• Viewpoints
• Awards

Spikes Asia 2016 was held in Singapore on 21-23 September 2016.
All six members from Hakuhodo DY Group contributed comments to this article, including Kentaro Kimura, Co-CEO at Hakuhodo Kettle, who served as jury president for the Digital, Digital Craft and Mobile categories. The comments also refer to the Grand Prix winner in each category and the key to winning the awards.

■ Digital, Digital Craft and Mobile categories ― jury president

Kentaro Kimura
Executive Creative Director
Co-CEO, Hakuhodo Kettle

Now is the time when almost all campaigns contain some kind of digital element, and this is why we should find genuinely digital/mobile-driven ideas. Let’s look for works that succeeded in humanizing our life, and not the kind of technology that leaves humanity behind. This was the two-pronged policy that guided our judging for the Digital and Mobile categories.
“If all the messes in the world could be cleared in a second, life would be easier.” “Intelligent Parking Chair” (Nissan), the Grand Prix winner in the Digital category, reinvented the intrinsic benefit that this function of automobiles will bring to our life as “chairs in a meeting room that remove themselves with a clap of the hands.” All jury members said that this was the idea that made them most jealous.

Digital Grand Prix winner

Nissan: “Intelligent Parking Chair” (Japan / TBWA\HAKUHODO)
https://www.spikes.asia/winners/2016/digital/
(Note) The movie clip is viewable on the official website for a limited period of time.

As for the Digital Craft category, we purely focused on execution and experience, rather than idea and result. “Museum in the Cloud” (All Nippon Airways), which allowed people from all over the world freely to enjoy Japanese artwork, excelled in both digital images and UX, and therefore was the natural choice as the first winner of this Spikes category, as the jury concluded.

Digital Craft Grand Prix winner

All Nippon Airways: “Museum in the Cloud” (Japan / ENJIN)
https://www.spikes.asia/winners/2016/digitalcraft/
(Note) The movie clip is viewable on the official website for a limited period of time.

“When you get frustrated, you should eat something sweet, and so the price of Snickers should go down.” To make this dream come true, “Hungerithm” (Mars), the Grand Prix-winning campaign in the Mobile category, leveraged an algorithm developed in collaboration with MIT to realize a ground-breaking mobile mechanism to change the price more than 100 times a day, depending on the anger expressed on social media.
(*Hungerithm also captured Media Grand Prix.)

Mobile Grand Prix winner

Mars Chocolate Australia: “Hungerithm (Australia / Clemenger BBDO)
https://www.spikes.asia/winners/2016/mobile/
(Note) The movie clip is viewable on the official website for a limited period of time.

■Design category

Yuki Sugiyama
Art Director
Hakuhodo

“Humankind” was the keyword in the Design category.
In view of today’s world awash with information, our judging policy gave priority to designs that attract the attention, touch the heart, and motivate the viewers to take action, regardless of the form of output.
The Grand Prix went to “Touchable Ink” (Samsung).
This ink, developed for the visually impaired, allows three-dimensional printing of Braille, for example.
With this revolutionary idea, all printers for household use can be turned into Braille printers. The product is good for humanity, user-friendly and has a beautiful package design, thus earning the highest evaluation mark.

Design Grand Prix winner

Thai Samsung Electronics / Thai Association of the Blind: “Touchable Ink” (Thailand / J. Walter Thompson)
https://www.spikes.asia/winners/2016/design/index.cfm?award=1
(Note) The movie clip is viewable on the official website for a limited period of time.

■ Direct and Promo & Activation categories

Takahiro Hosoda
Senior Creative Director
TBWA\HAKUHODO

Move business by moving people. Our general policy was to commend ideas that give shape to this fundamental principle of the advertising business.

But how difficult it is to clear those simple criteria expressed in just one line! Some employed a novel, impressive approach but had little impact on the business of the client. Others were less innovative but produced results. Most of the entries met one of the two criteria. If we chose the former, it would end up as self-satisfaction for the advertising industry. If we picked the latter, we would leave creativity behind. Our discussions went on and on…

And lo and behold! The exact same two entries were certified Gold in both categories: “McWhopper” (Burger King) and “Brewtroleum” (DB Breweries). It is only natural that the entries took Grand Prix in the two categories. Perhaps this was the year of “beer vs. hamburger.”

Of course, some argue that the judging criteria are too rigorous. I was not satisfied with the judging result for some entries, but I was satisfied that we did not lower the bar. The height of the bar represents the height of the goal. Furthermore, the bar is there for someone who wants to clear it, and not for those who complain about its height. We believe in the jumping power of Asia. This was the message from the jury.

Direct Grand Prix winner

Burger King: “McWhopper” (New Zealand / Y&R)
https://www.spikes.asia/winners/2016/direct/
(Note) The movie clip is viewable on the official website for a limited period of time.

Promo & Activation Grand Prix winner

DB Breweries: “Brewtroleum” (New Zealand / Colenso BBDO)
https://www.spikes.asia/winners/2016/promo/
(Note) The movie clip is viewable on the official website for a limited period of time.

■ Media category

Sokichi Nakazawa
Deputy General Manager, Data Driven Media Marketing Business Division
Hakuhodo DY Media Partners

The president started the judging process for the Media category by saying, “We will select the best of the best from as many as 430 entries. We media agency people tend to love the ‘idea’ , but let’s commit ourselves to selecting a genuine Grand Prix winner for the Media category.”

In the judging process, we focused on the evolution of media strategy leveraging data and technology, ROI throughout the purchasing process, scalability and significance for the brand. Our thorough discussion was based on the common understanding that media are not simply “space” but form a “platform” for ideas and innovation.

The Grand Prix winner “Hungerithm” (Mars) is rather a “naughty” campaign typical of Snickers. The idea of changing the sales price based on the real-time measurement of “anger” expressed on social media was implemented through collaboration among media, data & technology and distribution. The decisive factor was its “power” to demonstrate the possibilities of media and motivate all marketers in different industries.
(*Hungerithm also captured Grand Prix in the Mobile category.)

Media Grand Prix winner

Mars Chocolate Australia: “Hungerithm” (Australia / Clemenger BBDO)
https://www.spikes.asia/winners/2016/media/
(Note) The movie clip is viewable on the official website for a limited period of time.

■ Outdoor and Radio categories

Takayuki Niizawa
Senior Creative Director
TBWA\HAKUHODO

The result was as expected, but I learned many things from the judging process.

Now that everything has been digitalized and can be found on the screen of a PC or smartphone, how much can we touch the heart of people using real physical space? This was the criteria for the Outdoor category. In this context, a huge stunt and a single poster are judged from the same perspective. Indeed, Outdoor is characterized by the widest variety of entries of all categories; every entry has its own cultural background and form of output. The task of the jury was to find the entry that “shakes the heart with the greatest magnitude.”

The techniques that may be used for Radio are the most limited of all categories; you can only use sound. The entries are destined to being compared with classical chef d’oeuvre. Our discussion focused on how “fresh” the idea was.

Outdoor and Radio – these are two extremely different categories, but I also found that they had one thing in common. After the discussion on Day One, I was talking with other jury members at a bar well into the night, when I heard everyone complain about the “decline in copywriting skills.” I bet you also have heard it before. Whether it is radio, poster or integration concept, copywriting is crucial in defining the idea and making it shine. It has been many years since we first heard of the “slump in copywriting” in Japan, but the pervasiveness of this problem worldwide was new to me.

Outdoor Grand Prix winner

DB Breweries: “Brewtroleum” (New Zealand / Colenso BBDO)
https://www.spikes.asia/winners/2016/outdoor/
(Note) The movie clip is viewable on the official website for a limited period of time.

Radio Grand Prix winner

Radio City 91.1 FM: “Candy Class” (India / Grey Worldwide)
https://www.spikes.asia/winners/2016/radio/
(Note) The movie clip is viewable on the official website for a limited period of time.

■ PR category

Yu Endo
Executive Vice-President
OZMA Inc.

The PR jury was composed of members from eight countries with 20 to 30 years of experience in the business. The judging criteria may be summarized as: “Let’s insist on the result showing what lies beyond perception change and behavior change.” Our discussion focused on whether the idea triggered legislative reform or solution of a social issue, or promoted consensus building.

The Grand Prix went to Unilever’s “Chamki,” filmed in India. Infant mortality is high and hand-washing is not widely practiced in mountain villages in India. Accordingly, a social experiment was conducted to find out how to get pregnant women into the habit of washing their hands with soap. The film visualizes an unborn child, who says to her mother: “I’m in good health because you washed your hands with soap. Thanks, Mom.” This is likely to lead to behavioral changes among expecting mothers.

This campaign is part of Unilever’s project “Help a Child Reach 5.” The project contributed to the inclusion of “hand-washing with soap” into the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

There were many other excellent entries in this category. This week-long jury process reminded me that PR does have the power to make a difference

PR Grand Prix winner

Unilever (Lifebuoy): “Chamki – The Girl from the Future” (Singapore / MullenLowe)
https://www.spikes.asia/winners/2016/pr/
(Note) The movie clip is viewable on the official website for a limited period of time.