Every year, thousands of children and pets are killed or seriously injured because a driver backing up didn’t see them. This campaign demonstrates the importance of installing a rear view camera.
Loeries 2015 – The Durban Twist
The Loeries awards have arrived! Before we jet off to Dubran, have a look at what Executive Creative Director of Ogilvy Cape Town, Tseliso Rangaka, expects from this year’s awards.
From as far back as the wall-to-wall carpet days in Sun City, each host location for the Loeries has brought its own flavour to the event. Durban is promising to do the same this year.
The city of a million bathers is not to everyone’s taste but this is probably the closest the Loeries will ever get to feeling like Cannes. We’ll have our very own Boulevard de la Croisette in the form of O.R. Tambo Parade, the Elangeni and Maharani Hotel will bring the bling just as well as the famous Martinez and Carlton International, and Palais des Festival is really just a fancy way of saying Durban International Convention Centre.
The novelty of setting up camp in a different city will add much to the experience of Loeries 2015. There will be lots of new drinking holes to explore along with plenty of interesting, dark spaces for agency folk to dispose of names in. Out of the tropical haze, a South African version of the infamous ‘Gutter Bar’ will no doubt emerge.
In between the throbbing headaches and big small talk, other similarities to the ad mecca in the south of France will play out. Traditional advertising will put up a fierce fight to defend its receding coastline against a rising tide of stuff the consumer is more interested in. The first awards in the brand new Music Video Category will chime this point home loud and clear.
Marketers who are stuck in 30-second, one-sided “me, me, me” conversations with their audience will experience multiple epiphanies as metal gets handed out to the inaugural winners in the Service Design Category. This is an award recognising brands that innovate in the way they engage with consumers. These are the guys who have moved beyond short-lived campaign spurts, to prolonged, active and meaningful connections with their customers and this is the way we should all be going if we’re to remain vaguely relevant.
Much like in Cannes, we will also see the tech giants and ‘digital’ agencies stream in and, not so quietly, take more than just their seat. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the speakers lined up for the DStv Seminar of Creativity where only two out of the seven are from traditional ad agencies. A sure sign of things to come.
Personally, I’ll be keeping a keen eye on the pushing and jostling in the Student Category. This is the fontaine de vie of our industry and one we cannot allow to run dry.
Taken as a whole, the Loeries Durban 2015 experience has all the ingredients of a world-class creative showcase with just the right amount of local grease to make it more memorable than anything the French could ever cook up.
Talking Loeries, with Luca.
Managing Director of Ogilvy Cape Town, Luca Gallarelli, recently shed some light on his expectations for the 2015 Loeries Awards. Here’s what he had to say:
What are you most looking forward to from Loeries Creative Week 2015, set to hit Durban in August?
The Loeries is something I look forward to each year and 2015 is bound to be one of the best yet. The shift from a two-night affair to a week-long celebration of both the creative industry and of creativity in South Africa has been marked. The judging moving to the week leading up to the event has added momentum to proceedings and certainly helps build excitement and anticipation.
Of course, the move to Durban also provides added excitement. Change is good and it will be great to see how the event is re-shaped in a distinctively Durbs way.
I’m looking forward to getting a sense of where we stand as an industry in South Africa and the quality of our work is the best barometer for determining that. Outside of a few standout pieces in 2014, I felt the general quality of work on display was disappointing and I am eagerly anticipating a lift across the board this year.
Tell us some of your own agency work you’re entering this year.
In an effort to avoid jinxing our work, I’ll talk more generally. Winning across multiple categories is always what we strive to achieve – it shows our depth and breadth as an agency. It says a lot about the kind of agency we want to be, and the kind of agency our clients want. Hopefully this year we will win across every category.
Who do you predict will win big this year, and why?
Very tough question but with the One Show and Cannes Lions Awards having just taken place, it has been interesting to see who the early front-runners could be.
What’s your biggest Loeries highlight of years past?
Purely from a personal standpoint, I drew massive satisfaction from the success of the Carling Black Label “Be The Coach” campaign. It was a huge venture and the broadest and most robust team effort with client and agency I’ve ever been a part of.
