Two categories newly launched in 2013, Social Benefit and Branded Entertainment, exhibited an uptick in entries achieving Shortlist status with brands including CNN International, Volkswagen, DuPont, Intel, Bench, and Cornetto. Trends dominating the Shortlist include a robust number of entries employing celebrity interaction, interactive consumer participation, contests, green-themed, and cause marketing. The case briefs also showed trends in advocacy-led strategy, brand reinvention, and public responsibility.The theme
"The big theme this year seemed to be 'celebrity' - whether that meant employing actual celebrities in a campaign or creating a contest where the consumers or their ideas would be the star," said Alisun Armstrong, Executive Director, AME Awards. "It's an interesting shift from the community-building focus that prevailed in last year's competition, and just goes to show how a single trend can be translated into effective campaigns for an incredibly diverse field of brands."
Celebrity-focused campaigns propelled multiple entries to the medal round: DDB Chicago "GED Pep Talk Centre" for the Ad Council featured celebrities ranging from Christopher Lloyd to Terry Crewes; Metro International's "Global Guest Editors" included Lady Gaga, Karl Lagerfeld, and Sir Richard Branson; DDB Hong Kong's "Chinese New Year Campaign: Sharing the Blessings with One and All" for McDonald's featured comedic duo Soft Hard. Other shortlisted entries with famous faces: TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno's "Benchingko/Films" for Bench starring Piolo Pascual and Coco Martin; OMD USA's "Intel IdeaJam" with Ashton Kutcher; and Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO's "Going from Good to Great" with British comics Stephen Fry and Jimmy Carr.
Strategic interactive consumer participation initiatives achieved stellar results for the following Shortlisted entries: Grey Worldwide GmbH "Breathe Happy" for Febreze; Heimat Werbeagentur GmbH Germany "CNN Ecosphere"; DDB Canada/Vancouver "Canada. Keep Exploring" for the Canadian Tourism Commission; DDB "Bleachable Moments" for Clorox Liquid Bleach; OMD Hong Kong "Wyeth Learning Surprise Video Library"; Spectacolor "Dunk Tank"; and Spinn Action Marketing Sweden "Is it a Chocolatewaferchocolate or a Waferchocolatechocolate?" for Kexchoklad.Boosting brand awareness
Contest marketing helped gain brand awareness and provided a fast track to the medallist round: Fred & Farid Paris "Kisser Casting" for Martini; DDB Canada/Vancouver "'Pass the Present' Facebook Promotion," for Best Buy Canada; and Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO UK with both "Going from Good to Great" for Pepsico and "Escape the Map" for client Mercedes Benz.
Entries in the Social Benefit categories concentrated on brand initiatives that contributed to the greater good including Green-themed "The Donation Army" by Ogilvy Germany for OroVerde Rainforest Foundation; Heimat Werbeagentur GmbH's "CNN Ecosphere"; and TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno's campaign "KNOxOUT Project: EDSA" for Boysen Knoxout.
Germany saw 32 entries with Shortlist status with campaigns based in social media: DDB Tribal Group GmbH "Don´t Make Up and Drive," for client Volkswagen; Serviceplan Gruppe GmbH & Co. kg "Internité pour Chalampé. A French village wants to become German." for client Kabel BW GmbH; and Heimat Berlin took fan rivalry to the next level with "Go All in for Your Team. Make Your Choice" for client Adidas.
The United States was recognised with 15 Shortlisted entries; the Philippines with 9; Hong Kong 7; England 5; Canada, and France each with 4; China and Sweden each with 2; and Denmark, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, and UAE were each recognised with 1. To view the complete the AME Awards Shortlist please visit: http://www.ameawards.com/shortlist/2013/
. The 2013 International AME Award medallists will be announced in March. For more information please visit: www.ameawards.com