The trade media judges for Epica
3,397 entries were judged at the Epica Awards in Paris. Switzerland won three gold, two silver, and four bronze Epicas. The jury includes trade media outlets from around the world, such as *Werbewoche*.
"It's crazy. It never stops," Peter Brönnimann was delighted when Werbewoche was able to inform the creative director of Leo Burnett Switzerland about the new gold for his Swiss Life phrases. The new edition of the witty wisdom also made it into the discussion for a Grand Prix in Paris. However, after the agency - then still SFLB - had already been awarded this top prize in 2011 for the identical campaign, the jury wanted to be a little more creative in 2013, although it was clear to everyone that "the most sustainable ideas are actually the ones that can be continued endlessly".
Switzerland also won gold in the Film Communication Services category. Swisscom won with the online video "Action Hero". The clip was produced by Swissfilmmakers GmbH, directed by Tobias Straka and filmed by Pascal Walder. Another gold was awarded for a film about the campaign for the new Galaxy S4 at Zurich main station. Who's McQueen Pictures used 13 cameras to create an entertaining documentary about how passers-by were able to win the new smartphone if they could keep "all eyes on the Galaxy S4" despite numerous distractions.
Patriotism with an eye on Germany
The work, produced by Philipp Petersson and Rainer Spix, was also awarded a Gold Edi. At the Epica Awards, however, the entry ran under the German flag because it was submitted by its Berlin home. A film series for Volvo triggered a very emotional discussion within the jury. Forsman & Bodenfors in Sweden have shown a series of - quite literally - sensational films about Volvo trucks. All four films received the highest number of points in the anonymous voting. Nevertheless, the jury ultimately decided against the Film Grand Prix because the films were also a continuation of an existing campaign. This was an argument that some could not understand, as it is a crucial insight in advertising (as with the turnaround sentences) that the best concepts work in the long term and can therefore be revived again and again over the years. In the end, the Film Grand Prix went to Denmark and the small fashion label "Made from cool" for a series of commercials in which Hollywood star Christopher Walken plays a really "cool" role.
The film "Hands" is absolutely worth seeing. The image production for Honda from England deservedly won gold in the animation category. Finally, Swiss silver went to Ruf Lanz with the film "The Kiss" for Delizio Kaffee and Wirz Werbung with Marionnaud "Fragrance Pairs". Bronze went to Leo Burnett Switzerland with the film "Program Guide" for Tele, Wirz for Christoffel Blindenmission and once again Wirz for Tibits "Natural Skylines". Bronze also went to Y&R with the "Merkel" film for SonntagsZeitung. In contrast to most creative competitions, the jury for the Epica Awards is not made up of advertisers and creatives judging their own work, but representatives of the international trade press. The journalists from 19 magazines awarded scores between 0 and 10. In addition to delegates from Lürzer's Archiv (Germany), Brand News (Italy), Kampanje (Norway), New Moment (Serbia), Sostav (Russia), Exchange4media (India) and Press (Poland), Werbewoche also actively participated in the jury in Paris.
Andreas Panzeri
