ISSN: 1391 - 0531
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Vol. 42 - No 01
Financial Times  

Crisis of creativity, confidence and management

By Marisa de Silva

Mixed response from Trustees, industry bodies

The Trustee of awards scheme said many complaints had been received but most of the complaints were vague while the two industry bodies, organisers of the event, conceded that there were too many scam ads.

“Yes, there have been a number of complaints regarding an excessive submission of scam ads at this year’s Chillies and the complaints are currently being evaluated to gauge their extent and validity” said the Managing Director – Paints (CIC Paints Ltd.,) and Chairman of Chillies 2007 Trust - Gerald de Saram. The main problem with these complaints is that most of them are quite vague; not giving specific details, he explained. Many of the objections are based on “hearsay” at the moments and nobody’s really committing to anything definite, he added.

“However, the steering committee has set up a nucleus committee to evaluate this whole issue, liaise with the relevant stakeholders such as the local and foreign judges, the complainants etc., and revert back to the Chillies Trust by around mid-June,” he elaborated.

The trustees will then in turn take the committee’s conclusions to the 4 A’s and the IAA (International Advertising Association), where they would strive to seek a unanimous consensus together with them. “As it’s still in the early stages, we’ll have to wait and see what transpires,” he concluded. The Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies (4 A’s) and the International Advertising Association (IAA), Sri Lanka Chapter who are the joint stakeholders of the Sri Lanka Advertising Awards – ‘The Chillies’ in a statement to The Sunday Times FT said, “We are aware that this year’s awards saw a larger number of entries and award winners which saw advertisements that could have been termed as scam. This does not augur well for the future of our industry and our pursuit of global recognition. The Chillies was not created to be a festival that recognizes such work.”

It said that immediately after The Chillies 2007, the two associations have jointly initiated a programme to address the issue of scam at future awards shows and as a practice in this industry.

“We will obtain learning from sister associations around the world and from the regional and global awards festivals around which ‘The Chillies’ was modelled. We therefore, fervently seek the support of our industry and the marketing fraternity to refrain from indulging in this practice,” the statement said.

The Ad world is still recovering from the hornets nest stirred post ‘The Chillies 2007” regarding scam ads. An unusual phenomenon arose over the ad industry this year, as numerous agencies went up in arms against the excessive number of scam ads that earned recognition at this year’s awards show. The trustees of the awards and the relevant authoritative bodies are making valiant attempts to pacify the aggrieved, but they are not to be appeased.

Michael Holsinger, the Chief Operations Officer (COO) - Lowe LDB, responding to an email poll by The Sunday Times FT, said, “Firstly the issue is neither a case of yes or no or as easy to determine in black or white.”

He said the advertising fraternity “take pride in the fact that we don't always wait for the client to brief us on what is necessary for advertising, and there are many one off ads and communication that a brand requires. These are the ads that have been labelled as scam,” he said, adding that the allegation of too scams winning golds was a case of sour grapes.

He said if the industry is to join the global arena it should play by the rules currently in place. “This is also the point of view many young people in the industry share; it is the goal of many young agency leaders. Unfortunately their voices are only just emerging and they are still not as loud as the tried and tested spokespeople of the industry.”

Sandya Salgado - Director/CEO Ogilvy Action said, the launch of a Creative Award scheme in the name of ‘The Chillies’ was such a great concept, mooted by the industry movers and shakers, in order to raise the bar of creativity which is a wonderful initiative. “Most of us welcomed it with open arms.”

But she said, “Even though we didn’t win a single award, I was proud that we had not submitted a single piece of scam. We don’t believe in winning ‘at any cost.” She added that “we didn’t create ads or campaigns having The Chillies as our creative goal.”

Also reflecting an anti-scam view, Nimal Gunewardena CEO and Chairman of Bates Strategic Alliance, said, “Scam is scam and cannot be condoned in principle. It cannot be whitewashed by saying it is also done elsewhere. This is like saying corruption is fine because it happens all over the world.”

He said values in society were deteriorating fast on several fronts and those who mindlessly or opportunistically condone or engage in such behaviour are contributing to this. “The industry seems to have gone overboard where winning has become everything. Winning by doing scams is unethical and is certainly a false achievement, however much you want to blow your own trumpet,” he added.

Varuni Amunugama – Joint Managing Director – Triad Advertising the number one agency at the awards, said, “We as an agency are all in favour of pro-active work where we see an ideal opportunity for a specific brand and seize it even though the client hasn’t briefed us prior to creation.

However, we strongly oppose meaningless scam ads that are created purely to win awards.” She said this was not the first time scam ads have been submitted. “Everyone knows the formula. “It’s just that this time around, their formulas didn’t work and that was the main reason for all this outcry.”

Clear eligibility criteria
Srikanth Selladurai, Chairman of the Steering Committee of Chillies 2007, said: “Although there could be different opinions and definitions on scam, I have learned and understand that a Scam is any work done without a brief (or Need) from a client. As organisers we had clear eligibility criteria which everyone knew.”

He said since every client has certified the work, “it gives us an indication that it was a client’s brief and it was work approved by the client.

However a situation could arise as you have stated that clients collude to approve scam ads because they too like their brands to win awards.”

But he said he was sure no client would speculate for an award and waste his money in this business given conditions and costs.
He said in Sri Lanka the foundation has been laid for a creativity based awards’ show while there is also room for a effectiveness based awards show.

He said scam advertising is matter of contention globally and has been a prevalent issue for many years in many countries including developed nations.

 

 

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Copyright 2007 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.Colombo. Sri Lanka.