Goafest 2011: Maxus leads the tally; Creativeland Asia follows at Media Abby

This year saw a 20 per cent rise in the number of entries for the Media Abby award, of which 133 were shortlisted and 44 were awarded.

In 2010, it was Mudra. This time around, the loud cheers screamed 'Maxus' as the agency walked away with the most number of metals at the Media Abby awards at Goafest 2011. Maxus led the shortlists with 33 entries and eventually walked home with 10 metals, including two golds, six silvers and two bronzes.

Maxus struck gold with its campaign for Tata Sky in the Best Use of Television category and for the Indian Premier League 3 in the Best Use of Newspaper and Magazine category.

Interestingly, creative agency Creativeland Asia ranks second at the Media Abby this year. The agency has won two gold metals, both for Hippo Baked Munchies in the Best Use of Internet and Digital Media, and Best Use of Never Before Media categories.

At No. 3 is Lodestar UM with nine metals - one gold, six silvers and two bronzes.

The agency won its sole gold for Amul's association with the TV reality show, MasterChef (Tasty Dish Varna Game Finish) in the Best Use of Sponsorship category.

Following Lodestar UM at No. 4 is OMD with one gold and one silver. OMD picked up its gold for Clean and Clear (Times Fresh Face 2010: Make Me Famous) in the Youth Marketing category.

Next in the metal tally is Mudra Max with one gold and four bronze metals. The agency bagged its gold metal for 7UP (Allu Non-Stop) in the Youth Marketing category.

At No. 6 is Mediacom which won one gold and one bronze.

Mediacom's work for Volkswagen Vento for the Talking Newspaper campaign garnered a lot of attention when it broke. It sure did not go unnoticed where it mattered, with the campaign fetching the agency its gold in the Best Use of Newspaper and Magazines category.

None of the other agencies managed to strike gold at Abby this year. Mindshare is at No. 7 with five silver and one bronze followed by Madison Media Plus which won four silver. The other agency in the silver list is MEC which grabbed two silver.

Other agencies to have won at the Media Abby awards are McCann Worldgroup (one silver), and Isobar (one bronze).

No awards were given in the categories of Vertical Marketing and Pro Bono Marketing.

A total of 537 entries were received this year. Of these, 133 were shortlisted and 44 were finally awarded. Compared to 2010, the entries saw a rise of about 20 per cent.

This year, two new categories were introduced -- Best Communication Strategy and Best Contribution to a Campaign by a Media Owner, in association with The Festival of Media Global 2011 Awards.

Winners in this category will be fast-tracked to be among the finalists pitting against international work at The Festival of Media Awards, to be held on May 8-10, in Montreaux, Switzerland.

While the Best Contribution to a Campaign by a Media Owner failed to attract any winner, Mediacom picked up two metals - a gold and a silver for its Volkswagen Polo launch campaign and the Skoda Yeti (Right of Way Expedition) campaign, respectively.

Interestingly, Creativeland Asia's work for Hippo on Twitter received a special mention.

Charlie Crowe, founder, The Festival of Media Awards was all praises as he said that such innovative use of the social media is rarely seen.

The campaign, however, did not manage to win any metal in the two special categories as it did not fit into the same. Crowe added that he will personally push for the campaign to feature at the Festival of Media awards.

The Festival of Media awards was launched in 2007 in Venice and is currently in its fifth year. In its first year, the festival attracted around 700 delegates from more than 40 countries. In 2009, the festival was officially added to the international creative awards line-up and showcased more than 600 entries from over 50 countries.

In 2010, the first regional arm, The Festival of Media LatAm, was launched. The inaugural Latin American Festival took place in October 2010, in Miami.