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12th ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS UNVEIL WINNERS
FOR BEST INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING
MediaFront, 42 Entertainment, Tribal DDB, Ogilvy Hong Kong
Among Agencies with Most Wins
New York, NY (May 6, 2008) – Heavyweights like Tribal DDB and Ogilvy Hong Kong will be saluted alongside up-and-coming agencies like MediaFront and 42 entertainment at the 12th Annual Webby Awards, organizers announced today.
Agencies scoring the most wins across all Webby categories, including interactive advertising, Websites, mobile sites, and online film and video include: Norway’s MediaFront (4), Pasadena’s 42 Entertainment (4), Stockholm’s FarFar (2), Auckland’s The HyperFactory (2); Ogilvy Hong Kong (2), Vancouver’s Shift Control Media (2), and the Toronto and Vancouver offices of Tribal DDB (2). Of the big four advertising holding companies, Omnicom is the frontrunner with five awards, followed by Publicis and WPP, which scored two awards each.
In addition, nearly 500,000 votes were cast by the advertising community and general public in The Webby People’s Voice Awards presented by Nokia. A full list of both Webby Awards and People’s Voice Awards winners can be found at www.webbyawards.com.
Hailed as “the Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-person judging academy whose members include Vinton Cerf, Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington, Harvey Weinstein, Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s Alex Bogusky, R/GA’s Bob Greenberg, TribalDDB’s Matt Freeman, AKQA’s Rei Inamoto, and Ogilvy & Mather’s Annie Wong.
“From ‘Trevor the Mentos Intern’ to ‘Coca Cola Happiness Factory’, many of this year’s winners have become part of the popular culture, demonstrating the power of fresh, fun, innovative advertising,” said David-Michel Davies. “It’s especially exciting to see so many young agencies being recognized for work that takes risks and pushes boundaries.”
Other highlights of The 12th Annual Webby Awards include:
- Achieving both critical and popular consensus, three campaigns won both a Webby Award and a People’s Voice Award: The Hyper Factory’s and Ogilvy Hong Kong’s “Motorola Say Goodbye” (Mobile Advertising); Mediafront’s “One Minute Live Analysis” (Rich Media Single – B to B), and Shift Control Media’s “Coca Cola Happiness Factory” (Game or Application).
- Webby Awards winners in the interactive advertising categories range from powerhouses Tribal DDB’s “Light bulb” (Banner Singles) and TBWA/Media Arts Lab’s “Don’t Give up on Vista” (Online Commercial) to independents like Lean Mean Fighting Machine’s “Emirate’s Keep Discovering” (Banner Campaigns), Netthink’s “Addidas Impossible is Nothing”(Banner Singles), and Sugarcube’s ” ‘LG Viewty’ : Flipbook animation” (Viral Marketing).
- 42 Entertainment won the first-ever Best Integrated Campaign award for its campaign for the Nine Inch Nails album “Year Zero”. The new category honors advertising that seamlessly incorporates media such as print and broadcast with a Web-focused component.
- Webby People’s Voice winners in the interactive categories include BBH New York’s “Trevor the Mentos Intern” (Online Guerilla Marketing), GT’s “Audi R8” (Online Campaign), and Media Catalyst’s “Canon EOS 400D” (Rich Media Single – Promotional).
- Interactive campaigns continue to be at the forefront of innovation in online film and video. Winners reflecting this trend include Farfar’s “Heidies 15 MB of fame” for Diesel (Online Guerilla Marketing) and TBWA/Media Arts Lab’s “Don’t Give Up on Vista” for Microsoft (Online Commercial).
The winners will be honored at a star-studded ceremony on June 10th in New York City. Hosted by Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers, the ceremony will showcase winners delivering the Webbys’ famous five-word speeches. The agencies will be saluted alongside a remarkable slate of special achievement honorees, including Stephen Colbert (Webby Person of the Year) and musician and producer will.i.am (Webby Artist of the Year).
For information on winners in other Webby categories, including Websites and online film and video, visit www.webbyawards.com/press.
About The Webby Awards:
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 12th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Adobe; The Creative Group; Nokia; .ORG; Level 3; Getty Images; The Barbarian Group; Digital Kitchen; Adweek; Variety; Wired; IDG; Pequot Ventures; Brightcove; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; KobeMail and Museum of the Moving Image.
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