OMD Worldwide swept the board at the Cannes Media Awards taking home four Gold Media Lions as well as the ultimate Grand Prix award. Other networks came close but OMD was the overall winner on the night.
The show-stopper was OMD Chile’s work for Cristal Beer, which picked up a raft of awards, including Best Use of TV, Best Young Adult campaign, as well as the prestigious Grand Prix award. The concept was to take movie sponsorship to another level. OMD Chile inserted the beer bottle into selected movie scenes, just before the commercial break. The Cristal Beer commercial, which imitated the movie, also opened those breaks, creating a stir among audiences.
OMD International UK also won a Gold Media Lion in the Young Adult category for their Apple iPod campaign, while OMD Turkey collected a Gold Media Lion in the Youth category for their Frito Lay Rocco Lollipops campaign.
OMD Worldwide had a record 17 entries shortlisted, significantly more than any of its major competitors, which is a tremendous achievement. Last year’s campaign had already proved extremely successful, with three wins, but OMD still managed to improve its number of awards.
“This is awesome,” said Elie Khouri, OMD’s regional managing director for the Middle East. “The awards and accolades keep coming and it only serves to validate what our clients and we have always believed. OMD is an extraordinarily creative network that produces outstanding work and results.”
He also called for regional award schemes to recognize media creativity. “Media work remains poorly rewarded in the Middle East. It’s time for award organizers to recognize media’s contribution to creativity and sales results,” Khouri added.
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
