As the entry video shows, Yellow and Colenso believed you could get anything done with Yellow. But in a world dominated by Google, they had to say it loudly. And, like the award-winning Yellow Treehouse before it, Yellow Chocolate did just that. Whether this campaign achieved business results is debateable (Yellow could also be in line for the Creative Accounting Business of the Year), but that’s an argument for another day. In keeping with the creative Axis vibe, what is clear is that Colenso came up with a big, complicated idea, the Yellow powers that be were brave enough to run with it and the pair brought the many disparate parts together in the form of a chocolate bar. 

Colenso is at the top of its creative game at the moment and it’s certainly walking the talk when it comes to devising big ideas that get brands talked about by consumers. And while Yellow Pages is wrestling with a few rather large financial demons at present, the pair’s impressive award-winning run continued last night at Vector Arena, when Yellow Chocolate was awarded the Grand Axis, the Titanium gold Axis and the Integrated gold Axis at the 2011 CAANZ Axis awards.

In addition to the three big awards it won, Yellow Pages was also awarded the Creative Business of the Year and Colenso brought home five more Yellow golds in the Direct Response, Direct Campaign, Social, Digital/Interactive and PR/Experiential.

Click here to view the embedded video.

After dominating last year’s Axis awards with Orcon + Iggy, which then went on to win a Grand Prix at Cannes, Special Group and Orcon also put in a good showing at the 31st edition of the awards, taking out the Interactive Axis for the ‘Orcon Business Banner’ and winning three golds in the Digital Craft, Direct Response and Online Advertising sections. Although, in what could be considered something of a bittersweet victory, Special Group and Orcon parted ways late last year.

Unlike the Effies, or the Marketing Awards, Axis, which saw 50 local creatives and three international judges—Andy Fackrell, executive creative director of 180 Amsterdam, Dejan Rasic, executive creative director of Colman Rasic, Sydney, and Bryan Rowles, creative director of 72andSunny, Los Angeles—wade through 650 entries across 43 categories, are primarily focused on honouring the industry’s creativity; about celebrating the year’s most exciting and original ideas. And, with only 15 golds awarded on the night, they’re not given lightly, either.

“AXIS remains the pinnacle of creativity in New Zealand,” says CAANZ president Sandy Moore. “It rewards ideas that have captured the imagination of New Zealanders, ideas that have effected change, and ideas that have ultimately achieved business results for our clients … CAANZ’s vision is for insight and creativity to be commonly accepted by clients as integral components of their business. Vehicles like the AXIS awards play a key role in bringing that vision to life.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Emerging Talent award was presented to Kia Heinnen and Zoe Hawkins from Colenso BBDO, whose early work has begun to pique interest in the industry and recently earned them a place as the New Zealand representatives for the Young Lotus competition at Adfest in Thailand.

No gold awards were handed out in the Outdoor categories and there were no awards at all for Mobile.

1) Favourite campaign that isn’t yours

Locally it has to be Orcon and Special Group’s work using Iggy Pop. I watched that overseas before I joined Colenso and I remember distinctly how much I liked it before I even met the Special lads, who are great by the way.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Overseas my favourite piece of work is Puma and Droga 5 New York’s ‘Hard Chorus’. Beautifully produced and, as a football fan, the hair on the back of my neck was raised. Fucking jealous.

2) Favourite campaign that is yours

A tie between V Ladders and Yellow Chocolate.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

3) Least favourite campaign

Countdown

4) Best brand

DB Export

5) Best stoush

Alex Ferguson vs Wayne Rooney

6) Heroes

All the people in the industry who helped me feel welcome and were supportive in my first year.

7) Villains

Mick Stalker and he knows why.

8) Most memorable marketing moment

Colenso picking up campaign of the year [for Yellow Chocolate] and interactive agency of the year at the B&T awards.

1) Favourite campaign that isn’t yours

Click here to view the embedded video.

2) Favourite campaign that is yours

Click here to view the embedded video.

3) Least favourite campaign

Click here to view the embedded video.

4) Best brand

Phoenix Organics

5) Best stoush

The ASB pitch. Hilarious from the outside looking in and remarkably category generic results.

6) Heroes

Our clients

7) Villains

The EFFIES celebrity judge Tim Broadbent who vetoed the decisions of New Zealand’s leading marketers and adland practitioners.

8) Most memorable marketing moment

Click here to view the embedded video.

“To win Agency of the Year is a wonderful honour and real testament to the strength of DDB New Zealand in a regional context,” says Sandy Moore, DDB NZ’s chief executive. “DDB Group throughout Asia Pacific is emerging as a very strong network and it’s terrific to see all 20 offices in the region recognised for their work.”

The usual suspects all made appearances on the podium, with Colenso’s Yellow Chocolate, DDB’s Live Rescue for Coastguard NZ and the Sky Arts Channel campaigns the pick of the bunch.

In the media section, Colenso’s ‘Yellow Chocolate’ took out the Grand Prix, and it also nabbed silvers for V Pocket Rocket ‘Rocket Man’ and TVNZ’s ‘The Pacific’. JWT took bronze for ‘Kit Kat Chairs’.

In the digital category, ‘Yellow Chocolate’ took silver, while AIM Proximity’s TVNZ ‘Virginity Map’, Coastguard NZ ‘Live Rescue’ and Rapp’s iPad app all won bronze.

Integrated campaigns have been a bit of a goldmine for Kiwi agencies over the last few years, and it was no different at Spikes, with ‘Yellow Chocolate’ turning gold and ‘Live Rescue’ taking a bronze. No love for Special Group’s ‘Orcon + Iggy’, however.

In the TV/cinema category, DDB’s ‘West Bank’ spot for Sky took silver in Publications & Media, as did Colenso’s Going West for the NZ Book Council in the Public Service, Charity & Fund Raising category. DDB’s Father & Son for Starship Foundation took bronze.

‘Going West’ also won two golds in the Craft TV section, one for Best Use of Animation and the other for Best Use of Art Direction. And the Sweet Shop took a silver and bronze in Best Use of Film Direction for Starship Foundation’s Father & Son and Pure Blonde’s Dove Love spots respectively.

In the direct and sales promotions category, ‘Live Rescue’ took three golds and a bronze. And ‘Orcon + Iggy’ made its only appearance, winning gold and two silvers. ‘Yellow Chocolate’ and ‘Kit Kat Chairs’ took silver, and AIM Proximity’s ‘Virginity Map’ for TVNZ nabbed a bronze.

DDB’s Sky TV Arts Channel campaign dominated the print and print craft categories and, heading outside, Colenso took the Grand Prix for ‘The Pacific’ dogfight and a silver for NZ Breast Cancer Foundation ‘The Blob’ in outdoor. ‘Kit Kat Chairs’ won yet another bronze.

In radio, DDB took silvers for Sky TV ‘Arts Channel’ campaign and a bronze for ‘Queen” for the National Foundation of the Deaf. And Colenso was also recognised in the design category, taking gold in the Corporate or Brand Identity for Alzheimer’s ‘Eraser’.

Japanese apparel makers UNIQLO were named as the 2010 Advertiser of the Year award (the ‘Lucky Switch’ UNIQLO campaign by Dentsu Tokyo took a digital Grand Prix, and, showing the strength of the Australasian agencies, it was the only Grand Prix that wasn’t won by Australia or New Zealand).

A total of 3058 entries from 22 countries were entered this year, which was a 14 percent increase on the year before.

The last category awards were handed out over the weekend, with the ‘Taste of Yellow Chocolate’ winning a Silver Lion in the Titanium and Integrated category, widely regarded as the big daddy award of the lot with just 26 entries getting through to the shortlist stage. Colenso’s executive creative director Nick Worthington was on the Titanium and Integrated jury but stressed that he did in fact leave the room when it was being judged (although fictional sources report he did come back into the room very shortly after with a ‘Groucho Marx’ mask).

Colenso’s beautiful ‘Going West‘ campaign to promote reading for the NZ Book Council also took home two Film Craft (a new category this year) Gold Lions, one for Animation and one for Sound Design. Phillips ‘The Gift’ by RSA Films in London took out the Grand Prix. Sadly, despite having five finalists in the Film category (seven if you count Kiwi outfits working for overseas clients), there were no Kiwi Lions to be seen. There were men on horses, however, with the outstanding Old Spice ‘The man your man could smell like’ taking the Grand Prix.

DDB’s Live Rescue for Coastguard NZ missed out on a prize in another new category, the Grand Prix for Good, which was won by the Metropolitan Police campaign by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, London ‘Choose a different ending‘, a modern take on the choose your own adventure style book that used annotation technology on YouTube to try and quell knife crime.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Colenso’s managing director Nick Garrett says the team are extremely very proud of the result, not only because it was a record haul for the agency, but “because we did well across a range of ideas in multiple categories”.

“The level of competition gets higher and higher every year, so it is very rewarding to see our ideas and the other New Zealand work recognised by our international peers. We are particularly pleased with the Silver Lion for Yellow Chocolate in the Integrated Category because it is the toughest category of the lot. On top of this, we are chuffed for our BBDO colleagues from around the world because they have won the ‘Agency Network of the Year’ title again and we can feel very satisfied about Colenso’s role in that success.”

Worthington says it was a vintage year at Cannes for New Zealand agencies and clients, especially with the Grand Prix Direct winning efforts of Special Group, and the only problem with being so visible to the rest of the world, he says “is that they’ll want to nick our talent.”

The special awards, which are calculated on the number of Lions each winner received throughout the festival, either in specific categories or across the board, were also handed out over the weekend, with Abbot Mead Vickers BBDO, London, taking out Direct Agency of the Year, Leo Burnett Sydney winning Media Agency of the Year (the only Australasian agency to feature in the special awards), Crispin Porter + Bogusky winning Interactive Agency of the Year, Jung von Matt, Hamburg, taking the new Independent agency of the Year, Almap BBDO winning Agency of the Year, BBDO taking Network of the Year andMJZ, from the US, taking the Palme d’Or for best production company.

If you’re game, you can check out all the results from this behemoth of a festival here.

First introduced in 2003, this most coveted of Lions celebrates ground-breaking and innovative concepts in the world of advertising and marketing and/or integrated campaigns using three or more media.

The premise for Titanium Lions is to celebrate “work that causes the industry to stop in its tracks and reconsider the way forward. Titanium is for work that is provocative, that challenges assumptions and points to a new direction”. This year 396 entries were received from 47 countries and Colenso’s campaign was one of only 26 to make the final shortlist.

Whilst Gold, Silver and Bronze Lions will be awarded for the best Integrated Campaigns, only the cream of the crop may go on to be awarded a Titanium Lion or the ultimate, a Titanium Grand Prix. However Titanium Awards are at the jury’s discretion and there are no guarantees that any Titanium Awards will be awarded.

Titanium and Integrated Lions, together with the Film and Film Craft Lions will be announced at an awards ceremony on Saturday evening – the final night of the 2010 Cannes Advertising Festival. Other awards to be announced on the final night include the Palme d’Or, Agency of the Year, Independent Agency of the Year, Network of the Year and the winner of the Grand Prix for Good. DDB’s ‘Live Rescue’ Campaign for Coastguard NZ is one of 32 shortlisted contenders vying for the Grand Prix for Good award.

“I had an inkling it might sell out really quickly, and it sure has!” says Josh. “Public response has been awesome; I’ve had really good feedback so it’s a great result for everybody involved.”

Launched on Monday, February 8, Yellow chocolate had sold 73,000 bars by its first three days on sale. In an exclusive distribution deal with Countdown, Woolworths and Foodtown only 102,000 limited edition bars were made.

The sales of Yellow chocolate far exceeded expectations. “This is one of the fastest selling new chocolate bars Progressive has experienced in a decade,” says Eve Dhar, Progressive Enterprises Limited category manager.

Perhaps not surprisingly, a Facebook page ‘Make More Yellow Chocolate’ has been created (there’s a Facebook page for everything right?), currently hosting over 400 members.

If you have any of the yellow stuff lying around (still in original packaging of course), there’s profit to be made if you head to Trade Me. Various listings for the chocolate have popped up over night on the site, upon news of the sell-out.

We spotted one bar in such hot demand, 25 people have already placed a bid on it, with the bid currently sitting at $16. It seems some people have it bad for yellow.

But for those of you who aren’t willing to pay $16 for a bit of yellow, don’t worry, the regular brown stuff is in ample supply.

Lastly, see below for another possible use of yellow chocolate—though at the current asking price, perhaps a regular yellow crayon would suffice:

Barista@Home and StopPress have ten three-packs (one bag of Ultimo, a golden, full-bodied coffee; one of Nero, a strong dark espresso coffee; and one of Forte, a silky, smooth coffee) to give away to a few lucky caffeinds.

Range may vary across supermarkets and RRP is $7.99. And for some hot beverage inspiration, check this out.