Euro gold for Swiss work
Studio Achermann and Niklaus Troxler win prizes at the ADC of Europe
Studio Achermann and Niklaus Troxler win prizes at the ADC of EuropeBy Beat FritschSwiss advertising seems to be on the rise internationally. After not winning gold at the Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) awards for the last two years, Swiss creatives made it onto the podium again this year.
The ADCE Awards are among the top prizes awarded at international competitions. It is not possible to register, as the works awarded silver or gold in the individual countries automatically take part in the European creative competition. And it was a good year for Switzerland. After 10 nominations from 52 entries in 1999 and 4 nominations from 50 entries in 2000, this year our country was also awarded yellow precious metal.
Out of 61 submissions, 8 made it onto the shortlist, 2 of which received top-class awards. Studio Achermann won gold for the Migros annual report and Niklaus Troxler for his posters for the Jazz in Willisau festival. Johannes Newrkla's statement showed that Swiss advertising is also well(willingly) perceived abroad. The juror from Austria, who holds the position of ADCE treasurer, missed the Kuoni spots, which he also thought had a chance of winning gold.
However, the jurors continue to be critical of the creative gap between the participating countries. According to Stefan Schmidt, CD at Springer & Jacoby International, even Germany is still light years behind the British. It could also take a long time for the former Eastern Bloc countries to reach an acceptable level of creativity. According to Schmidt, this is due to the fact that the transformation from a demand to a supply market is still an ongoing process in these countries.
More excellent design than funny advertising
The judging took place in a very relaxed atmosphere for the fourth time under the aegis of former D&AD Director David Kester at the London Design Council. There was absolutely no sign of any country chauvinism, but the event gave outsiders the impression that, in contrast to the national competitions, more attention was paid to design and visual implementation. This may be because advertising messages are very often characterized by country-specific humour or cannot be understood without more detailed knowledge of the context of the message. This impression is supported by the fact that gold was awarded twice each in the Graphic Design and Illustration & Photography categories, while there were no gold awards at all in other categories.
However, the Grand Prix went to a spot campaign for QTV/Emap on Air, which impressed the judges above all with its wit and wordplay. The site requiemforadream.com narrowly missed out on the final victory and is highly recommended.
Martin Spillmann kept his presidential promise
On the threshold of the new millennium, the ADCE was chaired by AY&R-CD Martin Spillmann, whose aim had been to attract further members to the club through bilateral talks. He seems to have succeeded in doing so: Despite one withdrawal - the Belgians made good on their threat announced in 1999 - the ADCE now has more members than ever. The creative clubs of Portugal and the Czech Republic were already new members in 2000, and this year the two Norwegian associations Grafill and Kreativtforum were welcomed to the competition. The ADCE now has 13 member organizations, and of the major European nations, only the French are still on the sidelines.
ADCE - BEST OF EUROPEAN
The ADCE Awards are among the top prizes awarded at international competitions. It is not possible to register, as the works awarded silver or gold in the individual countries automatically take part in the European creative competition. And it was a good year for Switzerland. After 10 nominations from 52 entries in 1999 and 4 nominations from 50 entries in 2000, this year our country was also awarded yellow precious metal.
Out of 61 submissions, 8 made it onto the shortlist, 2 of which received top-class awards. Studio Achermann won gold for the Migros annual report and Niklaus Troxler for his posters for the Jazz in Willisau festival. Johannes Newrkla's statement showed that Swiss advertising is also well(willingly) perceived abroad. The juror from Austria, who holds the position of ADCE treasurer, missed the Kuoni spots, which he also thought had a chance of winning gold.
However, the jurors continue to be critical of the creative gap between the participating countries. According to Stefan Schmidt, CD at Springer & Jacoby International, even Germany is still light years behind the British. It could also take a long time for the former Eastern Bloc countries to reach an acceptable level of creativity. According to Schmidt, this is due to the fact that the transformation from a demand to a supply market is still an ongoing process in these countries.
More excellent design than funny advertising
The judging took place in a very relaxed atmosphere for the fourth time under the aegis of former D&AD Director David Kester at the London Design Council. There was absolutely no sign of any country chauvinism, but the event gave outsiders the impression that, in contrast to the national competitions, more attention was paid to design and visual implementation. This may be because advertising messages are very often characterized by country-specific humour or cannot be understood without more detailed knowledge of the context of the message. This impression is supported by the fact that gold was awarded twice each in the Graphic Design and Illustration & Photography categories, while there were no gold awards at all in other categories.
However, the Grand Prix went to a spot campaign for QTV/Emap on Air, which impressed the judges above all with its wit and wordplay. The site requiemforadream.com narrowly missed out on the final victory and is highly recommended.
Martin Spillmann kept his presidential promise
On the threshold of the new millennium, the ADCE was chaired by AY&R-CD Martin Spillmann, whose aim had been to attract further members to the club through bilateral talks. He seems to have succeeded in doing so: Despite one withdrawal - the Belgians made good on their threat announced in 1999 - the ADCE now has more members than ever. The creative clubs of Portugal and the Czech Republic were already new members in 2000, and this year the two Norwegian associations Grafill and Kreativtforum were welcomed to the competition. The ADCE now has 13 member organizations, and of the major European nations, only the French are still on the sidelines.
ADCE - BEST OF EUROPEAN
DESIGN & ADVERTISING AWARDS 2001
Swiss gold nominations and winners
Category Campaign Client Agency
Poster Vacation/Forgotten Kuoni Advico Young & Rubicam (nom.)
Networked mobility ZVV Publicis (nom.)
VBZ Literature VBZ Advico Young & Rubicam (nom.)
Advertisement Newspaper Nico Yearbook Tamedia McCann-Erickson (nom.)
Media/Promotion Coke flyer Snowboard Garage Publicis (nom.)
Illustration/ Future of Sex My Media Studio Achermann (nom.)
Photography
Graphic Design Jazz in Willisau Jazz in Willisau Niklaus Troxler (Gold)
Annual Report 1999 Migros Studio Achermann (Gold)
