Mutual respect and admiration

The tongue-in-cheek intention of the whole Loeries awareness campaign by MetropolitanRepublic in collaboration with Hello Computer, has to date been all about the inflation of egos (“Feed Your Ego”) and, while some egos may be left a bit post-Loeries dented, in fact there seems little evidence of inter-agency oneupmanship and more of a mutual respect and admiration for the very high standard of creative work produced in our country.

Neither can one escape the fact that in the current economic climate, lavish industry awards ceremonies have sometimes justifiably, come under criticism for extravagance, or that large advertising budgets might be perceived as an unnecessarily indulgent waste of resources. However, if last night's awards (Saturday 26 September), were anything to go by, the tide of opinion could well be on the verge of turning.

It might have to, to ensure the future of awards festivals such as these.

Ultimate in possibilities

Speaking at this at the winners' press briefing at the Grand Daddy Hotel on Sunday morning, 27 September, Grand Prix winner from TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, Damon Stapleton, likened industry awards to "The Summer Collection". The analogy? That while you might not actually wear anything you may see at a "Dior" fashion show, for example, it acts as a showcase of the ultimate in possibilities and might succeed in inspiring others.

In this case, someone who may reap the benefits from this year's advertising excellence is Busisiwe Mahlangu, who was awarded The 2009 Creative Future Scholarship.

It is via these kind of socially beneficial spin-offs that we can perhaps start to see the significance of the thousands of hours of work involved in TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris campaign for The Zimbabwean. The fact that it won Cannes and Loeries Grands Prix awards pales against its success in ensuring the newspaper [which is published in the UK] again became available to South African readers, generating a massive increase in sales and thereby getting more copies into the hands of Zimbabweans both in South Africa and across the border back home. The newspaper's carries the slogan, A Voice for the Voiceless.

Power that resides

Perhaps even more importantly, the global impact this campaign has made demonstrates the power that resides within our communications industry to generate awareness or to influence global public opinion on important issues if we put our collective mind to it.

Similarly, although it only won a Bronze Loerie for design, the ethos behind Rock4AIDS, Joe Public's own initiative project to use music to create funds for HIV education, also stands out as a shining example of the importance of well executed pro-bono work in our region.

Even apart from honouring the deep well of awesome local creative talent, who are no different from our sporting heroes in giving us reason to feel proud and hopeful about what we can achieve, a new awards category for creative corporate social initiatives, such as the above, might inspire new ethical thinking in advertising and provide an even better image - not only for the industry's self esteem, but also in the public eye.