Listen to the article
ADFEST 2023 RISE
This is the first live ADFEST event since 2019! It’ was obvious for all attendees how good it was to to be back in-person and gather at PEACH, part of the Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya.
Over 762 delegates from 44 cities filled the PEACH venue from Wednesday, 23rd March to Saturday, 25th March 2023.
The 2023 theme, RISE, signifies optimism and confidence for an upbeat future and eager anticipation of the continued growth of creativity in our diverse region, including Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
Vinit Suraphongchai, Chairman of ADFEST explains, “ADFEST was conceived as an event to celebrate and encourage the diversity of culture and creativity in our region. We have our Lotus awards which reward and provide exposure for the best work, but our ultimate focus is to be a source of learning and inspiration for all our delegates from Asia Pacific and the Middle East.”
To keep delegates inspired and open to fresh ideas, ADFEST has lined up a crew of 33 insightful speakers from creative agencies to production specialists, across media categories and spanning the world for its first live event in four years.
Founded in 1998, AdFest is one of Asia’s most celebrated shows, and is one of eight regional creative festivals included in the WARC Creative 100 Rankings.
ADFEST LOTUS AWARDS AND GRAND JURY PRESIDENT
ADFEST has named Grand Jury President for 2023 Ali Rez--, the first time a candidate from the Middle East has held this position. Ali Rez is the most awarded creative leader in the Middle East, and currently leads output for the IMPACT BBDO Group across the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan region. Rez’s work has been instrumental in Impact BBDO Dubai being named the No.2 Creative Agency in The World on the WARC report, while winning 10 different Agency of the Year accolades in 2022 for bringing tremendous business success and creative excellence to the Group, and positive impact to social causes.
When asked what he will be looking for from the work entered for the Lotus Awards, Ali Rez replied, “The aim [of the work] is to dazzle. We should be amazed by original thinking, astute problem-solving and incredible craft. It is always a joy for a jury person to come across thinking they have never seen before, and I believe that’s going to be what we will be looking out for”.
Including Ali Rez, ADFEST has invited 63 jurors from 18 cities led by 7 Jury Presidents who oversaw 20 awards categories. Two other jury members from the Middle East were also present at the show: Federico Fanti, Chief Creative Officer at FP7 McCann and Prerna Mehra, Head of Design and Creative Director at Mullen Lowe MENA.
ADFEST has recorded a total of 1,699 entries to its prestigious Lotus Awards. The worthy winners were announced at at two evening awards presentations on 24th and 25th March at PEACH.
From the Middle East, IMPACT BBDO and Red Havas Middle East were amongst the big winners of the night.
IMPACT BBDO brought in the most successful performance for the Middle East by being awarded three Grands Prix and a Gold, while their brand partner AnNahar was named Advertiser of the Year. IMPACT BBDO’s Grands Prix were awarded in Media, Outdoor, and Press, while the Gold was awarded in Brand Experience – all went to “The Elections Edition” for AnNahar Newspaper.
Havas Middle East won a Gold in PR, and a Silver in Brand Experience for “Ravi Superstar.”
Red Havas was named PR Agency of the Year with their work “Ravi Superstar” picking up a Gold and a Silver.
And here is a recap on the big winners of the 2023 edition of ADFEST.
ADFEST 2023 RISE – DAY 2
The culmination of the second day at ADFEST 2023 on Friday, 24th March saw the first of two presentations of Lotus Awards to the elected winners in 12 categories, including Brand Experience, Direct, Commerce, Media, PR, Print & Outdoor Craft, Design, Digital Craft, Digital & Social, Mobile, Film Craft and New Director.
JURY INSIGHTS: BRAND EXPERIENCE LOTUS / DIRECT LOTUS
Alice Chou, Chief Creative Officer for Dentsu Creative Taiwan, Taipei resided over the jury for Brand Experience and Direct Lotus Awards and described her experience. “What excited me is the uniqueness of these two categories,” said Alice.
“To a certain extent, Brand Experience and Direct are not simply pursuing creative excellence, but more actively moving towards you, engaging your sense, driving action, and finding a clever junction between creativity and results.”
“If they were human, both would be dynamic and interesting people. They don't just talk, the "brand experience" makes you feel the warmth and passion, and through the experience you understand what they are trying to say. Direct, on the other hand, will make you stop, look at him, and answer the call to action”.
BRAND EXPERIENCE LOTUS AWARD
The Brand Experience Lotus received 165 entries. Out of those, juries awarded 7 Bronze, 8 Silver and 3 Gold Awards.
Leo Burnett India/Mondelez International Foods Pvt Ltd., Mumbai was elected as winner of a Gold Award and the Grande Award for work on Oreo India titled, “#BringBack2011”
The other two Gold Awards were presented to:
- Impact BBDO Dubai for Annahar Newspaper “The Elections Edition”
- TBWA\Hakuhodo Inc., Tokyo for Nissan Motor Co.,Ltd. “Propilot MOP”
DIRECT LOTUS AWARD
There were 98 entries for Direct Lotus this year. No Grande Award was given, but the juries awarded 6 Bronze, 6 Silver and 3 Gold.
Leo Burnett Group, Manila won two Gold awards for its work on McDonald’s “Unbranded Menu”, while the third Gold award was given out to Le Pub APAC, Singapore for Tiger Beer “Tiger Beer – 22:31”
JURY INSIGHTS: COMMERCE LOTUS / MEDIA LOTUS / PR LOTUS
The jury for Commerce, Media and PR Lotus Awards hailed from 7 different cities in Asia from Kathmandu to Sydney. They were impressed that the pieces that really stood out were the ones which entertained them and therefore, the target audience.
All too often, advertising can be serious, purposeful or useful, but many have forgotten that it is also critically about entertainment to get attention. For the winning work, they chose surprising ideas that answered the challenge simply
Valerie Madon, Director of Creative Shop for Southeast Asia and Emerging Markets for Meta, Singapore was chairing the jury group.
COMMERCE LOTUS AWARD
Commerce Lotus has been revamped this year include Offline Commerce as well as eCommerce. 32 Entries were received in total.
There were no Gold or Grande awards given, but 3 Silver and 3 Bronze awards were announced out of the finalists.
MEDIA LOTUS AWARD
Out of 106 entries for the Media Lotus category, a total of 13 Lotus Awards were scooped up for winning work.
The Grande was awarded to Impact BBDO, Dubai for Annahar Newspapers “Elections Edition”
The jury for this category also awarded 4 Bronze, 5 Silver and 3 Gold Awards. The Gold Awards went to:
- TBWA\Hakuhodo Inc., Tokyo for Nissan Motor Co.,Ltd “Propilot MOP”
- Cheil Worldwide, Seoul for A Silent Emergency Call “Knock Knock”
- Dentsu Inc., Tokyo for Toyota Mobility Foundation “Voice Watch”
PR LOTUS AWARD
The PR Lotus Award is a relatively new award at ADFEST. It started in 2020, so this is the first time that PR awards will be handed out live at the Awards presentation. This year, there were 106 entries to the category.
10 Bronze and 6 Silver awards were announced, along with 2 Gold awards.
The two Gold awards were won by:
- Innocean, Seoul for Hyundai Motor Group “Hydrogen Garbage Truck”
- Havas Middle East, Dubai for Adidas “Adidas SuperstarRavi’s”
JURY INSIGHTS: PRINT & OUTDOOR CRAFT LOTUS / DESIGN LOTUS
Kazoo Sato, Chief Creative Sustainability Officer for TBWA\Hakuhodo & TBWA\Asia, Tokyo was the Jury President for Print & Outdoor Craft and Design Lotus.
He provided his insight on the two categories: “We were delighted to see the role of Design expanding from ads to business or even to society. It has expanded from the traditional approach, such as graphic or product design, to UI/UX, service design, and urban city design. This year, the list of winners is very diverse compared to the past.”
“The number of entries in the Print & Outdoor Craft category was very low, and I felt uneasy about the future of this category. Maybe it's because many jobs require efficiency and speed from the client nowadays. But to me, great craft needs time. The craft is just as important as the idea. I think that's something we need to think about again.”
On selecting the awards, Sato explained, “There were lots of outstanding work in both categories. Our jury judged strictly with global standards without ignoring diverse cultural backgrounds, as our collective decision will set the tone and tenor for creative work in the design or craft space for years to come and the winners deserved their awards.”
PRINT & OUTDOOR CRAFT LOTUS AWARD
Print and Outdoor Craft Lotus entries were 45 in total this year. Out of those, one Gold Award was given to Dentsu Tokyo Inc., Tokyo for its work on D&AD 2021 Exhibition in Japan “Beautiful Mutations”.
DESIGN LOTUS AWARD
123 entries were received for the Design Lotus award and out of these, the jury awarded 5 Bronze, 6 Silver and 6 Gold awards. There was no Grande Award given out.
Two Gold awards were presented to Dentsu Inc., Tokyo for D&AD 2021 Exhibition in Japan “Beautiful Mutations” and The Hoshi Awards “Endless Appetite”
The other 4 Gold awards were presented to:
- Suntory Holdings, Osaka/(Tsuzuku)/Dentsu Inc./Dentsu Creative x Inc., Tokyo for Suntory Tennensui “Suntory Tennensui Endless Dawn”
- Hakuhodo Kettle Inc./Hakuhodo Inc., Tokyo for Kiyasuku “Easy to Wear, Just for You”
- Hakuhodo Kettle Inc., Tokyo for Shizuoka City “The Model City 1:1 Scale”
- VMLY&R, Mumbai for Maxx Flash “The Killer Pack”
JURY INSIGHTS: DIGITAL & SOCIAL LOTUS / DIGITAL CRAFT LOTUS / MOBILE LOTUS
Jury President for Digital & Social, Digital Craft and Mobile Lotus was Dan Wright, Chief Creative Officer for Deloitte Digital Sydney and New Zealand, in Auckland.
“The work that really excited us and that sets ADFEST apart is a real celebration of local context and local creativity. That came through not only from indigenous creative expression or ethnicity, but also in the sense of humor and storytelling used for illustrating solutions for particular challenges.”
DIGITAL AND SOCIAL LOTUS
Digital and Social Lotus was renamed this year (it was previously known as Digital Lotus). It now includes various new sub-categories to reflect the fast-changing landscape of the digital world and social media.
This year, there were 108 entries in the Digital and Social Lotus category with 9 Bronze, 5 Silver and 3 Gold awards.
The Grande was awarded to MullenLowe Singapore for Closeup “City Hall of Love”.
Dan Wright, Chief Creative Officer for Deloitte Digital Sydney and New Zealand, in Auckland and Jury President for Digital and Social Lotus said, “The work for Closeup by MullenLowe Singapore was amazing and a super powerful piece of work. Most work that leans into Metaverse, blockchain and Web 3 is gimmicky, but this piece used blockchain to make the union of two people official, in countries where universal marriage is not recognized by their governments.”
The three Golds in Digital and Social Lotus were awarded to:
- Rabbit’s Tale, Bangkok for Five Star Chicken “Five Star: Quality Time, Again”
- Puyoringo Project/Dentsu East Japan, Tokyo for Admori Apple “Puyoringo – Game of Apple Tennis”
- TBWA\Sydney, Sydney for Consent Labs “Classify Consent”
DIGITAL CRAFT LOTUS
There were 48 entries in the Digital Craft Lotus category this year. The jury awarded 5 Bronze, 2 Silver and 2 Gold awards.
The Grande was awarded to Serviceplan Korea/Germany, Seoul and Munich for DOT “DOT PAD. The first Smart Tactile Graphics Display”.
Dan Wright, Chief Creative Officer for Deloitte Digital Sydney and New Zealand, in Auckland and Jury President for Digital Craft Lotus explained the reasons for awarding the Grande Lotus Award: “We awarded the Grande to Dot Pad [from Serviceplan]. It’s an idea that's already achieved great fame in the technical way that the Dot Pad is made. The attention to detail and perfectionism in the creative idea that brought the product to life set it apart from the rest of the work in this category.”
The two Gold Awards were presented to:
- Choojai & Friends, Bangkok for Sammakorn “The Broken Home”
- Dentsu Inc., Tokyo for Toyota Mobility Foundation “Voice Watch”
MOBILE LOTUS AWARD
There were 35 entries received in the Mobile Lotus Award
Out of those, the jury awarded 5 Bronze, 3 Silver and 3 Gold. The Gold awards were presented to:
- Cheil Hong Kong, Hong Kong / Cheil Pentai Beijing, Beijing for Samsung “Quest for Dyslexia”
- Leo Burnett Taiwan, Taipei for McDonald’s “Donation Wallpaper”
- Cheil Worldwide, Seoul for A Silent Emergency Call “Knock Knock”
Dan Wright, Chief Creative Officer for Deloitte Digital Sydney and New Zealand, in Auckland and Jury President for Mobile Lotus provided some additional insight: “For Mobile, we were really looking for work that leaned into the uniqueness of the mobile device. Mobiles move around but are very personal to people. We can play with location and use the personal connection and privacy element to make ideas for this device special and unique. The winning ideas made the most of that”.
JURY INSIGHTS: FILM CRAFT LOTUS / NEW DIRECTOR LOTUS
Jury President for Film Craft and New Director Lotus was Laura Geagea, Regional Managing Director for Sweetshop China, Asia and MENA, Shanghai & Bangkok.
“As a whole in the Film Craft category, we were very enthusiatic about the diversity of what we were judging. We had really different genres, cultures, styles and the quality ran across everything. The craft level is very important for us. Anything that was fresh and that was really pushing the boundaries excited the jury, because during Covid it was very difficult to do that. We feel like this is the year that everyone has come back strong.”
“There was some very creative work from New Directors this year. We were looking for the level of craft and maturity in the work from these new directors that have started directing within the last three years. We were interested in the level of craft throughout, how they chose their talent, how the production design came together, how the story was told and whether it held the attention of the viewer and finally, how it made us feel”.
FILM CRAFT LOTUS AWARD
Film Craft saw the biggest number of entries with a tally of 217 in total. The Jury awarded 11 Bronze, 13 Silver and 2 Golds. The Gold awards were presented to:
- Ogilvy Group Thailand, Bangkok for Dutchie “Love Your Gut”
- Dentsu Inc., Tokyo for Pocari Sweat “You Don’t Need Wings to Fly”
Film Craft Lotus Jury President Laura Geagea, Regional Managing Director for Sweetshop China, Asia and MENA / Shanghai & Bangkok said, “The work for Pocari Sweat was new and elevated the spot to a higher level. That's what the category is about; how can you push your craft, push your story and enhance the quality of what you're doing with production design.
“We gave a Gold to Dutchie Yoghurt ‘Love Your Gut’ in the Directing category as it was unanimously the strongest work we saw, but also so funny and unique. It was a very clear decision from our jury. Both Golds were for distinctive, excellent work and well-earned, but there was nothing that was far enough ahead of the pack, so we did not award a Grande.”
NEW DIRECTOR LOTUS AWARD (INCL. FABULOUS FIVE)
This year, 10 new directors entered their work for the New Director Lotus Award.
The jury awarded 1 Silver, 1 Bronze and 1 Finalist.
New Director Lotus Jury President Laura Geagea, Regional Managing Director for Sweetshop China, Asia and MENA / Shanghai & Bangkok said: “We awarded one finalist and two metals for the work that really stood out. The Silver was awarded to W, Shanghai for NIO “The Road” in the Short Film sub-category. It won silver for good storytelling throughout the length of the film and for casting excellent talent”.
ADFEST 2023 RISE - FINAL DAY
The culmination of the final day at ADFEST 2023 on Saturday, 25th March saw the second of two presentations of Lotus Awards to the elected winners in 8 categories, including Outdoor, Press, Radio & Audio, Film, Effective, Entertainment, INNOVA Lotus and Lotus Roots.
The Grande for Humanity and Special Awards were also announced to a packed hall.
Ali Rez, Chief Creative Officer for Impact BBDO Group MENAP and Grand Jury President summed up, “As expected, the ideas were of a very high standard, and the jury did not have an easy time selecting the winners. ADFEST continues to bring out the best in Asia Pacific and going through the work, we found world-class examples of highly strategic thinking, exquisite craft, and a remarkable level of cultural relevance leading to high scores on engagement.”
JURY INSIGHTS: OUTDOOR / PRESS / RADIO & AUDIO / FILM
Rahul Mathew, Chief Creative Officer for DDB Mudra Group, Mumbai was Jury President for Film, Outdoor, Press and Radio & Audio Lotus.
He describes his jury group’s experience judging these awards as, “We had some strong work that brought forth strong cultural contexts and insights. As a jury group, we really had to lean into our diversity to enjoy the beauty of the work. We all felt that we learnt something about each other's cultures throughout the judging process.”
“The entries that rose to the very top were those that weren't just culturally rich, but were also brave, either in their execution or in the actual idea itself.”
OUTDOOR LOTUS
There were 104 entries sent in for the Outdoor Lotus Awards and the jury gave out 1 Silver and 5 Bronze awards.
The Silver went to Wunderman Thompson Thailand, Bangkok for Netflix TH “The Eyeballs Heist”.
Rahul Mathew, Chief Creative Officer for DDB Mudra Group, Mumbai and Jury President for Outdoor Lotus expanded, “Nothing in Outdoor today resembles anything we saw in the category from even five or six years ago. The need [for audiences] to share and engage with work was very high. We gave the silver [for “The Eyeballs Heist”] as the idea of robbing billboards of other brands to promote Netflix was so outrageous!”
PRESS LOTUS
There were 45 entries recorded for the Press Lotus Awards.
2 Bronze Awards were given out and the Grande was won by Impact BBDO Dubai, from Dubai for Annahar Newspaper “The Elections Edition”.
Rahul Mathew, Chief Creative Officer for DDB Mudra Group, Mumbai and Jury President for Press Lotus summed up the judging for the category: “Press Lotus was a little disappointing as there is an obvious struggle to make it more relevant and interesting. This was quite clear from the judging as it was the most disparate awarding that we did, giving two Bronze and a Grande but nothing in the middle. The results show there is gap between where we are and where we should be. The work that won the Grande [Annahar Newspaper] was no surprise at all. It just quietly walked in, owned the Grande and walked out [of the jury room].”
RADIO & AUDIO LOTUS
This year, there were 31 entries for the Radio & Audio Lotus Awards. There were 3 winners of Silver awards and 3 Bronzes were also announced.
Rahul Mathew, Chief Creative Officer for DDB Mudra Group, Mumbai and Jury President for Radio & Audio Lotus gave his view of the judging: “There were not enough entries for the category, but we saw a push to bring more evolution, especially for radio. We heard so much more audio than radio, as well as work using voice in different ways. We had podcasts, which were recruitment campaigns, and we had chat bots that could rap. However, there was a disparity between the evolutionary development and the craft element for the category so we did not give a Gold.”
FILM LOTUS
One of the larger categories at ADFEST 2023 was Film Lotus where there was a total of 189 entries. The jury awarded 7 Bronze, 2 Silver and 2 Gold awards.
The two Gold awards were both won by and presented to Ogilvy Group Thailand, Bangkok:
- Ogilvy Group Thailand, Bangkok for Voiz “The Eyes / Left & Right / The Battle / Contact Lens”
Rahul Mathew, Chief Creative Officer for DDB Mudra Group, Mumbai and Jury President for Film Lotus explained: “This region really knows how to use film to entertain and not just to have a heavy conversation. We did a lot of laughing when judging Film! Both Golds are engaging and the Voiz ad campaign is incredibly funny. It has great humor, great timing, great craft and casting, and just the fact that they are doing it again and again with such consistency stood out.”
JURY: EFFECTIVE / ENTERTAINMENT / INNOVA / LOTUS ROOTS
Ali Rez, Chief Creative Officer for Impact BBDO Group MENAP was Jury President for Effective, Entertainment, Innova and Lotus Roots.
He summarised, “The ideas that we saw in these different categories and that stood out are world class ideas. ADFEST is one of the best shows in the world. It's a regional show, but the work that comes out of here is as good as anywhere in the world.”
EFFECTIVE LOTUS
There were 27 entries to the Effective Lotus awards at ADFEST 2023. The jury for this category awarded 1 Bronze, 2 Silvers and 2 Golds.
The Gold awards were presented to:
- MullenLowe Singapore, Singapore for ISEE “Leave with Pride”
- BBDO India PVT Ltd., Mumbai for Ariel “See Equal #sharetheload”
Ali Rez, Chief Creative Officer for Impact BBDO Group MENAP was Jury President for Effective Lotus. He explained, “The Effectiveness category features campaigns that range from short-term goal achievement to long-term brand building success. Consistency, partnership and bravery from the brand were key elements to note in this category, with of course, campaign success being a vital part of the awarding decision.”
ENTERTAINMENT LOTUS
88 entries were received for the Entertainment Lotus award. Out of these, the jury awarded 10 Bronze, 3 Silver and 1 Gold metal awards.
The Grande was won by Leo Burnett Australia, Sydney for Bundaberg Rum “Bundy Mixer”
The Gold award was presented to TBWA\Hakuhodo Inc., Tokyo for Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.“Propilot Mop”
Ali Rez, Chief Creative Officer for Impact BBDO Group MENAP was Jury President for Entertainment Lotus. He summarised, “Entertainment was, well, highly entertaining. From short-form online content all the way to mega sports event activations, the work in this category was on a broad spectrum. The jury resonated towards campaigns that demonstrated innovative thinking on how to disrupt and capture the audience’s attention in a highly cluttered world, and to actively engage with its target.”
JURY FOR INNOVA LOTUS / LOTUS ROOTS
Ali Rez, Chief Creative Officer for Impact BBDO Group MENAP was Grand Jury President for INNOVA Lotus and Lotus Roots. The jury comprised of all the Jury Presidents at ADFEST, including:
- Alice Chou (Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu Creative Taiwan, Taipei)
- Valerie Madon (Director of Creative Shop for Southeast Asia and Emerging Markets, Meta, Singapore)
- Kazoo Sato (Chief Creative Sustainability Officer, TBWA\Hakuhodo and TBWA\Asia, Tokyo)
- Dan Wright (Chief Creative Officer, Deloitte Digital Sydney & New Zealand, Auckland)
- Laura Geagea (Regional Managing Director, Sweetshop China, Asia & MENA, Shanghai and Bangkok)
- Rahul Mathew (Chief Creative Officer, DDB. Mudra Group, Mumbai)
This jury also selected the winning work for Lotus Grande for Humanity.
INNOVA LOTUS
There were 36 entries for INNOVA Lotus.
The jury awarded 4 Innova Lotus in different sub-categories, which were presented to:
- Dentsu Inc., Tokyo for Toyota Mobility Foundation “Voice Watch”
- Serviceplan Korea, Seoul / Serviceplan Germany, Munich for DOT “Dot Pad. The First Smart Tactile Graphics Display”
- TBWA Sydney, Sydney for Consent Labs “Classify Consent”
- VMLY&R, Mumbai for Maxx Flash “The Killer Pack”
There was no Grande awarded for INNOVA Lotus.
Ali Rez, Chief Creative Officer for Impact BBDO Group MENAP and Jury President for INNOVA Lotus summarised the jury’s experience, “INNOVA was a joy to judge; so many wonderful presentations on creativity seeking to solve problems ranging from brand launches to protecting the planet. The ultimate winners of course were the most innovative strategies that not only demonstrated a novel approach in resolving a clearly defined key issue, but those that did it in a scalable, memorable and highly functional manner.”
LOTUS ROOTS
The Grand Jury President and group of Jury Presidents also presided over the Lotus Roots award. This year, they voted for 3 Lotus Roots and 1 Grande.
The Lotus Roots Grande went to Impact BBDO Dubai, Dubai for Annahar Newspaper “The Elections Edition”.
Lotus Roots awards were presented to:
- TBWA\Media Arts Lab, Shanghai / Media Arts Lab Shanghai for Apple “The Comeback – Shot on iPhone”
- TBWA\Juice China, Beijing / TBWA\China, Shanghai for BMW “BMW: Nothing But Sheer Joy”
- Dentsu Tokyo Inc., / Material, Tokyo for Zone Energy “Invisible Zone”
Ali Rez, Chief Creative Officer for Impact BBDO Group MENAP and Jury President for Lotus Roots said, “Lotus Roots is I feel, the category that stands out most of all at ADFEST. It champions work that builds on cultural aspects of the place where it emanates from. Asia Pacific is a treasure-trove of beautiful cultures, all distinctive and remarkable. The jury sought out campaigns that connected closest to local culture, deriving a powerful insight from it, and converting it into a powerful campaign.”
SPECIAL AWARDS
- Network of the Year for ADFEST 2023 was picked up by DENTSU. The group of 7 offices that entered the ADFEST Lotus Awards included Dentsu Inc., Tokyo; Dentsu Creative, Sydney; Dentsu Creative Taiwan, Taipei; Dentsu East Japan Inc., Tokyo; Dentsu Inc., Osaka; Dentsu Creative, North, Haryana and Dentsu, Auckland.
- Dentsu Inc., Tokyo was awarded Agency of the Year 2023
- Advertiser of the Year was won by Annahar Newspaper
- Independent Agency of the Year went to Serviceplan Korea, Seoul
- Cheil Worldwide, Seoul & MullenLowe Singapore, Singapore were jointly awarded Digital Agency of the Year
- The first agency to win the new Special Award of PR Agency of the Year, was Red Havas Middle East, Dubai
- Media Agency of the Year was presented to Wavemaker Thailand, Bangkok
- Production Company of the Year was won by Rumble Studios, Sydney
LOTUS GRANDE FOR HUMANITY
The Lotus Grande for Humanity recognizes creative excellence in the Public Services & Cause Appeals categories. Gold Lotus winners in all Lotus categories and INNOVA Lotus are eligible to win the Lotus Grande for Humanity.
This year’s winner is:
- Cheil Worldwide, Seoul for A Silent Emergency Call “Knock, Knock”
Ali Rez, Chief Creative Officer for Impact BBDO Group MENAP was Grand Jury President for Lotus Grande for Humanity. He explained why the work was selected: “The Grande for Humanity demonstrates the power of creativity to move the human race forward. It proves that a simple thought, coupled with effective execution, can be incredibly successful in moving the needle on a much-needed objective. There was wonderful, big thinking in this category, some entries with very insightful cultural approaches. The Grande winner is one that the jury felt completed that arc beautifully, from insight, to concept, to execution, to an actual large impact.”
LOTUS LEGEND: JIMMY LAM
Introduced in 2012, the Lotus Legend recognizes a creative leader who has impacted, contributed to and left a lasting legacy, by raising the bar for creative excellence in the region.
Each year, we ask all the ADFEST juries to nominate and vote for this Hall of Fame award. This year, 63 juries of ADFEST 2023 voted to elect Jimmy Lam as the 2023 Lotus Legend, posthumously.
Jimmy Lam has a special place in the heart of everyone who has attended ADFEST, past and present. He was President of ADFEST from 2005 - 2022 and was also Founder of the LongXi Creative Awards in China. Born and educated in Hong Kong.
He started his career as a Chinese language copywriter, rising through the ranks of six international. advertising agencies in Hong Kong to become Executive Creative Director and CEO and Asia Pacific Executive Director and Greater China Chairman
Over the years, Jimmy earned his reputation as one of the most awarded home-grown creatives. He was the first Hong Kong creative to be invited to judge at the Cannes International Film Festival.
Akira Kagami came up on stage to accept the award on behalf of Jimmy’s family.
Speaking to the ADFEST audience at the packed hall for the ADFEST awards presentation, Kagami-san said, “I am very happy to hear that Jimmy will be this year’s Lotus Legend and very sad at the same time. Jimmy was my friend and always pushed me to go forward and I miss him, but we should not dwell on sadness. Jimmy always saw the positive side, so better to look forward and keep smiling. This is the best gift you could give to Jimmy”.
Vinit Suraphongchai, Chairman and Founder of ADFEST said, “We are much saddened that Jimmy is no longer with us. He was a pillar of strength and worked tirelessly to make ADFEST a reality. Jimmy’s enthusiasm, perseverance and skill brought us forward year after year and he will be missed, not only by ADFEST but by the creative community throughout Asia. The advertising industry in Asia Pacific is richer for his effort.”
When asked how they felt as ADFEST 2023 drew to a close, the most popular response from delegates was, “It’s good to be back!” Till next year…
