MUMBAI: Efficient account management skills that resulted in effective creative campaigns communicated through innovative media strategies; and those that eventually delivered superior results for brands took centre stage at the third EFFIE awards 2003 organised by The Advertising Club, Bombay.

Worldwide, an EFFIE is the most significant award in the advertising and marketing industry because it honours the one truly significant achievement in advertising: results.

At a glittering function held on 22 August 2003 in Mumbai's Taj Land's End Hotel, Prasoon Joshi of McCann Erickson India walked away with the Grand EFFIE for the "Thanda Matlab Coca Cola campaign." The Grand EFFIE is awarded to a campaign that scored the highest marks in round II of the judging process. The agency and client representatives also walked away with citations and EFFIE award mementos for grabbing the only Gold of the evening - EFFIE 2003 Gold in the consumer products category.

Several exuberant members of the assembled McCann Erickson India team joined Joshi and the chief guests Anuradha Mahindra (publisher of Verve), Ravi Shastri (cricket celebrity) and Pradeep Guha (former Ad Club president and The Times of India group director) on stage. This coupled with high decibel cheering by the assembled admen only lent credence to host Brian Tellis' insinuation (albeit in a friendly way) that the advertising fraternity was one of the most badly behaved crowd! The best part was the bonhomie between clients and agency personnel who walked together to the stage to receive their awards from corporate head honchos.

The awards in the consumer products category was given away by chief guest Heinz India head Pradeep Poddar and Ad Club programmes committee secretary and chairperson Pranesh Misra;; that in the consumer durables category was given away by Philips India head K Ramachandran and Ad Club ABBY judging panel chairperson SK Palekar; that for services chief guest Yahoo! India head Neville Taraporewalla and Ad Club vice president Kalpana Rao. Earlier, Ad Club president MG Parameswaran felicitated Taraporewalla whose company Yahoo! sponsored the event for the second year in succession.

Also present during the occasion were several prominent advertising professionals such as O&M India's national creative director and group president Piyush Pandey (who formed a mutual admiration society with McCann's Prasoon Joshi as they congratulated each other every time their agencies won an award); EFFIE awards chairperson Kaushik Roy; EFFIE awards proctor cum research specialist Dorab Sopariwala; Ad Club veterans such as Amul Bose and Ratan Batra amongst a host of other luminaries. The television industry was represented by Ad Club managing committee members such as Zee TV president Apurva Purohit and SET India executive V-P Sunil Lulla.

While addressing the audience, EFFIE award committee chairperson Kaushik Roy mentioned that the EFFIEs are the most coveted awards across the world "simply because they recognise the year's most effective advertising campaigns - campaigns that have delivered superior results in meeting the objectives they were designed to achieve." He pointed out that the committee received 61 brand entries (up 40 per cent). "The entries were validated by proctor Dorab Sopariwala and a panel of 24 judges selected the finalists. The EFFIEs are a welcome change for clients who are constantly demanding effective advertising," he added.

Research specialist Sopariwala claimed that the creative brief, account planning, media strategy and results achieved got a 66.66 per cent weightage whereas the creative campaign got a 33.33 per cent weightage.

A message from Jim McDowell, the global EFFIE awards committee chairperson and president of the New York American Marketing Association, was also screened. McDowell stated that he was pleased with the manner in which the Ad Club had conducted EFFIE awards; maintaining the stewardship and high standards set in 23 countries around the world.

Ogilvy and Mather (O&M) India bagged four Silver EFFIEs and one Bronze EFFIE for campaigns such as "Center Shock shakes you up" campaign (client Perfetti Van Melle India); "Sprite - all taste no gyaan" campaign (client Coca Cola India); Asian Paints exterior emulsions' "Time-Proof beauty" campaign (client Asian Paints); Pulse Polio Immunisation programme campaign (client UNICEF) and a Bronze in Prudential ICICI Asset Management's "It's your money" campaign (client Prudential ICICI AMC). The Center Shock campaign also won the 'People's Choice' award as the assembled audience voted for it during the case study presentations.

Lowe India grabbed two Silver EFFIEs and two Bronze EFFIEs for campaigns such as ICICI Prudential Life Insurance's "retire from work, not life" campaign (client ICICI Prudential Life Insurance); "Balbir Paasha" AIDS campaign (Population Services International); "Lifebuoy- butterfly" campaign (client Hindustan Lever Limited); and LG Golden Eye campaign (client LG Electronics).

FCB Ulka won one Silver EFFIE, one Bronze EFFIE whereas sister agency Interface Communications won another Silver EFFIE. FCB Ulka won awards for "MintO unusually cool" campaign (client ITC Foods); "Tata Indigo - spoil yourself" campaign (client Tata Motors); whereas Interface won the Silver EFFIE for Scorpio launch campaign (client Mahindra and Mahindra).

Leo Burnett India won a Bronze EFFIE for "Tide - surprising whitness" campaign (client P&G India) and Rediffusion DY&R won a Bronze EFFIE for Daikin- complete silence campaign (client Daikin Shriram Air Conditioning).

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Thanda matlab solitary EFFIE Gold: EFFIE awards 2003