McCann is Agency of the Year at Mirchi Kaan Awards

Amidst catcalls, wild cheering and a general spirit of camaraderie, the first edition of the Mirchi Kaan Awards (instituted by private FM channel, Radio Mirchi) concluded yesterday at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. McCann-Erickson India was declared the Agency of the Year on the back of a tally of one silver and five bronze awards (apart from two merit certificates) for brands Dabur, Alpenliebe, Coca-Cola and Chlor-mint. Euro RSCG India was not far behind with one silver and four bronze awards for Mortein and Otrivin-O, while JWT India notched up one silver, two bronze and one merit certificate for Spice Telecom, Levi's and Smirnoff Twist.

McCann also bagged the coveted Crystal Award for the Best Radio Spot, while client Dabur was adjudged the Client of the Year. The special awards of Radio Sound Designer, Radio Writer and Voice of the Year went to Harshvardhan, Prasoon Joshi and superstar Amitabh Bachchan (for lending his voice to the Dabur ‘veer ras' commercial), respectively.

Apart from the top three winners, Everest Integrated Communications, Saatchi & Saatchi India, Mudra Communications, Bates India, Ambience Publicis, Rediffusion | DYR and RKSwamy/BBDO were the other winners of the evening. Everest bagged two bronze awards in the Foods category for Parle Marie Choice, while Saatchi got a bronze and a merit certificate in Foods (for Pillsbury Masala Mix) and Automotives and Accessories categories. Mudra claimed two bronzes in the Health and Cosmetic Care (Dabur Shilajit) and Toiletries and Household Care (Ezee) categories, while Rediffusion bagged two bronzes in the Consumer Durables category for Daikin air-conditioners.

Bates, Ambience and RKSwamy were single-award winners in the categories of Beverages, Automotives and Accessories and Unreleased Work, respectively. Bates and Ambience bagged a bronze each for brands Thums Up and Sonata S20, while BBDO bagged a silver for its Tuberculosis Control Programme.

The event, which started a good two hours late, had a dash of glamour and creative, with the talented Javed Jaffery and former Miss India Neha Dhupia anchoring the show, while performers for the evening included Shankar Mahadevan, fusion band Namah, Kailash Kher of Allah Ke Bande fame (from the movie Waisa Bhi Hota Hai - Part II), actress Koina Mitra and stand-up comic Vikram Sathaye. Legendary radio broadcaster Ameen Sayani, who presented a capsule on the genesis of the radio industry in the country, was felicitated with the Hall of Fame Award.

The clinical precision with which the event was executed would have made the Mirchi Kaan Awards a truly memorable experience, had it not been for the delay in the starting the show and for the patches of empty seats - and even more glaring, the absence of Finalists in a number of categories. However, as the saying goes, there is always a second time...

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