All the Loerie Awards 2006 finalists

Of the finalists, 626 are in the Advertising Category, 177 in the Design Category, 197 in the Experiential Category and nine in the Integrated Campaign Category. These figures include craft finalists in all categories but not student finalists. (The sub-category finalists are mentioned below.)

There are some 18 agencies with over 15 finalists each but the finalist list is dominated by just four - Net#Work BBDO, Ogilvy SA, TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris and The Jupiter Drawing Room (South Africa).

The full list of agencies with over 15 finalists (alphabetically as per entry information) is:

• BBDO Cape Town
  
• Black River F.C.
  
• FCB Cape Town
  
• FCB Johannesburg
  
• FoxP2
  
• Grey Worldwide SA
  
• Grid Worldwide Branding and Design
  
• King James Advertising
  
• King James Johannesburg
  
• King James RSVP
  
• Lobedu Leo Burnett
  
• Lowe Bull Johannesburg
  
• Lowe Bull Cape Town
  
• Saatchi & Saatchi
  
• Net#work BBDO
  
• Ogilvy SA
  
• TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris - Johannesburg
  
• The Jupiter Drawing Room South Africa.

Judging comments

Commenting on the judging, The Loerie Awards managing director, Andrew Human, said it had been arduous, with judges often putting in 14-hour shifts to evaluate the over 3000 entries received.

"Judging any competition is always tough, and this year's The Loerie Awards was no different," he said. "I'd like to thank all the judges for their time, expertise and professionalism, especially the international judges - FCB Worldwide's creative director, Jonathan Harries, who presided over the Advertising Category; Proximity London's executive creative director, Duncan Gray, who oversaw the Experiential Category and Emmy van Gool, creative director, QuA Associates in the Netherlands, who took responsibility for the Design Category."

The Loerie Awards Chairman, Wingwing Mdlulwa, said he was pleased with the calibre of finalists. "I am confident that our judges have rewarded work that demonstrates true creative excellence - this would be defined as work that excels in five critical areas - concept, execution, and relevance to the brand, target audience and chosen media. See you soon in Margate where you can judge for yourself," he quipped.

Writing from the US, Jonathan Harries also praised the organising team saying they did a wonderful job and the judges were terrific.

"Having a mixture of youthful enthusiasm and un-jaded experience makes for a dynamic room," he said. "And, with respect to the quality of the work I saw, the best would certainly be the best anywhere in the world. Some of it has a unique South African flavour which is so refreshing and clever and inspiring. The whole experience was stimulating and I personally walked away amazed at how much I'd learned," said Harries.

Nici Stathacopoulos, managing director of proximity#ttp, wasn't a judge but facilitated the judging process in the Experiential Category. She said she believed the judging proceeded very smoothly indeed but did suppress a smile at the number of judges who got lost on the first day going down and up in the annals of the SABC.

"You've got to give credit organising team - almost 3000 entries, so many categories and some appalling chance takers; some of the entrants don't read the rules, which then complicated the system.

"Judging also progressed smoothly because our judges were of a very high standard. On the Experiential Category panel, I felt we had some of the best of the creatives in their fields in this country - the cream has certainly risen over the years. And, of course, Duncan Gray added a professional dimension to the judging: he brought insight and knowledge and was responsive when required," she said.

Category changes

This year for the first time, there were only three core communication categories: Advertising, Design and Experiential. The fourth - and equally important category given today's complex marketing environment - is the Integrated Campaign Category. This caters for the evolved communication strategies employed by marketers. A minimum of one media component from each of the three other categories is required for a campaign to be considered; that is Advertising, Design, Experiential.

The new Experiential category included all communication that involves promotional or direct interaction, including Direct Marketing and Promotional Media and encompassing all media types from flat mail through digital to non-broadcast video and live events. Additionally, instead of standing alone as a fringe medium as it has in the past, Interactive and Online media took its rightful place within the three main categories.

For further information on The Loerie Awards, or to make last minute reservations to attend the Festival Weekend in Margate on September 16 and 17, go to www.theloerieawards.co.za. Unfortunately, there are only tickets left for the Saturday night awards ceremony.

The Loerie Awards 2006 - finalists (unaudited and unconfirmed)

The Loerie Awards 2006 - student finalists (unaudited and unconfirmed)