UPDATE: Epica Awards Judges Getting Close to Announcing Winners

Being a judge of such creative talent ain’t easy, and here in Amsterdam, it’s not just tulips, and Van Gogh the judges are up to their ear holes in, but solid creative media that must be meticulously ordered, and professionally filtered for their effective technique in conveying whatever message the advertising team were tasked to do.

Results after two days of judging

Overall the country with the most winners is France with 85 awards including 12 Golds. The second most successful country is Germany with 71 awards, including 22 Golds.

The most successful network is McCann Worldgroup with 52 awards including 17 Golds, followed by BBDO and DDB who each won 43 awards. So far, BBDO has won 9 Golds and DDB has won 3 Golds.

At the agency level, the standout name is Ruf Lanz from Zurich with 18 winning entries, but with no Gold. Another agency outperformer is BBDO New York with 15 awards including 3 Golds.

Highlights of the day

The jury in Amsterdam has reviewed hundreds of submissions. Here are some striking observations from today’s jury meeting:

ICONOCLAST: “In the Long Run” for Mercedes-Benz

An entry that got rewarded in many Epica categories was “In the Long Run” from Mercedes-Benz. The Epica jury was impressed that the campaign film went much further than standard car movies: it tells a moving family story with a twist. The Epica jury has rewarded it with Gold in the categories Copywriting & Storytelling, Luxury & Premium Brands, Direction & Cinematography and Best Use of Music.

Absence of Gold in many Print categories

The Epica jury was critical about the level of the Print work submitted in categories like Luxury & Premium Brands, Public Interest: Environment, Recreation & Leisure, Health & Beauty, Food and Transport & Tourism. The Epica jury usually loves Print and will have a hard time deciding on a print Grand Prix tomorrow. If any ….

MullenLowe Thailand: “Termite-ator” for Chaindrite Foam

Although judging creative work is a very serious business, some of the submitted work also triggered smiling faces in the jury room. In an elaborate dramatization of the product’s efficacy, the film “Termite-ator” depicted termites as larger than life villains to bring tricky and persistent termite problems to life. The Epica jury considered the film not only a good laugh, but also awarded it with Gold in the category Household Maintenance – Film.