Twenty dancing flamingos and a catchy jingle make a rather amusing 30-sec spot.
In the new media, your nudity can always be hidden behind technology.
However, in the cruel two-dimensional world of print, the only special effects are the electric impulses jumping over your synapses. Between you and mediocrity there's only a single piece of white paper. (Or rather, in the end, dozens of crumpled-up ones!)
The World Press Awards are dedicated solely to recognising the discipline and rigour of this, the most unforgiving and basic of mediums.
So if this award were to have any real value, only the very best
practitioners could have been called-upon
to judge. Click through these pages, and
you'll agree with me that this panel of
judges is far from shabby. Only Neil could
have herded these cats.
They rejected work that has won gold
awards in other festivals. And out of around
two thousand ads entered they awarded
only 29 Golds. But if they were not so
ruthless, hardhearted and bloody-minded,
this book wouldn't be so good.
Three things stood out for me at the World
Press Awards.
42 Below. You couldn't miss these comic strips. They were stories that led you along seductively, then walloped you square between the eyes at the end. And like all cleverly told stories, they left huge chunks to the reader's imagination. They were effortless, sexy and made me laugh out loud.
Stuffit Deluxe. What a terrific product demo: a million pictures shoehorned neatly into one page. Says it all, doesn't it?
Copy. There were acres of it. Did all copywriters in the world conspire to write again? Did they decide to take collective action against the dominance of the art director? Or were the judges just tired of the ubiquitous visual pun? Mind you, it wasn't just traditional typography. I think a distinct hybrid has emerged: The visual copy. (Remember, you read it here first.) Marmite Squeezy 'France' and Penquin Books 'Soundwaves' are just two examples of this new genre. In days to come, I expect you'll see more 'painted words'. (You read this here first, too.)
If you've won an award here, you should be really proud. If you haven't, you might have better luck at Cannes. They're SO much easier.
Tham Khai Meng
Co-Chairman and Executive
Regional Creative Director,
Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide Board
