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<b><font color="#FF0000">Effie 2004</font></b>: I am very happy with O&M's performance: Piyush Pandey
The agency was the single largest winner at the Effies 2004 with a haul of two golds and two bronzes
One thing that characterized the Effies 2004 was the domination of creative power house O&M. The agency romped home with two gold and two bronze trophies, apart from the coveted Grand Effie for the ‘Boy and Dog' campaign for Hutch.
No wonder, an elated Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and national creative director, O&M, while speaking to agencyfaqs!, simply said, "I am very happy with O&M's performance. Over the last two years, I see a connect between the creative awards (Abbies) and the effectiveness awards. The campaigns that were winners at the Abbies this year were successful at the Effies too."
In essence, Pandey's statement is not only an indicator of the quality of judging at the Effies, but also highlights the significance of O&M's victory - that it is not just an agency that creates award-winning campaigns, but comes out with campaigns that work.
"We have been always creating campaigns that work," Pandey says in a matter-of-fact tone.
The one O&M campaign that has been the darling of the industry this year, and the most decorated one too, is the Hutch campaign. "Well, it was the campaign of the year at the Abbies. It was instrumental in getting us the agency of the year trophy, as well as the advertiser of the year award for Hutchison and now it has the Grand Effie," says Pandey.
What Coca-Cola's ‘Thanda Matlab' was for McCann-Erickson last year, Hutch's ‘Boy and Dog' campaign has been for O&M this year. "After a very long time, here was a campaign that touched the people and jury alike," says Pandey. "It has just the right mix of charm, innocence and purity of thought. Little wonder, it struck a chord with everybody who saw it."
O&M's overall tally, incidentally, was down by two at the Effies this year in comparison to last year, when it had a haul of six awards. Pandey seems unperturbed with the lesser number of awards, saying, "It is not a sales figure. The awards are merely an exhibition of our strengths. We bagged more than what competition did. And, that is pleasing enough."
© 2004 agencyfaqs!