So after managing to squeeze the Aerial Award into our trophy cabinet (well, it’s got one more in there than Arsenal’s, okay?) it was time to check out the competition from around the world.
On May 21st, the winners of the Radio-Mercury Awards (the U.S.A equivalent of the Aerials) were announced at a glitzy ceremony (probably, we weren’t there) in Beverly Hills. And they had a lot to live up to – last years winners were of an extremely high standard (check out THIS, THIS, and THIS.
And the Shell Like verdict?
Unfortunately, I don’t think they’re quite up to the standard of 2007. However, there are a few gems:
“Gardening Tips” for Philips, by DDB Toronto Canada
“FDIC Guy” for Norwegian Cruise Line, by GSD&M Idea City
and one in the Student category:
“Silence” for Austin Silent Film Festival, by UT Austin
What you may notice by listening to this year’s winners, and scrolling through the archives, is that the majority of these commercials are 60”, with the odd 45” and 30” spot. This certainly seems to be the predominant format in the States, and it’s interesting (if a little depressing) to see how much further a few extra seconds can go.
Whether this is the result of cheaper airtime, or clients adding that much more to the radio budget, I’m not sure. One thing’s clear - it works.
P.S. The winner of the Grand Prize gets $100,000, with all other winners receiving $5,000 (even the winner of the student category gets $2,500). Nice.
-Rich
