GLOBAL – AUSTRALIA, SEPTEMBER 26, 2012 – George Patterson Y&R Sydney bagged the “Effective Agency of the Year” award at the 2012 Effie’s held earlier this month, along with two Gold and three Silver awards for “Vinnies Signed Finds” created for Society of Saint Vincent de Paul.
Between late 2010 and early 2011, Australian retail industry hit a downturn, forcing many retailers to close shop and focus on online sales. Vinnies needed an idea opposite the direction its competitors were going, but would allow it to keep its physical stores open, believing it serves as “the face of hope in the community”. Patts Y&R saw the solution in getting young people to go in Vinnies stores.
How did they do it? Patts Y&R banked on the appeal of Rock & Roll and asked music artists to donate their shirts; hid them in Vinnies stores and sent the audience into a memorabilia hunt.
It won Gold in the Retail/eTail category and for Most Original Thinking. The campaign also won Silver in the Government, Corporate & Social Services; Small Budget and Best State Campaign categories.
Patts Y&R won a Silver Effie in the Confectionary & Snacks category for its work for Cadbury Favourites themed “Thinking Outside The Box”, strengthened the position of the brand by associating it with casual Australian family get-togethers. Favourites would become the answer to a timeless social dilemma: what to take as t to someone else’s casual get-together?
The agency needed to convince the “lost generation” of Australians to appreciate cricket, dad’s game. In its Bronze winning campaign, Patts Y&R relaunched BBL, cricket for the 21st century, from sport to blockbuster entertainment engaging a whole new audience with the game.
