Goafest 2013: AGC to reinstate BBDO Proximity and DDB Mudra's awards

The Super Jury comprising chairpersons of 11 juries met on Tuesday to view the complaints received post Goafest/Abby 2013. AGC to clarify review rules in future.

Even weeks after its conclusion, controversy and ambiguity do not seem to let go of the Goafest Abby awards. Now, the award-winning campaigns of BBDO Proximity (DHL) and DDB Mudra Group (Electrolux), which were withdrawn following complaints, will be reinstated. BBDO's DHL entry had won two golds and one silver, while DDB Mudra had bagged a silver for the Electrolux campaign.

The decision was taken by the Super Jury, set up by the Awards Governing Council (AGC) , which included chairpersons of all 11 juries to take a collective view of the complaints received, states the press note sent on behalf of AGC chairman Shashi Sinha. It further mentions, "unprecedented situation arising due to complaints received post Goafest/Abby 2013" as the reason for constituting the Super Jury.

The Super Jury, which met on Tuesday to discuss the matter, included Agnello Dias, Carlton D'silva, Josy Paul, K S Chakravarthy (Chax), Nitish Tiwari, Piyush Panjwani, Prasoon Joshi, Prashant Kalyankar, Rakshin Patel and Sonal Dabral. Senthil Kumar could not attend the meeting as he was travelling, the press note informs.

During the meeting, the Super Jury believed that sufficient time was given during short listing of entries and the final judging for complaints and objections, and all of them were accepted and followed up prior to the announcement of the final awards list. It was also felt that the awards' sanctity had to be maintained and deadlines strictly adhered to.

"Therefore any speculation after the Goafest/Abby Awards cannot be entertained. In light of the above decision by the Super Jury, it has hence been decided that all awards given will stand. In addition, awards that had been rescinded due to similar complaints for DHL (agency BBDO Proximity) and Electrolux (agency DDB Mudra Group) will be reinstated," the press note states.

Meanwhile, the AGC has also highlighted how rules regarding reviews will be clarified further.

It may be recalled that afaqs! had reported earlier about BBDO's DHL entry being withdrawn following complaints regarding its similarity with another campaign created by Ogilvy & Mather, Singapore for Allied Pickfords. At that time, Sinha had said that the decision was taken following "overwhelming majority" of jurors voting against the ad.