On Friday 23 and Saturday 24 August, the best of advertising and design was awarded at the 41st Loeries Awards, with both evenings hosted by Donovan Goliath. On the first evening, Student, Out of Home, Print, Shared Value, Digital and Design categories were awarded. The second evening, hosted by DStv, included awards for Effective Creativity, Media Innovation, PR and Media Communication, Live, Service Design, Radio & Audio, Film and Integrated Campaigns.
Special awards included the Marketing Leadership and Innovation and Brand South Africa Young Creatives Awards on Friday night and the Hall of Fame induction on Saturday night.
296 Loeries were awarded across 14 categories including 5 Grands Prix, 32 Golds, 72 Silvers, 116 Bronzes, 18 Craft Golds and 53 Craft Certificates.
From the MENA region, Hanzo Films won a Craft Gold with Give in to Giving for Emirates NBD. Impact BBDO won three Golds for 28 Too Many’s Mutilated Words, Waste Management Coalition’s Toxic Flag and Berger Paints’ Truck Art Childfinder. And TBWA/Raad won the region’s fifth Gold with The Book of Art Gap for Standard Chartered Bank. Overall the region took home 39 awards (see table below).
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Craft certificate | |
| Hanzo Films | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Horizon FCB | 1 | 1 | ||
| Impact BBDO | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| J. Walter Thompson Cairo | ||||
| J. Walter Thompson KSA | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| MullenLowe MENA | 1 | 1 | ||
| Rapp | 1 | |||
| TBWA/Raad | 1 | 5 | 5 |
Around 2,500 entries were received, with 16% of entries from outside South Africa. A total of 646 brands were represented by 281 agencies from 15 countries across Africa and the Middle East. The awards were judged by over 140 regional and international industry leaders in their fields including international Jury Presidents Nedal Ahmed, Tara McKenty, Ralf Heuel and Katja Thielen.
The 5 Grands Prix were awarded to:
- In the Design category, the architecture project ‘Kleine Rijke’ by David Krynauw, South Africa
- In Typography Design, Theatre Hours’ ‘Acting Identity’ by TBWA\Istanbul
- In the Film category, TV & Cinema Commercials, Nando’s ‘Afro-tising’ by M&C Saatchi Abel, South Africa
- In Internet & Mobile Audio Commercials, City Lodge Hotel Groups’ ‘The Real Cost’ by TBWA\Hunt Lascaris Johannesburg, South Africa
- In Live Activations, Philips & The Nelson Mandela Foundation’s ‘Mandela Centenary’ by Ogilvy Johannesburg, South Africa
“The media landscape has changed, the way we view, what we view and how we access content is also constantly evolving. It’s important that the advertising industry evolves at the same pace. We are invested in the Loeries because of this,” says Fahmeeda Cassim Surtee, CEO of DStv Media Sales.
“We want to help support and grow an industry where creativity is nurtured, where good work is recognised, where talent is rewarded and where innovative ideas are amplified.”
The Marketing Leadership & Innovation Award was presented to Andrea Quaye, Vice President Marketing at Anheuser-Busch InBev. “Two years ago, in the middle of the SABMiller and ABInBev combination, I set the challenge to our marketing team and agency partners to deliver socially relevant and creative work that would make our brands famous and most loved by consumers. Winning the 2019 Marketing Leadership and Innovation Award is recognition for an amazing group of marketing professionals at ABInBev Africa and our talented creative partners,” says a delighted Quaye.
Alistair King, Chief Creative Officer of the King James Group, was inducted into the Loeries Hall of Fame, an accolade that recognises individuals who have helped build the advertising industry into what it is today. “It is worth noting that he is the first founder and head of an agency that remains 100 percent independent to be honoured in this way by the Loeries,” says Loeries CEO, Andrew Human.
“It’s a real privilege to be inducted into the Loeries Hall of Fame,” says King. “This is not just any old award to me. It’s 30 years of every award I’ve ever won crushed into one, so that makes it rather special.
Simphiwe Mnguni, Graphic Designer at Sunshinegun, and Gregory Leigh Booysen, Art Director at King James, received the Brand South Africa Young Creatives Award, which recognises the creative performance of individuals aged 27 or younger. Each winner received a Gold Loerie and US$5,000.
In the Student category, 6 Gold and 1 Craft Gold Loeries were awarded, with students from North-West University winning 2 Golds, Vega 2 Golds, AAA School of Advertising 1 Gold, Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography 1 Gold, and the Open Window 1 Craft Gold.
In partnership with the UN Women’s Unstereotype Alliance thought and action platform, the 2019 Student Facebook Challenge was to create a powerful mobile-first Stories ad campaign for the United Nations’ HeForShe campaign to increase awareness and facilitate positive, visible change on gender equality. A Gold Loerie went to Vega School Johannesburg for ‘Know Her Name’ campaign (Roger Dos Santos Xavier, Tshegofatso Kwele and Cara Brauckmann). A further Bronze Loerie was awarded to Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, for ‘Changing the Conversation’ campaign (Sibuyiselwe Nhlangwini, Thembelihle Buthelezi and Mseki Ludwe Mkinase).
The awards were brought to a close on the Saturday evening with the announcements of the Agency and Regional Agency Group of the Year. The top three Agencies of the Year are: First – Joe Public United, Second – Ogilvy Johannesburg, and Third – TBWA\Hunt Lascaris Johannesburg. The top three Regional Agency Groups of the Year are: First – TBWA\, Second – Ogilvy EMEA, and Third – Joe Public United.
The Loeries will release its full Official Rankings in October.
Loeries Creative Week took place from 19 to 25 August in Durban. More information can be found at loeries.com.
