GPY&R and DDB lead network pack at 2012 Caxton Awards; ADF ‘Mobile Medic’ campaign takes out Quinlivan Black for best of show

The 2012 Caxton Awards for Excellence in Newspaper Advertising was presented at a gala ceremony tonight on Hamilton Island, the finale of the three-day 2012 Caxton Seminar and Awards event.

GPY&R Melbourne’s ‘Tri Service’ campaign for the Australian Defence Force won the prestigious ‘Quinlivan Black’, which is the award given each year by the chair of judges and jury to the ad or campaign considered best in show.  

A total of 24 Caxtons were awarded across 21 categories, with George Patterson Y&R and the DDB network sharing top position with five awards each.

The Special Group in Auckland repeated its 2011 Caxton success by winning four awards for a second consecutive year, while two awards apiece went to Colenso BBDO, Auckland, DDB New Zealand and Whybin\TBWA, Sydney.

The winners were drawn from 57 entries from 19 ad agencies named as finalists for this year’s Awards, with strong competition from both sides of the Tasman.

The most finalists for 2012 were in the hotly contested FMCG category, followed by Best Use of the Newspaper Medium, Best Art Direction and Best Campaign.

New categories included mobile and tablet and technical innovation and The Newsworthy Idea of the Year Award, which was created this year to recognise an outstanding advertising idea that has transcended its media channel and become news in its own right. The inaugural winner of this new award was Ogilvy & Mather Sydney for Coca Cola’s “Share A Coke” campaign.

Says Justin Drape, Caxton chairman: “We’ve been fortunate to have some of the brightest creative minds in our industry judging the awards this year, and the fact that the jury named 57 finalists and 24 winners says a lot about the quality of the entries.

“This includes a strong showing in the digital categories which suggests that the transformation newspapers are undergoing is offering great creative opportunities.”

Says Ant Keogh, Caxton 2012 chair of judges: “We saw a great standard of work in print and the new digital categories, the latter which can only improve as agencies begin to exploit the possibilities of online and tablet newspaper apps.”

Commenting on the Quinlivan Black Award, Keogh said: “[GPY&R’s] Mobile Medic ad stood out head and shoulders above the other digital work, a great, targeted, super-clever idea.

“Having said that, this year, the print work stood up very well. It’s the classic print campaigns for cars and beer and TV stations that stuck with me most,” Keogh said.

A highlight of the 2012 Awards ceremony was the presentation of the prestigious Denis Everingham Award to legendary ad man Gordon Trembath (left), founder of the The Campaign Palace.

Originally created to recognise outstanding copywriting, and named in honour of one of Australia’s most lauded copywriters, the Denis Everingham Award has only been bestowed three times in the 38 year history of the Caxtons.

Says Drape: “Gordon has played a significant part in pushing the standard of Australian advertising forward so this is a long overdue award.”

Trembath accepted the award from the first ever winner of the Denis Everingham, Jack Vaughan, who was a creative director of The Palace between 1978 and 1988, first in Melbourne, then in Sydney.

Acknowledging Trembath’s extraordinary talent in art direction and graphic design, Vaughan said he was glad the award had been broadened beyond the craft of copywriting.

Says Vaughan: “I’m very pleased to see that what originated as an award for masters of copy now includes someone with Gordon’s great skills.

“This is the first time the Denis Everingham has honoured a craftsman beyond copywriting and that’s a good thing because of course there’s no reason why art directors shouldn’t receive the same recognition as copywriters, particularly since the crafting of words and pictures is not as clear cut as perhaps it used to be.”

Another highlight was the return of the Caxton Talent Quest, won by BWM creative partner Rob Belgiovane (left), who won in 2010, the last time the quest was held as well as several times prior to that.

2012 Caxton Awards – Winners

Standard Banners

Entry Title: Un-Rugby This Banner

Creative Director: Tony Bradbourne, Rob Jack

Art Director: Kim Fraser

Copywriter: Kim Fraser

Designer: Heath Lowe

Agency: Special Group, Auckland

Client: FOUR/MediaWorks

Rich Media

Entry Title: The Kiwi Sceptics

Creative Director: Bob Mackintosh

Art Director: Ciaran McCarthy

Copywriter: Kae Yen Wong

Photographer: Katie Kaars

Designer: Christian Hewitt

Editor: Pete Ward

Agency: Host, Sydney

Client: Air New Zealand

Mobile and Tablet

Entry Title: Tri Service – Mobile Medic

Executive Creative Director: Ben Coulson

Creative Director: Chris Northam

Art Director: Jake Barrow

Copywriter: Matt Lawson

Photographer: Hugh Peachy

Designer: Janna Mamar

Retoucher: Starkart