Contact:
Gita Chandra, gita@mkpr.com
Patrick Kowalczyk, patrick@mkpr.com
MKPR, 212.627.8098
THE 11th ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS UNVEIL
FIRST-EVER INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING NOMINEES
Starting Today, Ad Community and Public Can Vote for
Best Ads and Campaigns in The Webby People’s Voice Awards
www.peoplesvoice.webbyawards.com
New York, NY – (April 10, 2007) –With five nominations each, Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Interpublic’s R/GA lead the list of agencies vying for 15 new interactive advertising awards that will be handed out for the first time at The 11th Annual Webby Awards in June.
As with other Webby Awards nominees unveiled today in more than 100 categories, video innovation is a hallmark of many of the interactive advertising nominees, including R/GA’s “Nike Women Rockstar Workout” (Best Branded Content), WDDG’s “Altoids.com” (Best Branded Content), and Farfar’s “How To Party” (Best Rich Media Advertising-Non-profit/Educational). A full list of all nominees can be found at: www.webbyawards.com.
Hailed as the “OSCARS® of the Internet” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international awards honoring Web sites, online film and video, interactive advertising, and mobile content. Reflecting the awards prestige, the new advertising categories were judged by more than 50 advertising leaders, including AKQA’s Lars Bastholm, Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s Jeff Benjamin, R/GA’s Bob Greenberg, Tribal DDB’s Matt Freeman, and Ogilvy & Mather’s Annie Wong.
Unlike other awards shows, where only judges choose the winners, The Webby Awards revels in the Web’s democratic spirit. Starting today through April 27th, the public can cast their votes in The Webby Peoples Voice Awards presented by Verizon at www.peoplesvoice.webbyawards.com.
“The Internet is where the most exciting and influential work in advertising is being done today,” said David-Michel Davies, Executive Director of The Webby Awards. “It will be exciting to see if the ad community and the judges agree on which ads and campaigns are setting the benchmarks for the industry.”
Winners will be announced on May 1st and honored at a star-studded ceremony in New York City on June 5th. Hosted by comedian Rob Corddry (Fox’s “The Winner” and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”), the ceremony will showcase both the Webby and People’s Voice winners delivering the awards’ famous five-word speeches.
Other trends and highlights among the interactive advertising nominees include:
- In all, 72 nominees were announced in 15 categories including Banner/Display Advertising, Branded Content, Email Marketing, Integrated Marketing Campaigns, Viral Marketing, and Rich Media Advertising.
- Several agencies received multiple nominations including: five for Crispin Porter + Bogusky and R/GA; four for Farfar; three for AlmapBBDO; and two each for DDB Brazil, McCann Digital, Saatchi and Saatchi LA, and Euro RSCG 4D.
- Several independent agencies also received nominations, including Mekanism’s “Clearification” for Windows Vista (Best Branded Content), 15 letter’s “ESPN 360 Bar Sports” (Best Game or Application), and AKQA’s Ubisoft “Rayman’s Raving Rabbids” (Best Interactive Advertising Campaign: Banner/Rich Media).
- Of the big four advertising holding companies, Omnicom is the frontrunner with eight nominations, followed by Interpublic with four, Publicis Groupe with six, and WPP with five.
- The finalists hail from 12 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States.
- Innovation in user participation is also a common thread among the nominees – from Varitalk’s celebrated “Snakes on a Plane” campaign (Best Viral Marketing) to Ogilvy”s “Get Your Freak On” for Yahoo! (Banner/Display Advertising: Business-to-Consumer), to Farfar’s “Stockholm the Musical.”
For information on nominees in other Webby categories, including Websites, online film and video, and mobile content, visit www.peoplesvoice.webbyawards.com.
About The Webby Awards:
Hailed as the “OSCARS® of the Internet” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Web sites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 11th Annual Webby Awards received a record 8,000 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; Verizon; AOL Video; dotMobi; Level3; Adweek; Fortune; Reuters; Variety; Wired; IDG: Brightcove; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; KobeMail and Museum of the Moving Image.
OSCAR® is a federally registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Webby Awards and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences are in no way affiliated with or sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences or OSCAR®.
###