Ad Stars has revealed its 2021 Grand Prix, Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners at its online awards ceremony with 619 winners overall, chosen from 1,726 finalists from 54 countries.
“AD STARS is always a wonderful show to view work from a large number of cultures, and is always an incredible learning experience,” said Ali Rez, Regional Executive Creative Director at Impact BBDO MENAP, an Executive Judge at the Ad Stars 2021 Awards.
“This year was no different: the jury was absolutely amazed by the variety of thinking.”
Eight Grand Prix trophies:
- Saatchi & Saatchi Australia: ‘Donation Dollar’ for Royal Australian Mint (Brand Experience & Activation Grand Prix, Design Grand Prix and Direct Grand Prix)
- Dentsu Inc. Japan: ‘The Toxic Dictionary’ for Nikkei Inc. (Print Grand Prix)
- Happiness Saigon, Vietnam: ‘Lays Crispy Subtitles’ for Le Thi Yen (Radio & Audio Grand Prix)
- VMLY&R Singapore: ‘Pride Pass’ for Manpower Group Workforce Solutions (Public Service Advertising Grand Prix)
- Cheil Hong Kong: ‘The Cost of Bullying’ for Samsung (Public Service Advertising Grand Prix)
- TBWA Hakuhodo Japan: ‘The First Take’ for The First Take (Video Stars Grand Prix).
Film & Video Stars Gold Winners:
- Wunderman Thompson Thailand: ‘This creative is thanking a client for canceling its work in the pandemic’ for TCP Group
- Taproot Dentsu India: ‘Pooja Didi’ for Facebook
- POL Oslo, Norway: ‘Don’t hate.Imitate – The Super Bowl Clapback’ for Audi Norway
- Ogilvy Group Thailand: ‘Library’ for Monde Nissin Co. Ltd.
- Amber Communication Shanghai, China: ‘Safely feel the real world’ for Durex
- dentsu mcgarrybowen, Taiwan: ‘In Love We Trust’ for Sinyi Realty
- BBH Singapore: ‘It’s in Our Spirit’ for The Absolut Company.
“A personal favorite of mine is Pooja Didi by Taproot Dentsu India. Within a minute, I was fully invested in the story. And I didn’t want it to end. I actually teared-up a little. Great direction. Great storytelling. Films like this aren’t always destined for big awards, they’re almost too quiet and genuine for that. But I’m very glad we could give this one a Gold,” added John Mescall, Global Executive Creative Director and Global Creative Council President at McCann Worldgroup, who led these categories.
In the Video Stars category, the Grand Prix was awarded to TBWA Hakuhodo for ‘The First Take’ for The First Take.
“The First Take was designed to create an entirely new way for artists to record and share their music. It wasn’t just a one-off piece: it was designed to scale and did just that. It was beautifully executed, and supremely fit for purpose. In short, an ambitious idea executed flawlessly, that sets a very high bar for video content. I think for a few years, whenever I’m interrogating a branded content piece, I’ll be using The First Take as a benchmark. Wonderful, wonderful work,” said Mescall.
Video Stars Gold Winners:
- GIGIL, Philippines: ‘Netflix ‘Cupids’’ for Netflix
- Ogilvy Group Thailand: ‘Library’ for Monde Nissin Co., Ltd.
- Wunderman Thompson Thailand: ‘This creative is thanking a client for canceling its work in the pandemic’ for TCP Group.
“I was impressed by TCP Group’s campaign, which finds a smart way to show they care. Instead of directly showing TCP’s support for COVID-19, the video started with the frustration of canceled projects, which viewers can easily resonate with,” added Yang.
Design & Print Grand Prix:
- Saatchi & Saatchi Australia: for ‘Donation Dollar’ for Royal Australian Mint.
- Design Gold Awards:
- AKQA Japan: ‘Create with Air Max’ for Nike
- Hakuhodo Indonesia: ‘Sake Sushi House’ for Sushi Sei.
Print Grand Prix:
- Dentsu Inc: ‘The Toxic Dictionary’ for Nikkei Inc. The jury also awarded one Gold trophy to Havas Middle East for ‘LEGO News Rebuilt’ for LEGO Saudi Stores.
Pivot, Public Service Advertising, Diverse Insights, Outdoor, Place Brand, Radio & Audio Gold Winners:
- Saatchi & Saatchi Australia: ‘Donation Dollar’ for Royal Australia Mint
- Wunderman Thompson Thailand: ‘Destination Menu’ for THAI Airways
- Dentsu Inc. Japan: ‘Tuna Scope 2020’ for Kura Sushi Inc.
“The travel industry got impacted more than almost any other during this pandemic. To pivot amidst such crisis the way THAI Airways did is the stuff of great learning. They understood their customer well, and took pride in what differentiates them: the wonderful food they serve on board. A worthy winner in this category,” said Rez.
Public Service Advertising Grand Prix winners:
- VMLY&R Singapore: ‘Pride Pass’ for Manpower Group Workforce Solutions and Cheil Hong Kong’s ‘The Cost of Bullying’ for Samsung.
PSA Gold Awards:
- Havas Worldwide Portugal: ‘The Day-After-Women’s-Day Newspapers’ for Raparigas da Bola
- Thinkerbell Australia: ‘The Purple Hive Project’ for Bega Foods
- Havas Costa Rica: ‘The Check Ball’ for BlueCross BlueShield
- Saatchi & Saatchi Australia: ‘Donation Dollar’ for Royal Australian Mint
- Special Group New Zealand: ‘Meddle in the New Zealand Election’ for Every Kiwi Vote Counts.
Outdoor Gold Awards:
- Saatchi & Saatchi Australia: ‘Donation Dollar’ for Royal Australian Mint
- MullenLowe MENA FZLLC: ‘Double Moon’ for UAE Government Media Office
- BBH Singapore: ‘Running Stories’ for BBH
- The Nine, China: ‘Guess Which Book Is It’ for Yan Ji You Bookstore.
Place Brand Gold Awards:
- MullenLowe MENA FZLLC: ‘Double Moon’ for UAE Government Media Office.
Radio & Audio Grand Prix:
- Happiness Saigon: ‘Lays Crispy Subtitles’ for Le Thi Yen; while AKQA Brazil has won Gold for ‘Beck’s Frequency’ for Beck’s.
“Lay’s Crispy Subtitles is an ingenious case of not only utilizing the audio medium very creatively, but doing so with the product differentiator at the very heart of the idea. It’s all done in a very tongue-in-cheek, whimsical manner which is absolutely perfect for the category, while doing a fantastic job of selling the appetizing crunch of the product. Winner all round,” said Rez.
Interactive Gold Awards:
- AKQA Brazil: ‘Beck’s Frequency’ for Beck’s
- Dentsu Craft Tokyo: ‘Yakushima Treasure – Another Live from Yakushima’ for Yakushima Treasure
- Zulu Alpha Kilo, Canada: ‘World’s Oldest E-Sports Team’ for HomeEquity Bank.
Mobile Gold:
- Deloitte Australia: ‘Carbon Thumbprint’ for Belong.
“‘Carbon Thumbprint’ is an alarming use of data: concrete evidence of our impact on the environment. We all know we should limit social media and mobile usage for our mental health, and now there’s another good/important reason to do so. Let’s hope this concept takes on a much bigger impact,” said Lam.
Data Insights Gold Awards:
- Dentsu Craft Tokyo: ‘Yakushima Treasure – Another Live from Yakushima’ for Yakushima Treasure
- Deloitte Australia: ‘Carbon Thumbprint’ for Belong.
Social & Influencer Gold Awards:
- POL Oslo, Norway: ‘Don’t hate. Imitate – The Super Bowl Clapback’ for Audi Norway (2 Golds)
- Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive, Ireland: ‘Sleeping Flags’ for O.N.E.
Brand Experience & Activation, Creative eCommerce, Direct, Media, PR Grand Prix:
- Saatchi & Saatchi Australia: ‘Donation Dollar’ for Royal Australian Mint.
“With this idea, people will look at money differently. This coin represents generosity. This coin reminds us that there are less fortunate people out there who need our assistance. This coin is not only the actual help, but a call to action for everyone to help,” said Merlee Jayme, Chief Creative Officer, Asia Pacific at Dentsu International, who led these categories as Executive Judge.
Gold winners:
- BBH Singapore: ‘Running Stories’ for BBH
- Clemenger BBDO Wellington, New Zealand: ‘Voice of Racism’ for New Zealand Human Rights Commission
- Grey: ‘Contract Translator’ for Reclame Aqui.
Creative eCommerce Gold Award:
- Wunderman Thompson, United Arab Emirates: ‘Pay Cut Whopper’ for Burger King.
“This campaign was a really smart response to the times we all find ourselves in. It combines a smart digital couponing idea with Burger King’s unique brand personality to provide a smile to people who needed it,” says Jamal Hamidi, Managing Director, Creative and Content at DDB Group in Hong Kong.
Direct Grand Prix:
- Saatchi & Saatchi Australia: ‘Donation Dollar’ for Royal Australia Mint.
Gold Awards:
- Impact BBDO, United Arab Emirates: ‘The Wider Web’ for Etisalat
- MullenLowe, USA: ‘Shamecards’ for Change the Ref.
Media Gold:
Saatchi & Saatchi Australia: ‘Donation Dollar’ for Royal Australian Mint.
PR Gold Awards:
- MullenLowe MENA FZLLC: ‘Double Moon’ for UAE Government Media Office
- Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive, Ireland: ‘Sleeping Flags’ for O.N.E.
- Saatchi & Saatchi Ukraine: ‘Motherland Pride’ for KyivPride.
The Ad Stars 2021 Awards Ceremony was held online on August 27th via the official AD STARS website. For more information, visit adstars.org
