DDB Philippines named Design Agency of the Year in YoungGuns 2011

GLOBAL – DECEMBER 14, 2011: Up and coming creative talents gave their best shot and came back with new ammunition for battle. The recently concluded YoungGuns International Award 2011 received entries from over 20 countries, including the Russian Federation and Czech Republic, which showcased just what creative minds still yet to reach their 30s are capable of.

 

The United States had a strong showing, dominating four out of six categories. Europe also made its presence known through France, Germany, and Spain, while awards shows mainstays Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore reinforced the Asia-Pacific contingent.

 

 

However, it was the Philippines that brought home the region’s (and the category’s) only gold Bullet, with DDB Philippines’ “Fine China” campaign for Monami Ballpoint Pens in the Design category. The “Fine China Plate” and “Fine China Bowl” illustrations of the three-part campaign also won individual Silver Bullets, bringing up the country’s total Bullet count to three.

 

The campaign has also been recognized in other shows and festivals, including the recent London International Awards and the Araw Awards during the 22nd Ad Congress. 

 

The print ads resembling blue-and-white porcelain wares also catapulted DDB Philippines’ art director Nina Fides Garcia to the fifth spot in the Young Talent Rankings 2011, in a three-way tie with BBDO Toronto’s Chris Joakim and Mike Donaghey.

 

Alongside Garcia, DDB Philippines ECD Joey Ong served as copywriter for the "Fine China" campaign, with Jas Salderriega as typographer and Gomer Barce, Elios Santos and Lester Bustarde as illustrators. 

Topping the Gold Bullet haul with seven is the United States, led by Y&R New York’s “Pathological Liar” for Land Rover. The ad, showing a man safely inside a Land Rover as he argues with his girlfriend, won two Gold Bullets under the Advertising category. Airwalk’s “Invisible Popup Store” gave the agency its third gold, this time under Digital. The store, which could be accessed in random places around the city, made creators Alexander Nowak and Felix Richter the 2011 Professional YoungGuns.

 

Actor Dean Winters stars in Leo Burnett Chicago’s “Mayhem” series of TVCs, enacting all sorts of car accidents. The campaign for Allstate Insurance won the agency a Gold Bullet for Advertising. Meanwhile Johannes, Leonardo New York’s “Google Demo Slam” – a place where boring tech demos become awesome, in the words of the Google blog – received a Gold for Digital.

 

Miami Design School led the way for the two US golds in the Student category for Foursquaropoly – Foursquare a la Monopoly – and TextMeNot, a mobile app that automatically informs a contact that the receiver is driving and cannot text back.

 

The school’s overseas branches in Spain (Uniqlo Oyster Collection), Europe (Germany) (Kinder “Good Surprise), and Brazil (American Red Cross “Donation Detector”) also scored one gold Bullet each for their respective countries. Rounding up the Student category is Escola Cuca, giving Brazil its second Gold Bullet for “Don’t Get Away from Your Life”, a PSA for Alcoholics Anonymous.

 

TBWAHuntLascaris Johannesburg’s work for Endangered Wildlife Trust (“Last Ones Left”), displaying the actual number of certain endangered species through thumbnail images, and Leo Burnett Sp.z.o.o.’s “Bonux Maps” for Procter & Gamble, which showed “warring” colored clothes, gave South Africa and Poland Gold Bullet each in Advertising. BBDO Toronto (Canada) and La Chose (France) joined Y&R New York in the list of Gold winners for Digital, with their works for the highly viral Skittles (Wrigley) “Touch the Rainbow” and Amnesty International “Bulletproof” app.

 

The PR jury deemed only one entry worthy of a Gold Bullet: Lowe/SSP3’s “Operation Christmas” (Colombia), which helped demobilize over 300 guerillas. The Media category yielded no Golds, however, and Australia and New Zealand emerged on top of this category with one and two Silver Bullets, respectively.

 

This year, more than a hundred online jury members screened the entries, before the final jury of 12 deliberated which works and young creative talent really deserved to be hit (in a good way) by a Bullet. Toby Talbot, ECD of DDB New Zealand and head of the YoungGuns 2011 jury, said that they have been “patient as saints” during the judging process. 

 

In the end, the jury handed out a total of 121 Bullets – 54 for Advertising, 22 for Digital, 10 for Design, 6 for Media, 8 for PR, and 21 for Students – the winners of which Talbot said are “the sort of game changer(s) that people would reference in years to come.”

 

 

Special awards were also given to Leo Burnett Chicago (Advertising Agency of the Year), Y&R New York (Digital Agency of the Year), DDB Philippines (Design Agency of the Year), Leo Burnett Worldwide (Network of the Year), and Miami Ad School Europe (School of the Year).