Lowe, Contract dominate seventh Triple A Awards<br><font color="#FF0000"><b><font face="Verdana" size="1">Triple A Awards!</font></b></font>

It almost looked like a re-run of last year's Triple A Award ceremony; the way Lowe and Contract Advertising kept picking up almost every second award that was announced.

Of course, once the seventh Triple A Awards drew to a close late last evening, both agencies actually had a richer haul to show than from the year before. For if Lowe (previously Lowe Lintas) and Contract had split 14 of the 57 awards given away at the Triple A Awards 2000, last evening, the two agencies accounted for 22 of the 53 awards distributed - Lowe winning 12 awards, and Contract winning 10. And in the process, both agencies established their dominance over the ceremony.

This is not to say that the two totally eclipsed all the other agencies. Quite the contrary, Quadrant Communications, HTA and even Saatchi & Saatchi won enough awards - and high-value ones at that - to offset part of Lowe and Contract's dominance. And although both Lowe and Contract won more awards this year as compared to last year, both agencies won a lesser number of golds this time round (Lowe had four golds last year to this year's two; Contract had three golds, one more than this year's tally). Incidentally, last year, 19 of the 30 agencies that participated ended up winning awards - this year, only 14 out of the 30 agencies that participated bear a trophy home.

For Lowe, the Triple A Awards 2001 is a mixed bag. While it has managed increasing its overall tally from seven to 12 awards, the fact that it won less golds will weigh on the mind. Not that the two golds it has won this year are in any way less significant, especially considering one was for Showcase of the Year TV. The other gold Lowe won was for the Parker commercial (‘restaurant') in the Personal Consumable Household Goods category. Lowe also picked up three silvers (including one for Campaign of the Year for Pepsodent 2-in-1) and seven bronzes.

Contract should be reasonably happy with its performance, despite a drop in the gold count this year. The agency got its golds for the ‘separation' commercial for Live-in shirts (in the Textiles, Readymades, Shoes, Watches, Jewellery, Accessories category), and the ‘George Harrison' press ad for the Cancer Patients Aid Association (in the Public Service and Political Advertising category). Contract also won five silvers (including one for Showcase of the Year Press) and three bronzes (including a joint bronze with HTA for Showcase of the Year TV).

Quadrant is one agency that has come a long way since it first made an impression on the awards scene last year with the ‘football pitch' commercial for Akai. This year, the agency had no entries in television, yet managed winning the maximum number of golds (three) for any agency. Quadrant won its first gold for the ‘perfect clarity' press ad for Toshiba televisions (in the Home Electronics and Entertainment category). The second gold was for the ‘evolution of man' press ad for Kotak Mahindra Primus (in the Corporate and Institutional Services category), while the third gold was for Showcase of the Year Press. Interestingly, Quadrant didn't win any of the lesser metals.

HTA is another agency that should be quite pleased with the Triple A results. Last year, the agency had won five awards - this year, the tally is up to seven. HTA won a gold for the made-famous-by-Sushma Swaraj ‘prisoner's last wish' commercial for Close-up (in the Personal Toiletries, Cosmetics and Perfumes category). The agency has also added three silvers and three bronzes (including one bronze for Showcase of the Year Press, and one joint bronze with Contract for Showcase of the Year TV).

For an agency that did not figure anywhere in last year's winners list, Saatchi & Saatchi did well to come from nowhere and snap up two golds (the agency also won two bronzes). For the agency, both golds came courtesy WagonR - the first in the Automobiles, Two-wheelers, Automotive Products category; the other in the much-coveted Campaign of the Year category (where Saatchi was a joint winner with Everest Integrated Communications).

Five agencies managed picking up one gold apiece. Grey Worldwide won a gold for its ‘Michael Jackson' press ad for Siemens Toasters (in the Household Durables category); Bates India picked up its yellow metal for the ‘Octoberfest, Aloha' press ad for Le Meridien Hotel (in the Shopping and Dining category); Mudra Communications won for its press ad for Dalal Street Magazine (in the Media category); Network struck gold for it ‘schoolgirl and father' commercial for Cipla/AIDS; while Digen Verma helped Everest become a joint winner (with Saatchi) in the Campaign of the Year category. Of these agencies, Grey also picked up three bronzes, Mudra won two, while Everest also got a silver.

The other agencies that made their presence felt were Rediffusion-DY&R (three silvers), RK Swamy/BBDO (one silver), McCann-Erickson and Capital Advertising (one bronze each). The agencies that were conspicuous in their absence from the winners list were Enterprise Nexus (last year the agency had won five awards) and Ambience D'Arcy (last year it won two awards). Of course, O&M and Leo Burnett had not participated in the awards.

In the final tally, Lowe, Contract, HTA and Quadrant have ample reason to rejoice. With Lowe, even more so, as staple client Hindustan Lever (HLL) has been adjudged Advertiser of the Year… for placing huge sums of money (and trust) on clutter-breaking advertising like Kissan FruitKick Jam, Close-up, Pepsodent, Pond's and Surf Excel. © 2002 agencyfaqs!