BE A GOLD MEDAL WINNER
David Thomason, Brand Planner and Advertising Strategist:
IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A GOLD WINNER?
I’ve always admired and valued smart media thinkers that can take a half-assed idea that no-one would have noticed outside of a creative awards jury, and use everything at their disposal to explode it into something New Zealand talks about. They’ll make sure it all joins up and every piece is doing its job. They’ll check every nook and cranny to make sure there’s no holes for a prospect to fall through, and no opportunity missed to make it even bigger. If they did that, and started with something better than a half-assed idea, then boom, Gold Beacon.
WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPRESSIVE THING YOU NOTICED ABOUT SOME OF THE WINNERS?
It’s especially impressive when a team is faced with a challenge that has been faced by many smart advertising people many times, year after year, and they find a completely new, surprising and exciting way to answer it. But the entries that stood out to me didn’t stop at one novel central concept. Every element and channel was carefully, insightfully and creatively considered to maximise total impact.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE OF THE GOLD WINNERS AND WHY?
I was most impressed with ‘Seal of Approval’ for DB Breweries’ Patriot APA in the Most Effective category. It started with a great
