Ogilvy tops Effies heap

Singapore - Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific walked away with the highest honours at the recent Institute of Advertising Singapore (IAS)-organised 2005 Effie Awards ("Effies"), bagging Gold and Silver for its DHL and Jetstar Asia ads respectively. DDB -- with sister agency Rapp Collins -- came a close second, scooping a Gold and two Bronzes on work done for the Breast Cancer Foundation, Raffles Hotel and the National Arts Council respectively. 

"I'm ecstatic -- it's great to be recognised for the business results of a campaign you did," said Shaun Coulter, Regional Business Director, Ogilvy & Mather, who worked on the DHL campaign. "It's a client-agency effort, and the team worked really hard to deliver."

Richard Bleasdale, Managing Director of DDB and Rapp Collins Singapore said that he was "very happy to again have been one of the most awarded agencies". "The Effies celebrate what clients really value -- agencies which can solve their business problems with creative thinking that delivers real results," he added.

Other big winners at the Effies included Foote Cone & Belding, which garnered Gold for its Action for Aids campaign, and David bagging a Silver for work on DBS. M&C Saatchi, Saatchi & Saatchi, Initiative and Mindshare won a Bronze each.

"Surprisingly, the standard of creativity has gone up this year," said David Tang, Chairman of the Executive Committee for the Effies and President & CEO of DDB Worldwide. "This isn't the ugly duckling show; you've got to have both gravitas and grace to win. It's what the Effies should be -- creativity that produces breakthrough commercial results."

Effie Award Tally

Agency                                                Gold                 Silver               Bronze

Ogilvy&Mather, Ogilvy RedCard      1                      1

DDB, Rapp Collins                        1                                       2

FCB                                            1

David                                                               1

Initiative                                                                             1

M&C Saatchi                                                                         1

Mindshare                                                                            1

Saatchi & Saatchi                                                                   1