TBWA kings of The Cage

Singapore - TBWA was crowned champion last Friday night, at the Institute of Advertising Singapore (IAS) ACTIVE Challenge's industry-only five-a-side football tournament at The Cage and organised by Marketing magazine - the event raised $50,000 for the IAS ACTIVE scholarship fund.

The team emerged as victors from the pack of 15 agency teams vying for the $3,000 trophy and for the right to be named the IAS ACTIVE Challenge's inaugural winner. In the finals, team TBWA shut out Saatchi & Saatchi Team B 3-0 in the penalty shootout after scores were level at one a piece after regulation.

The champion's road to the finals saw them beat DDB Worldwide Team A 1-0 in the semi-finals, while Saatchi & Saatchi Team B put three unanswered goals past eventual third placed team, MindShare. The media agency would then beat DDB Worldwide Team A in a penalty shootout to clinch third place.

As reported by Marketing in late July, the aim of the IAS ACTIVE challenge is to raise money for a scholarship fund to sponsor university level marketing students in Singapore and provide a boost to the overall career development of the marketing profession in Singapore.

"The IAS ACTIVE challenge is unlike any industry competition we've seen. It being the first ever inter-agency soccer tournament aside, the challenge celebrates agencies as cohesive teams and does not single out any one member," Michelle Crawford, regional events director at Lighthouse Independent Media, publisher of Marketing magazine, says.

The other agencies who displayed their sporting prowess included Ogilvy & Mather, Young & Rubicam, The Shooting Gallery, McCann Erickson, Publicis, Euro RSCG and Crush.

TBWA is expected to defend its title and the trophy next year. The trophy will be housed with each year's winning agency.

Sponsors for the event include MediaCorp and Consumer Probe.

The TBWA\Tequila\ squad:

A.S. Anam, Art Director.
Damian Robinson, Copywriter.
Alvin Tan, Senior Accounts Officer.
Alexis de Montaigu, Strategic Planner.
Chan Hwee Chong, Junior Art Director.
Paul Allen, Copywriter.
Royston Cheong, Interactive Designer.
Aaron Phua, Senior Art Director.
Alex Daniel, Regional CRM Director.

A blog post on what went on at the event will be available shortly at www.pitchmarketing.blogspot.com.