George Patterson Y&R was the toast of the The Caxtons tonight, taking home six Caxtons, while the Special Group won the coveted Quinlivan Black for its online campaign for Orcon.
Auckland-based Special Group bagged four Caxtons in total, the biggest haul after George Patterson Y&R's six gongs.
DDB network snagged three Caxtons, while Whybin/TBWA/Tequila, The Monkeys and Colenso BBDO won two Caxtons each.
The winners were drawn from a record number of 24 agencies named as finalists for this year’s Awards. A total of 23 Caxtons were awarded across 16 categories
The Awards for Excellence in Newspaper Advertising were handed out at a gala ceremony at Chateau Elan in the New South Wales Hunter Valley this evening, with the last Award being presented just moments ago.
Click here for the full list of winners.
Read next week's AdNews for a comprehensive round-up of all the seminars.
Caxton Chairman Rob Belgiovane announced earlier today he is stepping down, with executive creative director of The Monkeys, Justin Drape, set to assume the chair in 2012.
Belgiovane said: “It’s been a terrific year for the Caxtons, and creative standards were extremely high. One of the most exciting aspects of this year’s awards was seeing fantastic creative work across the print categories - highlighted by campaigns for clients as varied as Volkswagen and the Royal Australian Navy - while in digital, we’ve seen some excellent work reflecting how newspapers are evolving as a medium onto these new platforms."
For the first time ever this year, a digital campaign won the Quinlivan Black, which is the award given each year by the chair of judges to the ad or campaign considered “best in show”.
The Orcon campaign also won Caxtons for Rich Video and Best Use of the Newspaper Medium.
Caxton 2011 chair of judges Ben Coulson said: “All of the judges were very interested to see how the industry is applying creativity to the new tech mediums that now exist in newspapers.
“We were incredibly impressed with the quality of entries, which proved beyond doubt that newspapers, in whichever form they take, remain one of the most important mediums for great creative advertising.
“I’m really excited by this year’s winner. Orcon’s expanding office banner is modern creativity at its best. It shows us the creative way forward, it surprises and delights with its idea, execution and use of the medium, turning a humble banner ad into an interactive mini TV show.
This campaign demonstrates that we should always treat every brief like a chance to do something brilliant. Its creators and the client were brave enough to trust it would generate attention way beyond the norm for this type of medium, and they were right."
Follow @AdNews on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.
Have something to say? Send us your comments using the form below or contact the writer at darrendavidson@yaffa.com.au
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.