Ogilvy and RK Swamy lead at 2015 Olive Crown Awards

The fifth edition of the IAA Olive Crown Awards was held on March 27 in Mumbai. A total of 17 awards were distributed.

O&M won metals across events and OOH categories, while RK Swamy BBDO won awards across press corporate, radio and press - unreleased categories.

Stark Communications followed with two silver metals, one each for Responsible Tourism - Kerala and Suchitwa Keralam.

Gold metals were won by MediaCom Communications, Greening Advertising Media Entertainment, Visual Communications, Mumbai and Umbrella design..

The corporate social crusader awards for sustained and committed work done in the area of sustainability went to Apar Limited, for its work on Govardhan Eco Village and Piramal Foundation for its depth and width of work across various activities. This award was introduced last year.

The 'Green Crusader of the Year Award' went to Sumaira Abdulali for her relentless efforts towards reduction of noise pollution and highlighting illegal sand mining.

This was presented by Piyush Goyal, minister for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy, along with the Guest of Honour, actor John Abraham.

Abraham said, "Environmental sustenance is the key to our future. Being an avid environmentalist, I am proud to be a part of IAA's Olive Crown Awards and am delighted that we are honouring industry stalwarts and their teams for outstanding communication efforts promoting sustainability."

Goyal, said, "The growth in renewable energy will be dramatic. We will grow this by five times in as many years. The way to a green Earth is not to be paved by one individual or one company; it needs the attention of all individuals. The Prime Minister of India alone will not be able to bring a dramatic change, but the populace of India can collectively bring about this change. Organisations like the IAA and their endeavours like the Olive Crown Awards help take the message of the good work done on sustainability to the masses."

Srinivasan K Swamy, president, IAA India Chapter, says, "At IAA, it is our mission to celebrate and honour individuals and corporates alike, that have helped share the message of green Earth. Olive Crown has established the fact that what is good for mother Earth is good for business too. Sustainable development and prosperity can go hand in hand and are not as cross purposes. My congratulations to all the winners."

Neeraj Roy, vice president, IAA and chairman, Olive Crown Awards Committee, says, "We are proud that the message of global sustainability is being spread far and wide with the help of mass media. With the International Advertising Association's Olive Crown Awards, we would like to celebrate this spirit and hope that we leave behind for our generation a clean and green Earth."

The event also saw IAA and Yes Foundation sign a partnership agreement where both parties commit to jointly harness the power of media for social change. This was signed by Prerana Langa, CEO of Yes Foundation, Rana Kapoor, chief mentor of Yes Foundation and Swamy.

The Olive Crowns are Asia's first and only awards that salute excellence in communicating sustainability. Endorsed by the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA), the awards recognise and celebrate 'green advertising'.