IAA Olive Crown Awards goes pan Asia

For the first time, the India chapter of the International Advertising Association will be calling for entries from all over Asia and will include jury members from the region, too.

The Olive Crown Awards from the India Chapter of International Advertising Association has called for entries for its third edition. The awards, for the first time, calls for entries from the pan-Asia region and will include jury members from the Asian continent.

Speaking about the awards to afaqs!,
Srinivasan Swamy
, chairman, R K Swamy BBDO and president, IAA, says,
"We have added no special category to the awards this year, the only change is that we are inviting entries from all over Asia."

IAA Olive Crown Awards is the first-ever Indian award for creative excellence in communicating sustainability. Swamy says that the entries can be sent through the online medium or in the hard copy format. There is no entry fee for participation and no restrictions on the number of entries that can be sent by an agency. The last date for sending in entries is January 31; the announcement of the winner will be done at a ceremony to be organized in the first half of March in Mumbai.

Swamy adds that the awards, which salute creativity in green advertising, really serve to bring sustainability to the top of the strategic agenda. Marketers have been realising that sustainability is a key differentiator these days and this has helped make these awards popular.

M G Parameswaran, executive director, Draftfcb Ulka and chairman, Olive Crown Awards Committee, says, "The Olive Crowns have found universal acceptance amongst the creative community and this year too, we would be having a jury consisting of some of the finest and most respected names in the creative fraternity. Keeping in mind that these awards are treated almost as a cause, we do not charge any fee for the entries. We are glad we have a mature sponsor in 9X Media."

The entry form can be downloaded at http://www.iaaindiachapter.org. IAA expects entries from countries such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and others.

The awards were launched by International Advertising Association at the Goafest, 2011.

In the second edition of the awards held in February, 2012, Webchutney and JWT India emerged as winners. Nokia was adjudged the Green Advertiser of the Year, while Ogilvy India bagged the Campaign of the Year.

Earlier, in 2011, when Goafest hosted the first Olive Crown Awards, Dentsu had bagged the maximum awards, followed by Mudra Communications and Umbrella Design.