MUMBAI: It was Champagne popping time for Group M's MindShare, which swept the most awards by far at the Emvies 2005 that were held in Mumbai this evening. It was crowned Media Agency of the Year with a total of 70 points bagging five golds and four silvers.

Second in command were Lodestar Media and O&M with 30 points each. The former bagged two golds and three silvers, while the latter notched three golds.

Group M South Asia CEO Ashutosh Srivastava said, "The agency has truly been recognised for the depth of its work. A lot of people say that since we have the highest volume of business, we would tend to be the agency of the year but it's interesting that there were a couple of agencies, which had more entries than MindShare."

MindShare had a total of 50 entries while Madison had 60. The total number of entries that the Ad Club received were 264, out of which 37 were shortlisted. MindShare laid claim to 11 of the 37 shortlisted entries. Even more heartening was the fact that nine out of the 11 won awards.

An elated MindShare South Asia managing director Vikram Sakhuja says, "Clearly this victory is for the MindShare team, with the activation, ATG, Digital and various other units functioning in perfect synergy. I know how difficult team work is and when it happens it is truly commendable."

When queried by Indiantelevision.com as to how they managed to make a clean sweep, Sakhuja candidly retorts, "We prepared very hard. Our written and oral presentation this time round was excellent. Last year, we didn't pay attention to detail, which we ensured this year."

He further added, "It is good clients that lift our game. It is only with their support and proactivity that quality can take an upper hand."

The Grand Emvies was bagged by Mediacom. The agency also bagged the Gold for the Best Media Research Award for Aviva Life Insurance and the Tam Award for the Best TV Research.

Madison Communications clinched the Best Case Study presentation (People's Choice Award) for Nirvana Plus - The End of Reach.

For Best Media Strategy, in the category Best Media Innovation - Never Used Before Media; Lodestar Media won for the Club Mahindra (Mobile Holiday Rajdhani Express).

Interestingly, Starcom and Madison figured nowhere in the Top 8 agencies rated by the Ad Club. Lintas Media Group, on the other hand, didn't participate in the Emvies this year.

The Awards were charged with enthusiasm, excitement and energy with hooting, drumrolls and live sirens. Building the tempo for the anxious media professionals was the emcee for the evening - the very suave and eloquent radio jockey Brian Tellis. With his energetic style he managed to lead the crowd of media professionals into a frenzy.

With a tally of 15 points, rmg David stood fourth, whereas SET India, Living Media India LTD, Mediacom and Maxus were all tied at the fifth spot with 10 points each.

Two acts were also performed at the Emvies, the first being a play called - Two to Tango produced by Rael Padamsee, which was a comedy revolving around the life of a married couple and the complexities of male and female incompatibilities. The second act was 'apna' Indian Idol Abhijeet Sawant who made the audience croon to his tunes.

The complete list of winners is as follows: