rmg david, O&M, McCann find a place in Communications Arts Annual

Getting recognition at the Cannes is fantastic, but getting work covered in the coveted Communication Arts (CA) Advertising Annual, or at the Design Annual, is quite a big deal too. And that explains the euphoria at rmg david, Delhi, O&M, Delhi, and McCann-Erickson, Mumbai.

While rmg david's 'Nests' outdoor campaign for WWF has got a place in the CA Advertising Annual, O&M's bronze-wining entry at Cannes, 'Don't speak on your mobile while driving' for Hutch, has made it to the 2004 Design Annual. McCann-Erickson, on the other hand, has got its 'Sweetex banner' campaign, done for Boots Piramal, in the pages of the Advertising Annual.

Prasoon Joshi, regional CD, South & South East Asia, who is quite excited about the development, said that getting the work published in the magazine was an honour. "It is a very prestigious annual. And, the fact that three Indian agencies have got into the Annual is recognition of the creative calibre of India agencies." Joshi shares the credit with his two creative group heads, Rahul Mathew and Puneet Kapoor, who worked on the 'Sweetex hoarding' along with him.

Both the CA Advertising Annual and the Design Annual are major advertising and graphic design competitions in the world. Entries from the across the world are invited for advertising and design, which are subjected to the scrutiny of jurors. For more details, the site could be visited at http://www.commarts.com/ca/magazine/comp.

The team on Hutch - Vineet Mahajan and Radhika Singh, both creative consultants - are quite excited about the news. "This indeed feels great," says Mahajan.

Incidentally, the recognition at CA Advertising Annual makes the WWF Outdoor entry the most awarded Indian creative this year.

This skeletal hoarding, which was created for WWF-India by rmg david's New Delhi office, had fetched the agency a One Show Pencil, a New York Gold, and an ABBY Silver earlier this year. Besides, it was selected in the Work 04, the advertising annual from Campaign Brief Asia which features the best work from the Asia-Pacific region.

Moreover, this piece of innovation "...has got rave reviews in the US media too. Especially by the magazine, One, that rated it as "an absolutely path-breaking idea well executed."

For those not in the know, the hoarding was created to educate people about the harmful effects of de-forestation on the environment and birds, which are fast losing their habitat. "Lots of bird nests were placed onto the skeleton of a hoarding, and the line 'Plant More Trees' hammered the point home.

The campaign called for a strong message that was delivered with innovation, given the financial constraints that non-profit organizations such as the WWF face," says Josy Paul, country head & national creative director, rmg david.

Needless to say, the mood at rmg david - which prides itself as ‘The smallest worldwide agency' - is celebratory.

"It's August, and it's still raining cats, dogs and metal! I guess we at rmg david have been fortunate to be tops on the international metals tally this year. The idea 'nests' for WWF is a wonderful example of how 'outdoor work' can get a lot more guerilla in it's thinking. It represents the David in all of us at rmg david. All points to our guys in Delhi who came up with this fantastic idea," Paul goes on, obviously delighted.

The award-winning ad is the creation of writer-art director team Amit Nandwani and Rohit Devgun of rmg, Delhi, while Nitin Khanna shares the credit by virtue of servicing the account.

"We are on cloud nine. Barring Cannes and Clio, where we didn't enter, it has won everywhere. With the results of London International still to come, the road ahead looks good as well," says Nandwani.

"I hope this encourages people to do more inspiring work on public service briefs. I'm very grateful for the support and appreciation shown by the people at WWF. The partnership has been a productive one. We see this as the beginning of greater things to come", he adds.

© 2004 agencyfaqs!