Abby Awards 2003: 'Level two agencies' gain award share <font size="1" face="Verdana"><b><font color="#FF0033"><u>Abby Awards!</u></font></b></font>

Did O&M really dominate this year's Abby Awards?

This one question was obviously lurking in the minds of quite a few advertising professionals who witnessed yesterday evening's award ceremony in Mumbai. And as the evening wore on, the question found voice in hushed corners, with ad folk shrugging that perhaps, this year, O&M hadn't been able to pull off an advertising equivalent of a Perfect Ten.

Here, a note of caution is in order. At no point does anyone dispute O&M's claim to the Agency of the Year title. With 21 points separating the agency from the No 2 contender (McCann-Erickson India), any discussion challenging O&M's status at the Abby Awards would be woefully short. However, what people are pointing to is the extent of the agency's domination. There is this feeling that unlike last year (or the year before, for that matter), O&M hasn't been able to sweep the awards this time. That it has had to share some of the limelight with its rivals. And one section of opinion insists that the ‘level two agencies' that have emerged from the rough-and-tumble of the awards have grown in number - at Ogilvy's expense.

Following this line of thought, if one were to look at O&M's performance this year and compare it to last year's, in net terms, O&M has actually won more Abbys this year (22 this year, to last year's 20). It has also won more points this year (28 this year, to last year's 23).

More Abbys won, more points won… So what's the big debate? Hasn't the matter been settled in O&M's favour?

Not as yet - not if one considers the following statistic. At last year's awards, a total of 52 Abbys were given away. This year, the number of awards distributed went up to 72. What this means is that 20 additional Abbys were handed out this year. But Ogilvy increased its tally of awards won by just two (20 to 22). Which means that this year, rival agencies ended up claiming 18 extra Abbys. Get the drift of the argument?

The issue springs into sharper focus once we look at it from the share-of-awards viewpoint. Last year, O&M claimed roughly 38 per cent of all awards distributed (20 of 52). This year, the figure is down to 30 per cent (22 of 72). Now, let us look at the comparative award shares of the ‘level two agencies' - loosely defined by the other agencies that won more than one Abby. Last year, six agencies (other than O&M) won more than one Abby, and their combined award share stood at 44 per cent (23 of 52). In comparison, this year, 11 agencies bagged more than one Abby, and their award share is close to 60 per cent (43 of 72).

All this does indicate that the ‘level two agencies' have increased in number, and have, in the process, managed taking a greater share of the awards. Even though, individually, none of them can still hope to take on O&M's might, it must be added.

One agency that did challenge O&M this year was McCann. Not in terms of the number of awards or points won (that comparison would be a non-starter), but in terms of bagging critical awards. For instance, in the prized Campaign of the Year category, McCann's ‘Thanda' campaign for Coca-Cola came up trumps against Ogilvy's campaigns for Center Shock and Amaron. The campaign also pipped the Center Shock campaign in the Foods, Beverages and Tobacco category to strike gold. Not to mention the coveted Copywriter of the Year award it fetched Prasoon Joshi. In fact, missing out on the Campaign of the Year and Copywriter of the Year awards are also cited as instances of O&M's inability to ‘dominate' this year's awards.

For McCann, this year's Abbys proved to be a windfall, especially considering the agency drew a blank last year. Credit for this year's results must, of course, go to Coke, Aamir Khan and Ashutosh Gowariker as well…

Mudra Communications is another agency that has enough reason to smile. While it picked up just one silver Abby last year, it has increased its tally to six silvers this year. Enterprise Nexus, Quadrant Communications, Rediffusion-DY&R and Publicis Ambience also improved upon last year by winning a greater number of silver Abbys, while Virtual Marketing India, Saatchi & Saatchi, Euro RSCG India and Lemon were the fresh entries in the winners list this year.

Contract Advertising had mixed results this year. While the agency did manage pocketing a gold Abby this year, it saw a drop in its silver count - from four last year to just one this year - which affected its standing in the points tally. Another agency that suffered a setback this year was Leo Burnett India. Last year, the agency was comfortably placed second behind O&M, with two golds and five silvers. This year, Burnett wasn't able to win any gold Abbys, and although it retained its hold on five silvers, it had to settle for a joint fourth place with Ambience and Quadrant.

All said and done, O&M continues to be the undisputed leader of the creative pack. And it could be a while before any one agency posts a serious challenge. McCann did some this year, but it will need more than a Coke to get O&M properly worried… © 2003 agencyfaqs!