JWT strikes 17 at Ad Club Kolkata Awards 2008

The colourfully themed Kolkata Ad Club Creative Excellence Awards this year saw JWT Mumbai bag a total of 17 awards. O&M Kolkata, which picked up nine awards, also did well for itself. The other agencies that won awards were Bates David Enterprise Kolkata, Saatchi & Saatchi Mumbai and DraftFCB Ulka Mumbai, with four, three and one award, respectively.

The Kolkata Ad Club Awards saw a total of 707 entries this year; 169 of them were shortlisted and 50 went on to win metals. The panel of judges had its work cut out for it. Juju Basu, creative director, Saatchi & Saatchi Mumbai; Sagar Mahabaleshwarkar, chief creative officer, Rediffusion DY&R; Josy Paul, chairman and chief creative officer, BBDO; Souvik Misra, executive creative director, Bates 141; and Anjan Dutta, film maker, made up the panel.

The gold for the Best Public Service ad went to JWT Mumbai for its work for the Slum Rehabilitation Society, the Kho-Kho campaign. The agency’s Traffic campaign for Nike won a gold in the Consumer Durables category. The Lux Flower campaign won JWT Mumbai two golds for Best Outdoor Campaign and Best Consumer Products Campaign. Its work for the Care Foundation won it another gold in the Media Innovation category. Its last gold was for the Yellow Rippers campaign for Sulekha.com in the Sponsored/ Promotional Events category.

O&M Kolkata won silvers in the Outdoor, Sponsored/ Promotional Events and Direct Marketing category for its Blondes Salon – Fresh Hairstyles campaign.

Bates David Enterprise’s Bandh and Barsha campaign for the West Bengal State AIDS Control and Prevention Society won it a gold for the Best Continuing Campaign. It won a second gold for the door knobs and menu cards it created for Amber Guest House in the Institutional/ Service Campaign.

Saatchi & Saatchi Mumbai’s single gold came in the Consumer Services Campaign category – for its Eiffel Tower, London, campaign for Cox and Kings. Zapak Digital Entertainment, too, won a gold in this category for its launch campaign.

DraftFCB Ulka Mumbai’s only award was a bronze in the Unpublished Works category – for its Best Thriller campaign for British Airways.

Radio stations also saw recognition for their work through awards in various categories. While Radio Mirchi was declared the Kolkata Advertiser of the Year, its radio jockeys (RJs), Mir and Arnabi, each won a gold for being the most entertaining jockeys. Anirban Basu, also from Radio Mirchi, won a silver as Creative Writer of the Year. Red FM Kolkata’s Super Hero campaign won a gold in the Most Effective Station Campaign category.

Amongst the awards given to individuals for their creative excellence, Sujoy Roy, earlier with O&M Kolkata, was adjudged the best copywriter. The best art director award also went to the agency, to Soubhik Payra.

Black Magic Motion Pictures Mumbai won a silver in the Consumer Products category for its campaign for Mango Bite. It won a silver and a bronze in the Institutional/ Service category for its ABN Amro and Sulekha.com campaigns, respectively. In all, it bagged three awards.

Viscomm Mumbai won a silver in the Mercenaries (Financial) category for its work on Money Transfer. Filmshop won a bronze in the Continuing Campaign category for its work titled Top Mahabharat. Ginger Waterfilms Mumbai, too, won a bronze for its work, Ashirvaad, in the Best Sponsored/ Promotional Events – Single category.

JWT Mumbai was declared Masters of Mayhem (the national agency of the year), while O&M Kolkata was declared Warlords of the Year (the Kolkata agency of the year).