Montreal’s Sid Lee and Toronto’s John St. were the lone Canadian winners at the One Show Interactive awards presentation in New York City Friday night.
Sid Lee earned a Silver Pencil in the Online Branded Content/Campaign category for its work on the Adidas Originals account, while John St. scored a Bronze Pencil in the Public Service/Online Branded Content campaign for its efforts on behalf of War Child Canada.
Dominique Trudeau of Montreal agency BleuBlancRouge, the lone Canadian judge on the One Show Interactive panel, said the shock value of John St.’s “Help Child Soldiers” campaign—which included a video depicting individuals wrapping up guns to send to kids in war-torn territories and community rallies featuring the chant, “Help Kids Fight”—impressed he and his fellow judges.
“It was pretty daring,” said Trudeau. “It had that show-stopping element.”
Sid Lee and John St. were the only winners out of the six Canadian entries shortlisted. Sid Lee was also a finalist in the Integrated Branding category for its Adidas Originals work, while Toronto’s Fjord Interactive was shortlisted in the New Media Innovation and Development/Single or Campaign field for its Samsung “Follow Your Instinct” entry. The Vancouver office of DDB Canada was considered in the Single Banners/Dynamic category for its Kinsa coupon and Toronto’s Saatchi & Saatchi was a finalist in the same field for its “Snowy Road” banner on behalf of Toyota Canada.
British shop AKQA earned Best of Show honours for its Eco-Drive campaign for automaker Fiat. The entry showcased Fiat’s Eco-Drive product, a USB key that connects to Fiat vehicles and collects information on a user’s driving patterns.
When users plug the key into their computers, they are taken to a website where these patterns are analyzed and presented with information about how to drive in a more environmentally conscious manner.
To Trudeau, the entry—which also won a Gold Pencil in the New Media Innovation and Development/Single or Campaign category—was a strong marriage of product and message.
“It’s saying to people to be green by changing their behaviour, and they actually provide the technology to change that behaviour,” he said.
Overall, the year’s entries revealed technological innovation is becoming increasingly linked to business objectives, he added.
“I saw a more strategic approach to campaigns, not just technology for technology’s sake.”
U.S. entries dominated the field, winning 42 Pencils in total. Sweden was next with 13, while Japan and the United Kingdom each picked up eight Pencils.
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners registered the best showing of any agency, collecting seven Pencils, including five Golds.
