Well, something similar was happening as the results were announced - media "Goliath" WPP Media dominated the proceedings with 45 points - a lead of over 25 points over the previous year's winner Lodestar Media (FCB Ulka). The others were way behind, needless to say.

Media agency of the year WPP Media bagged one Gold and
seven Silvers while Lodestar bagged one Gold and two Silvers. Euro RSCG (15 points) bagged one Gold and one Silver; Madison and MediaCom (10 points each) had two Silvers; and Zenithmedia (five points) had one Silver.

A total of 20 trophies were awarded even as Malayala Manorama walked away with the best media marketer of the year award. One could safely claim that the "media stars" cast a shadow on the Bollywood stars such as Manisha Koirala and Namrata Shirodkar who graced the occasion with their presence.

The intentions of the WPP Media team members, who were present in huge numbers, were clear right at the very outset. Even, off stage, the WPP Media team, dressed in "yellow," dominated the proceedings with high decibel level cheering; several members of the WPP team were seen carrying whistles, bugles and strange audio-visual gadgets with red siren like lights. Aptly summed up by host Fountainhead Promotions MD Brian Tellis who observed that "noise had always been a constant feature of the Emvies."

Finally pandemonium broke out! Vijay Karantaka group publisher and vice chairman Anand Sankeshwar and the glamourous Namrata Shirodkar gave away the Media Agency of the year award to WPP Media - it was the triumphant trio of Andre Nair, Vikram Sakhuja and Ashutosh Srivastava who made it to the stage to receive the coveted trophy.

Earlier during the evening, The Advertising Club,Bombay's vice president Rajesh Pant opened the proceedings and gave away the three joint Silver awards in the Best Media Strategy category - Zenith Media for LML Freedom; Lodestar Media for ZOD! Clubwear; WPP Media for Lifebuoy relaunch. MTV India MD Alex Kuruvilla gave away the awards in the Best Media Innovation - TV category. The Silver awards went to Lodestar Media for Whirlpool Khul Ja Sim Sim; Madison Communications for Tide CID copy; MediaCom for Arrow Vodka chasers.

Kuruvilla also gave away the awards in the Best Media Innovation - Cinema. WPP Media won a Gold for Close Up Couple Corner and a Silver for Tata Safari - Road. The winner in the Best Media Innovation - Internet wasWPP Media for IBM CIO/CTO Community.

Ogilvy and Mather India AsiaPac vice chairman and O&M India executive chairman Ranjan Kapur gave away the awards in the Best Media Innovation - Print category. WPP Media bagged two Silvers for Pepsi Aha Intrusion and Kodak Moments. Lodestar Media won the Gold in the Best Innovation - Radio category for Mahindra & Mahindra Scorpio live; WPP Media bagged the Silver for Kodak Moments on Radio FM. Euro RSCG won the Gold and Silver in the Best media Innovation - Outdoor category for Bade Miyaa Chote Miyan on MAX channel and World AIDS Day respectively.

Emvies awards chairperson Kalpana Rao gave the awards in the Best Media Research category. MediaCom bagged the Silver for Horlicks; Madison Communications bagged the Silver for Town and Country; WPP Media bagged the Silver for ViewMatrix. Ad Club president-elect and FCB Ulka executive director Ambi Parmeswaran gave away the Best Media Marketer of the year award to Malayala Manorama.
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The spontaneous reactions from the head honchos of the winning media agencies said it all:

Said an excited WPP Media Mindshare Fulcrum MD Vikram Sakhuja: "When I was on the other side - client's side - I used to wonder why ad agency personnel used to be so thrilled whenever they won awards. Now, I have realised why the small joys of life bring immense happiness and pleasure. There is a great sense of achievement and these awards are the fruits of getting together and working for the clients. It is a fact that only people who work hard throughout the year can relish the experience of winning awards at ad agency functions."

When questioned about the colour "yellow" Sakhuja quipped in a very tongue in cheek manner: "We decided to avoid the individual colours of purple and orange; decided to stick to yellow."

Lodestar Media executive director Shashi Sinha was satisfied with his agency's showing when he said: "The end results are simply terrific because an agency that is one-fourth the size of the largest media independent in the country has grabbed the second spot. It was important to maintain the momentum after last year's brilliant showing and we have managed to hold our own against the bigwigs."

Euro RSCG senior vice president (creative) Ashok Karnik higlighted: " As an ad agency, we always strive to think out of the box. We believe that the creative and media functions should operate as one unit as we are all working towards a single pointed agenda of creating value for clients. Yes, to add more bang to the buck."

Madison Communications vice president Neelkamal Sharma said in a triumphant voice: "It was great moment. We wish to thank our media partner Sony Entertainment for supporting us on the CID copy TVC. The final result was simply awesome."

MediaCom executive vice president Jasmin Sohrabji was also in good spirits. She said: "We are proud of the fact that we entered the fray with a few selected entries. But, most of these entries had quality and our stance has been justified in the fact that we won two silvers."

Zenithmedia executive director Tapan Pal had a note of appreciation to make: "Creating a successful media campaign for LML Freedom was a challenge given the difficult circumstances. I am glad that our efforts have been recognised in an industry forum."

Well, it was really "celebration time" - as the members of the Darren Das Fitness and Dance institute invited all and sundry to dance to their tunes even as the function drew to a close.

The writing is on the wall! The big gun has its eyes set on taking it all in its very first full year of existence. The minnows have a tough haul ahead to top that.

Winners at the Emvies All

Media agency of the year award: WPP Media.

Media Strategy (Three Silvers)

Lodestar: ZOD! Clubwear

WPP Media: Lifebuoy re-launch

Zenith Media: LML Freedom.

Media Innovation - TV (Three Silvers)

Loadstar: Whirlpool (Khul Ja Sim Ssim magic)

Mediacom: Arrow Vodka chasers

Madison: Tide-CID Copy

Media Innovation - Cinema

WPP Media: Close-Up Couple Corner (Gold)

WPP Media: Tata Safari Road (Silver)

Media Innovation - Internet

WPP Media: IBM CIO/CTO community (Silver)

Media Innovation - Print (Two Silvers)

WPP Media: Pepsi Aha intrusion

WPP Media: Kodak Moments

Media Innovation - Radio

Lodestar: Scorpio Live (Gold)

WPP Media: Kodak Moment (Silver)

Media Innovation - Outdoors

Euro RSCG: Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (Gold)

Euro RSCG: World AIDS Day (silver)

Media Research - (Three Silvers)

Madison: Town and Country

Mediacom:Horlicks

WPP Media: View Matrix Impact

Media marketer of the year: Malyala Manorama

Also read:
Judging process for Emvies 2003 commences in Mumbai

Bigger agencies dominate strategy category at Emvies 2003