Colenso and AIM get first pencil – and it matches the Treehouse
Colenso BBDO and AIM Proximity took home New Zealand’s only Yellow Pencil in the branding category for the Yellow Treehouse campaign at last night’s D&AD awards in London. And it’s in fairly elite company: it was one of only 42 Yellow Pencils and five Black Pencils handed out by the judges.
The Aussies, god bless ‘em, did pretty damned well. Sapient Nitro took home Australia’s first ever Black Pencils, which are about as rare as proverbial fish lips or hens’ teeth and awarded annually to groundbreaking work in advertising and design, winning two of the five dished out for the ‘Best Job in the World’ campaign in the Direct and Integrated categories.
Droga5 Australia took home three Yellow Pencils, two for ‘Regulars’ for Victoria Bitter in the TV & Cinema Advertising and Writing for Advertising categories and one for V Australia’s ‘4320LA/SYD’ campaign in the Direct category. And Publicis Mojo Sydney took two pencils (one of them with Revolver Films) for the Boags Draught ‘Pure Waters’ campaign.
Not surprisingly, Colenso BBDO managing director Nick Garrett says the agency is very proud of the extensive international recognition (40 local and national awards so far) the Yellow Treehouse campaign has received “and it doesn’t get any harder than D&AD”, which has celebrated and nurtured outstanding work in design and advertising since 1962.
Nick Worthington, executive creative director for Colenso BBDO and AIM Proximity, says it was pretty brave work for a big brand.
“I spent the first half of my career in London, I know how hard these guys are to win, so it’s a big deal for Yellow and us, we’re honoured.”
Colenso BBDO creative director Steve Cochran, who was in London, says he used to flick through D&AD annuals as a student to study great print and television ads.
“Never would have dreamed that twenty years on I’d be here collecting a pencil for a restaurant in a tree. It’s pretty crazy. Over its 40 year history Colenso has won a lot of awards, so to be here to receive its first ever D&AD pencil is a real honour and one hell of a treat. This was one of the most collaborative projects I’ve ever worked on, and I look forward to getting back to share a pint with all those that had a hand in winning it.”
New Zealand’s only three nominations were from within the Clemenger Group, with nominations for Colenso BBDO’s NZ Book Council ‘Going West’ in the Animation category and one for Clemenger BBDO Wellington for Road Safety ‘It’s your call’ in the Radio category.
TBWA\Hunt Lascaris took home South Africa’s first Black Pencil in Graphic Design for the ‘Trillion Dollar Flyer’, the campaign that turned money into a medium to promote exiled newspaper The Zimbabwean.
‘The High Line’, almost 2.5km of Inner City Park built on a section of a former elevated freight railroad in New York City, was created by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and awarded a Black Pencil in Environmental Design. And Apple continued its winning streak with a Black Pencil in Websites for Apple.com.
‘We Choose the Moon’ the recreation of the historic Apollo 11 mission to the Moon in real time for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum won two Yellow Pencils, in Websites and Digital Advertising.
“And there we have it,” says D&AD president Paul Brazier. “Proof, if it were needed, that creativity shines in the face of global recession, and even political oppression. Over the last few years at D&AD, ever more ingenious creative work has been rewarded. Maybe the rise of digital has had something to do with it. That showed us you didn’t need to use traditional media to solve clients’ problems. And when a simple stamp on a useless bank note can make a statement for freedom of speech and a Barrier Reef tourist destination can become the biggest story on the news, it really feels like times are changing.”
To view winners’ work visit D&AD here. And you can download the pdf for a full list of winners. D&AD 2010 list of winners
Jo
June 4, 2010
Cor blimey, years later they're still going on about that tree house. The other campaign they did with the chocolate bar? Um, not so much.