Effies 2012: Ogilvy India wins Agency of the Year fourth time in a row

Ogilvy India was adjudged the Agency of the Year for the fourth time in a row. McCann World Group and Lowe Lintas & Partners followed in the tally. Ogilvy India also won the Grand Effie, while Cadbury India was declared Client of the Year.

The colour black seems to rule the Effies party year after year. However, this year, Ogilvy India went a step ahead, not just winning the coveted Agency of the Year title for the fourth time in a row, but also walking away with the most popular award, the Grand Effie. The hoots from the team dressed in black (Ogilvy India, of course) simply would not cease at the Turf Club, Mumbai, on December 4, which hosted the awards ceremony of the Effies 2012 Awards. Organised by the Ad Club, the award ceremony, which enjoys the participation of the entire advertising industry, celebrated its 12th year this time.

Ogilvy India was adjudged the Agency of the Year, with an impressive score of 280 points. It won a total of nine golds, 11 silvers and three bronze metals. The agency also bagged The Grand Effie worth 20 points.

Ogilvy India won two gold metals in the Integrated Advertising Campaign category, for Fox Crime's 'The Photograph Case' campaign and STAR India's 'Satyameva Jayate - Managing a Billion Expectations' campaign. It also won a gold metal in the Digital Advertising (Online/Mobile Communication) category for Fox Crime's 'The Photograph Case' campaign. The agency managed to win two golds in the 'Services-Others' category, one for the 'Satyameva Jayate - Managing a Billion Expectations' campaign for STAR India and the other for the 'Undumb India' campaign created for The Hindu. It also managed a gold metal in B2B Advertising with its 'Drive into the Big League' campaign created for Vodafone India.

In the 'Best On-going Campaign' category, Ogilvy India won three gold metals for 'How Madhya Pradesh became INCREDIBLE In Incredible India' campaign created for Madhya Pradesh Tourism; 'Yeh Badhiya Hai' campaign for Asian Paints Apex; and 'The Ultimate bond - 20 years and Still Going Strong' created for Fevicol.

Speaking about the importance of winning the Agency of the Year title for the fourth time in a row at an award that recognises 'creative effectiveness', Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and creative director, South Asia, Ogilvy India, tells afaqs!, "When we do creative work, it must mean something to the consumer who impacts our client's business. If I loved something that nobody else did then I should put it as a painting in the house. But if someone is paying me for doing the work, I must deliver."

Last year, too, Ogilvy India was adjudged the Agency of the Year, with an impressive score of 195 points. It won a total of seven gold, six silver and six bronze metals.

This year, the big surprise at the second position was McCann Worldgroup, albeit a distant runner-up with 65 points and not a single gold metal to its credit. McCann won three silver and seven bronze metals. In the previous year, McCann Worldgroup was nowhere amongst even the first five and only featured at No. 7 with 30 points. Considering this fact, it is a remarkable jump to No. 2 for the agency.

Lowe Lintas & Partners was at No. 3 with three silver and six bronze metals, and a total of 60 points.

Next in the tally was Taproot India that won three gold metals, all of them for 'Har Ek Friend Zaroori Hota Hai' campaign created for Airtel in Digital Advertising (Online/Mobile Communication), Integrated Advertising Campaign, and Services - Telecom and Related Products categories, respectively.

Leo Burnett stood fifth with eight bronze metals.

Marketer Jubilant Foodworks won a gold and silver and bagged the sixth place with the campaigns created for Domino's. It won a gold metal in Direct Marketing category for the 'Pizza Signs' campaign created for Domino's.

Last year's runner up JWT India seems to have swapped positions with McCann Worldgroup to be at No. 7, with one silver and three bronze metals.

ABP One was at No. 8 with two silver metals. Following it was Happy Creative Services and Meridian Communication, with one gold metal each for their Flipkart 'No Kidding. No Worries' campaign and 'Voltas All Weather AC' campaign, respectively.

The other winners at Effies 2012 were BBH India, Draftfcb Ulka and Mindshare.

Again, just like the previous year, Cadbury India was adjudged the Effie Client of the Year. This client of the insurmountable Ogilvy India is on a hat trick.

A record number of 357 entries were received for the awards, out of which 128 were shortlisted. The Ad Club, after dropping Bombay from its name, has spread its network nationwide. Staying in-tune with this development, The Ad Club conducted two rounds of judging in Delhi this year. Last year, 29 agencies participated, whereas this year, the number has increased to more than 50 participating agencies.

Incidentally, this was the first grand award ceremony organised by the Ad Club after dropping Bombay from its name. Speaking about this, Ajay Kakar, chief marketing officer, Aditya Birla Group-Financial Services and vice-president, the Ad Club, says, "The name change has reflected a reality as an institution which attracts and recognises national work across national brands. We also brought in Delhi for two rounds of judging. There was huge participation from Delhi, not only in numbers but in spirits. Last year, we created a record with 300 entries and this year, we surpassed that record with 357 entries."

Amongst the 124 luminaries who were a part of the five rounds of the judging process, 68 were marketers.