Wunderman Thompson and Ogilvy win big at the IAA Olive Crown Awards 2021

The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) hosted the 11^th edition of its annual property, the Olive Crown Awards 2021, on 3^rd September at the Four Seasons Hotel, Worli, Mumbai. The awards acknowledged the remarkable work of those individuals who drove the message of sustainability or ‘green advertising’. The event was attended by senior marketing, media, and advertising professionals from across the country. Zee Entertainment was the presenting partner and Discovery Communications the associate partner for the event.

Ogilvy India won 6 Silvers, Wunderman Thompson (India) - 1 Gold, Shreerang Charitable Trust - 1 Gold, 2 Silver, and Bhamla Foundation - 1 Gold. Korra Worldwide also brought home 1 Silver.

Wunderman Thompson Kolkata won a Silver in the Press - Consumer Products category for their entry titled 'Kill or Recycle' for client Tata Steep. Shreerang Charitable Trust won a Gold and a Silver in the Press - Services category for their work for clients Kokan Lokwari and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board. Ogilvy also won a Silver in this category for their entry 'The Turtle and The Elephant' - an ad for The Hindu.

Ogilvy's work for The Hindu also won them a Silver in the 'Press - Corporate' category. The winning entry in this category was titled 'Meet The Dumbest Creature Of The Planet & Hats Off To Your Courage Dear Human'.

In the TVC / Cinema - Services category, Wunderman Thompson India won a Gold for their work for the Jimmy Nelson Foundation titled 'Save Our Sentinels'. Shreerang Charitable Trust also won a Silver in this category for their work for the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board. Their entry was tited 'Eco-friendly Ganesha Celebration with Health'.

In the Digital category, Korra Worldwide won a Silver for their work for National Geographic India. Their entry was titled '#TogetherWithNature'.

In the Events category, Ogilvy India won a Silver for their 'Eco Lohri' entry for Vodafone Idea. Reliance Industries also won an Silver in this category for their entry titled 'R|Elan at LFW 2020'.

In the Out-Of-Home category, Ogilvy Mumbai won a Silver for their work titled 'I will wear out plastic' for the United Nations Environment Programme. This entry also won a Silver in the Green Campaign of the year category. In this category, Bhamla Foundation won a Gold for their entry titled 'Dhak Dhak Dharti'.

In the Green NGO of the Year category, Project Mumbai brought home the Gold for their work titled 'The Mumbai Plastic Recyclothon'. Ogilvy's entry 'I will wear out plasic' also won a Silver in the New Age Green Initiatives Category.

As for the Green Brand of the year category, IIFL Home Finance brought home Gold for their entry titled 'eKutumb, Green Affordable housing'. The Silver in this category was won by ReCity Network (Nestle India's CSR initiative, implemented by ReCity Network) for client WorkshopQ for an entry titled 'Recycled Plastic Dustbins.'

A jury comprising renowned professionals such as Bobby Pawar, chairman and chief creative officer, Havas India; Josy Paul, chairman & chief creative officer, BBDO India; Tista Sen, regional creative director, Wunderman Thompson South Asia; Carlton D'silva, co-founder, House of Awe and Kaushik Roy, Advisor, Reliance Industries.

The awards were presented across 20 different categories, including the coveted title ‘Green Crusader of the Year’ award, which was presented to Aaditya Thackeray [Minister of Environment, Tourism and Protocol (Govt.of Maharashtra) and the chief guest at the event] for his untiring efforts to save the Aarey Forest in Mumbai, active promotion of urban forests in cities across Maharashtra, hands on approach in beach clean ups and for ushering in a ‘Climate of Hope’, amongst all.

Addressing the gathering he said, ‘This award is very special for me and I take this as an encouragement for me to go ahead and take the stride to work more for climate change mitigation. I was on my way here and I was thinking what do I ask from you. When you meet an august crowd of the best people in communication, I think I can only ask for your help in communicating the climate emergency we faced today.’

Says Megha Tata, President, International Advertising Association (IAA) - India Chapter and Managing Director – South Asia, Discovery Communications India “In the last 11 years of Olive Crown we have seen campaigns and brands go from doing ‘something green’ to being vested in sustainability and we are glad that this is a platform to showcase work that can inspire.

Neeraj Roy, Chairperson IAA Olive Crown Awards and Founder & CEO, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment says “Over the next two decades, your entire customer base and your teams - the talent you are hoping to attract will largely be millennials and Gen Z and we know that they rate a brand’s ethics and sustainability higher than ever before so it will be impossible and impractical to ignore these trends. Brands, media, advertisers, agencies and marketers, essentially the core of the IAA community have always played a key role in communication for centuries and it is encouraging to note that brands here in India too are taking note and actions toward sustainability and a greener planet in their product offerings."

Heartbeat Creative Lab, Taiwan led the pack as they bag four Gold and two Silver followed by Ogilvy with six Silvers at the Olive Crown Awards 2021. The ‘Green Campaign of the Year’- Gold was presented to Bhamla Foundation for their ‘Dhak Dhak Dharti’ campaign while IIFL Home Finance bags the ‘Green Brand of the Year’-Gold.