For Immediate Release:
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Gita Chandra (gita@pkpr.com)
Patrick Kowalczyk (patrick@pkpr.com)
PKPR, 212.627.8098
13th ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS UNVEIL WINNERS
FOR BEST INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING
R/GA Takes “Agency of the Year” Award with Most Wins
New York, NY (May 5, 2009) – With eight wins, R/GA will be presented with the first-ever Webby Agency of the Year Award at the 13th Annual Webby Awards, organizers announced today.
The new award recognizes the most successful agency across all Webby categories, including, interactive advertising, websites, mobile sites, and online film and video. Other multiple winners include: New Zealand’s Hyperfactory (6); Goodby Silverstein and Partners (3); Wieden + Kennedy (2), 42 Entertainment (2), The Netherland’s Achtung! (2), Japan’s Less Rain (2); Grow Interactive (2), Razorfish (2); and the Atmosphere and Clemenger offices of BBDO (2). Of the big four advertising holding companies, Omnicom and Interpublic tied with eight awards each, followed by Publicis with three wins.
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 650 – person judging academy whose members include Vinton Cerf, Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington, Harvey Weinstein, Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s Alex Bogusky, Betawave’s Matt Freeman, AKQA’s Rei Inamoto, and Ogilvy & Mather’s Annie Wong.
In addition, over 500,000 votes were cast by the advertising community and general public in The Webby People’s Voice Awards. A full list of both Webby Awards and People’s Voice Awards winners can be found at www.webbyawards.com.
“This year’s winners underscore online advertising’s growing influence on popular culture, thanks to the innovative use of new platforms like Mastercard’s mobile campaign with Peyton Manning and the ubiquitous Yearbook Yourself,” said David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards. “By leveraging these new platforms, these Webby Award-winning campaigns engage audiences in new and effective ways.”
Other highlights of The 13th Annual Webby Awards include:
- R/GA’s eight wins include: Nike SPARQ (Rich Media: B to C); NIKEiD (Best Retail), and Nike Football Head2Head (Game or Application).
- Achieving both critical and popular consensus, four interactive advertising campaigns won both a Webby Award and a People’s Voice Award: Achtung’s “Volkswagen Innovations” (Banner Campaign); Wieden + Kennedy’s “Coraline Website” (Animation and Motion Graphics); 42 Entertainment’s “Why So Serious? The Dark Knight Alternate Reality Game” (Integrated Campaign); and R/GA’s “Nike SPARQ” (Rich Media B to C).
- Webby Awards winners in the interactive advertising categories range from powerhouses such as Goodby Silverstein and Partners’ “Wario Land Shake It!” (Rich Media: Promotional) and TBWA/Media Arts Lab’s “Funnest” (Online Commercial) to independents like One Method’s “Nokia Accessories Portfolio Video” (Rich Media B to B), and Great Works’ “In An Absolut World Friends Would Get Together More Often” (Online Commercials).
- The Hyperfactory demonstrated its leadership in the increasingly sophisticated field of mobile advertising, earning wins for “Peyton’s Priceless Pep Talks – Mastercard” (Best use of Mobile Video), “Fanta’s Virtual Tennis” (Gaming), and “United Nations Voices” (Integrated Mobile Experience).
Winners will be honored at a star-studded ceremony hosted by Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers in New York City on June 8th. Starting on June 9th on the new, custom Webby Awards YouTube Channel, fans will be able to view dozens of short video highlights from the ceremony, including the winner’s five-word speeches and celebrity red carpet interviews. Past headline-grabbing speechmakers include Al Gore (“Please don’t recount this vote”) and Stephen Colbert (“Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.”) This year’s special achievement honorees include Jimmy Fallon (Webby Person of the Year), actress and comedian Sarah Silverman (Best Actress), Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor (Webby Artist of the Year), and Twitter (Breakout of the Year), accepted by co-founder Biz Stone.
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 13th Annual Webby Awards received over 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: Microsoft Silverlight; The Creative Group; .ORG; Getty Images; The Barbarian Group; Digital Kitchen; Variety; Wired; IDG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; KobeMail and Museum of the Moving Image.
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