<b><font color="#FF0033">Effie 2005</font></b>: McCann-Erickson bags Grand Effie; O&M sits on the Yahoo! Big Idea Chair

The much awaited results are out. At the Effie Awards, 2005, McCann-Erickson has bagged the highly coveted Grand Effie for its ‘Kal Se’ campaign for Saffola Gold in the ‘Services’ category. Incidentally, McCann-Erickson had earlier won this award for its ‘Thanda’ campaign for Coca-Cola at Effie 2003.

O&M swept away five awards in all, among which was the Yahoo! Big Idea Chair Award for its campaign titled ‘Old Couple’ for SBI Life Pension Plans. It’s a great honour for the agency as it is the first to get this award, which is in its introductory year in India. Incidentally, O&M also bagged the People’s Choice Award for the best case study presentation, again for SBI Life Pension Plans.

The Grand Effie was awarded to McCann-Erickson by Kalpana Rao, president, the Advertising Club of Bombay, and chairperson, Effie Committee.

Speaking about the gala win to agencyfaqs!, an enthused Prasoon Joshi, regional creative director, South and South East Asia, McCann-Erickson, said, “Our work is strategically sound and creatively mind-blowing. I don’t think campaigns should be only about facts and figures. Unless the consumer enjoys one’s ad, it all goes waste. I’m glad we were able to reach out to the masses with our work on Saffola Gold.”

Joshi also said that all agencies are creative and strategic, but the one that strikes a balance without making the resultant campaign dull and boring is the one who carries away the crown. “We are rather proud of the kind of work our agency has been doing so far,” he said. McCann-Erickson also won a Bronze for its work on Happydent White, titled ‘Smile!’

The idea behind the Yahoo! Big Idea Chair Award is to award an agency whose big idea has transformed a brand with effective brand positioning along with intelligent use of media and creatives.

Piyush Pandey, chairman, O&M India, said, “SBI Life is one client who had immense faith in our ability. It is important that the client respect the agency. We worked hard and the viewers loved it. That is what matters. It is a great feeling to be the first to sit on the Yahoo! Big Idea Chair. It is like a podium, where we came first.”

On the SBI Life Pension Plans campaign, Pandey remarked, “We made sure that the human quality of Atmaram Bhende and Asha Bhende, the couple who featured in the ad, came through. One can look at them and say, ‘They are like my parents’. I think it is this human touch that did it for us.”

Talking about the Effie Awards in comparison to others, Pandey of O&M said, “The Effie Awards are a re-affirmation of the fact that good creatives always work.”

Effie 2005: The event was sponsored by Yahoo! India

© 2005 agencyfaqs!