The Chillies 2009 have revamped the way in which the best advertising agency in Sri Lanka is chosen by taking into consideration the total metal tally where weighted scores are given to the metals won by each agency.
This is a shift from the previous years where the agency which won the highest number of gold metals, regardless of their overall metal total, won. President of the 4A’s Laila Gunasekera Martensteyn announced at a media briefing this past week that despite the hard times facing the advertising industry and drastic budget cuts, enthusiasm remains the same for the Awards where 738 entries were received.
Although this signals a decline from last year’s 931 entries, the number of entries for Campaign of the Year almost doubled from last year’s 8.
Ms. Martensyn said people are still striving for creativity even in difficult times.
She added that the Chillies has gotten top caliber international and local judges for the Awards which will be held on May 2. This follows the Chilies Week, held this past week, which included seminars, workshops and judges forums.
President of the International Advertising Association Surith Perera said the economic downturn means companies are spending less on advertising.
However, he sees advertising as an investment that is still important in the midst of the downturn. Mr. Perera added that there was a debate on whether to even have the Awards this year but said it was ultimately decided to be held by eliminating waste and cutting costs without compromising the standards.
He said many companies were approached for financing ‘who believed in what we were doing.’
A press release stated that a further positive sign suggesting increased solvency for the Chillies 2009 proved to be a particularly brisk sale in main event tickets which ultimately resulted in almost 700 tickets sold within hours of going on sale. In addition, the content of workshops, seminars and judges forums generated significant interest from advertising and marketing communities. |
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