cheil Worldwide from London was Jury President for Effective and Sustainable.

EFFECTIVE LOTUS AWARD

For the Effective Lotus category, 39 pieces of work were entered, with the Jury awarding 3 Bronze, 4 Silver, 1 Gold and 1 Grande.

The Gold Award was given to Wolf BKK, Bangkok for CP Chicken “Go for Launch”.

Mondelez International Foods Pvt Ltd, Mumbai was elected as winner of the Grande Award for work on Oreo titled, “#Bringback2011”.

“The jury applauded the truly local insight of this campaign coming from a global brand, tapping into local superstitions to successfully take a bite out of the highly competitive local biscuit market. The tone was pitch-perfect; it appeared serious in execution while being playful as an idea. This is what resulted in it successfully embedding the Oreo brand in local culture. The re-launch aspect was a brilliant twist that enabled this global brand to take a bite out of an extremely competitive local market.” said Poynton.

JURY INSIGHTS: EFFECTIVE LOTUS / SUSTAINABLE LOTUS

Malcolm Poynton, Global Chief Creative Officer, Cheil Worldwide from London was Jury President for Effective and Sustainable.

EFFECTIVE LOTUS AWARD

For the Effective Lotus category, 39 pieces of work were entered, with the Jury awarding 3 Bronze, 4 Silver, 1 Gold and 1 Grande.

The Gold Award was given to Wolf BKK, Bangkok for CP Chicken “Go for Launch”.

Mondelez International Foods Pvt Ltd, Mumbai was elected as winner of the Grande Award for work on Oreo titled, “#Bringback2011”.

“The jury applauded the truly local insight of this campaign coming from a global brand, tapping into local superstitions to successfully take a bite out of the highly competitive local biscuit market. The tone was pitch-perfect; it appeared serious in execution while being playful as an idea. This is what resulted in it successfully embedding the Oreo brand in local culture. The re-launch aspect was a brilliant twist that enabled this global brand to take a bite out of an extremely competitive local market.” said Poynton.

SUSTAINABLE LOTUS

This year, ADFEST is introducing a new Lotus category to its Lotus Awards line-up. Creativity, knowhow, technological development and resources are invaluable to achieve social, environmental, and economic sustainability. Sustainable Lotus recognises the importance of Sustainable Development Goals and how striving for these Global Goals can drive transformational change and positively impact the world and its people.

Sustainable Lotus recorded a total of 55 entries in its inaugural year. Out of these, the jury awarded 4 Bronze, 4 Silver and 1 Gold metal awards.

FINCH, Sydney was won the Gold award for work on Correct the Internet titled, “Correct the Internet” created with DDB Aotearoa.

JURY INSIGHTS: INNOVA LOTUS / LOTUS ROOTS

Malcolm Poynton, Global Chief Creative Officer, Cheil Worldwide was Grand Jury President for INNOVA Lotus and Lotus Roots. The jury comprised of all the Jury Presidents at ADFEST, including:

Jury President of Brand Experience Lotus, Commerce Lotus and Direct Lotus:
Bill Yom, Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Jung von Matt HANGANG, Seoul

Jury President of Design Lotus and Print & Outdoor Craft Lotus:
Ashwini Deshpande, Co-Founder & Director, Elephant Design Pvt. Ltd., Pune

Jury President of Digital & Social Lotus, Digital Craft Lotus and Mobile Lotus:
Rei Inamoto, Founding Partner of I&CO, APAC

Jury President of Entertainment Lotus, Media Lotus and PR Lotus:
Wendy Chan, Executive Creative Director, Health APAC, Edelman, Hong Kong

Jury President of Film Craft Lotus and New Director Lotus:
Emma Daines, CEO, Founder & Executive Producer, Fin Design & Effects, Sydney

Jury President of Film Lotus, Outdoor Lotus, Press Lotus and Radio & Audio Lotus:
David Guerrero, Creative Chairman, BBDO Guerrero, Manila

This jury also selected the winning work for Lotus Grande for Humanity.

INNOVA LOTUS AWARD

There were 32 entries for INNOVA Lotus, which recognizes world-class concepts that have made a dramatic impact on the marketplace.

The jury awarded 2 Innova Lotus in different sub-categories, which were presented to:

Dentsu Inc., Tokyo for WITH ALS “Project Humanity”
Leo Burnett Taiwan, Taipei for Taiwan Organ Sharing Registry & Patient Autonomy Promotion Center “Paper Organs”

The Grande INNOVA Lotus was awarded to TBWA\Hakuhodo Inc., Tokyo for Shellmet “Shellmet”

Poynton says: “Shellmet is so much more than just a helmet. It extends into a holistic design solution for not just a small Hokkaido fishing village but globally too.”

“Innovation sits at its core. From biomimicry design of the Helmet being 30% more resilient than petrochemical acrylic helmets to pioneering the production of a new eco-material from Scallop shells, simultaneously eradicating much of the 40,000 tonnes of cadmium-leaching waste shells; this innovative project doesn’t just solve for today, it also inspires for tomorrow too.”

LOTUS ROOTS AWARD

The Grand Jury President and group of Jury Presidents also presided over the Lotus Roots award, which recognizes creative work that preserves and celebrates the rich heritage and value of each local culture.

The Lotus Roots Grande went to DENTSU INC., TOKYO for Japan Railway 150th Anniversary Campaign “My Japan Railway”.

Poynton said: “My Japan Railway’s exquisitely crafted 900 station stamp adventure is a true celebration of local culture and traditions. One cannot but help be drawn into the playful game of discovering more and more stations. Drawn-in by the rich graphic nature of the station iconography, you find yourself scanning the ‘map’ before deep-dive into details, triggering a sense of excitement to ‘see for yourself’ the stations and towns behind the stamps. Combining the most refined of analog design aesthetics with the most rewarding of digital experiences (even the process of collecting the digital stamp sees the ‘ink’ imprint respond to the pressure you apply to the screen), it speaks to all generations, to local and foreign visitors in a way that makes JR’s 150-year history relatable and truly appreciated by all passengers.”

Lotus Roots awards were presented to:
– Dentsu Inc., Tokyo for The Commemorative 105th National High Baseball Championship / Nettoh Koshien 2023 “The Sacred Dirt”
– Leo Burnett Taiwan, Taipei for Taiwan Organ Sharing Registry and Patient Autonomy Promotion Center “Paper Organs”