Sarajevo – The Asia Pacific region walks away with the top gong at The 2009 Intercontinental Advertising CUP, with GT Inc (Tokyo) winning the ultimate prize, The Grand CUP, for its enchanting ‘Love Distance’ campaign for Sagami Rubber Industries.
The CUP Jury awards ‘Love Distance’, the perfect example of a campaign that is fresh and unique, yet firmly rooted in local culture.
“We’re very excited to hear this news. And we are truly happy and honored that people from different countries and cultural backgrounds have equally given us a high evaluation for our work,” says Koshi Uchiyama, Creative Director at GT Inc in Tokyo.
“I think ‘Love Distance’ became a popular campaign globally because we were able to attract attention by giving people a fresh "wow" element in a product that is essentially difficult to surprise people. We did not define our target to a certain generation or gender, and aimed for an expression that would not rely on words but be clearly understood and empathized with,” says Uchiyama.
‘Love Distance’ shows a real-life young couple in separate cities running towards each other so they can be together. The campaign was a huge hit in Japan, where the entire country became captivated by their love story as it rolled out over one-month on the Internet. When the product name ‘Sagami’ was finally revealed, sales soared.
No less than five other Asia Pacific agencies were in the running to win The Grand CUP out of a total of 15 nominations globally, with judges unanimously agreeing that their campaigns were all excellent examples of campaigns that reflect local culture.
The five nominations are:
– ‘Melody Road’ for Dunlop Falken Tyres by Dentsu Razorfish (Japan);
– ‘Paper Battlefield’ for Nike by McCann Worldgroup (Hong Kong);
– ‘Bruce Lee-power’ for Nokia by JWT Beijing (China);
– ‘Great Supporting Role’ for Shiro Sake by Ogilvy & Mather (Japan);
– and ‘Picnic’ for Sylvania Light Bulbs by JEH United (Thailand).
From March 14-17, a global jury panel gathered in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina to select the 2009 winners of THE CUP. The Asia Pacific region was represented by Akira Kagami, Executive Officer and Global Creative Director at Dentsu Inc and Jimmy Lam, President of ADFEST.
The CUP celebrates ‘genius loci’ – the spirit of local places. Its mission is to celebrate locally-inspired creativity, which makes THE CUP the only global festival in the world that specifically celebrates the richness of language, culture, superstitions, beliefs and rituals that make each region unique.
“Many local ideas have a freshness and uniqueness that can shake the world. Yet these ideas don’t always get the recognition they deserve at global festivals. In a homogenized world, local values and losing ground. And by diminishing their importance for local people, nations lose their identities, and as they lost identities, a significant part of humanity is lost,” says Michael Conrad, President of the Berlin School of Creative Leadership, who was also part of the 2009 Jury Panel.
THE CUP 2009 Awards ceremony was originally scheduled to take place at ADFEST in Thailand on 18 March, but instead took place at the ‘No Limit Sarajevo Award Ceremony’ on 18 March following ADFEST’s postponement last month.
For the complete winners list, visit http://www.thecupawards.com/sarajevo-2009/winners-198935/
Visit: www.thecupawards.com for further information.
adobo magazine. The Word on Advertising.
