Special New Zealand and Colenso BBDO take home Gold at the Caples Awards 2023
New Zealand has picked up five Gold, seven Silver and 11 Bronze at the Caples Awards 2023.
Special New Zealand ‘Last Performance‘ for Partners Life scored Gold in Branded Content and a Gold in TV and Video plus a Highly Commended honour and two Silver.
Colenso BBDO scored a Gold, two Silver and two Bronze for Skinny ‘Phone It In’ in the Audio category and a Gold, a Silver and a Bronze for Spark ‘Beyond Binary Code’ in B2B. Colenso BBDO also picked up two Bronze for State ‘Tally My Post’.
Chemistry scored a Silver and Bronze for TAB ‘All Blacks vs Ireland Consider the Odds’.
Says Pat Murphy, ECD at Chemistry: “With a name like Patrick Murphy, naturally I had a foot in both camps. And while the odds started out in the AB’s favour, things quickly changed. We never knew which way each game was going to go, which kept our creatives on their toes, changing out headlines on the fly. So we’re delighted with the success of the campaign. Special thanks to Ireland for keeping it interesting.”
VMLY&R New Zealand won a Silver for Statistics New Zealand ‘Even Harry Styles’.
NZ agencies scored two Bronze apiece include FCB with two for New Zealand Police ‘Survive The Drive’ and DDB Aotearoa with two for KiwiRail ‘The Rail Ritual’.
Ogilvy New Zealand scored a Bronze for University of Auckland ‘#NotJustAWhiteCoat’.
The Caples Awards is run by creative people for creative people and is the only free-to-enter global festival.
It survives thanks to the sponsorship of BBDO Worldwide and WPP.
In 2023, entries were received from 52 countries, eight more than in 2022, and were judged by 55 jurors from 22 countries.
From APAC jurors were:
Matt Batten, ECD, Momentum WW, Australia.
Stephen de Wolf, CCO, DDB Group Australia.
Wez Hawes, ECD, Innocean Australia.
Tara McKenty, Innovation Director, BMF Sydney.
Kestrel Lee, ECD, Dentsu China.
Chris Kyme, Founder and CCO, Kymechow, Hong Kong
Meera Sharath Chandra, CCO and Fiunder, Tigress Tigress, India
Mukund Olety, CCO, VMLY&R INdia
Brett Colliver, formerly ECD, DDB New Zealand.
Kristal Knight, ECD, Ogilvy New Zealand
Raymund Sisun, Partner and CCO, Propel Manila.
Pete (Thasorn) Boonyanate, CCO, BBDO Thailand
Jurors enjoy judging The Caples because they are free to give as many – or as few – awards as they choose. In 2023 they whittled 1,704 entries down to 134 Bronzes, 86 Silvers and 39 Gold Awards.
All The Caples Awards winners can be viewed at https://caples.org/winners
The jury was led over three days of deliberation by Laura Jordan Bambach, president and chief creative officer of Grey London.
Says Bambach: “The Caples Awards is free to enter which means small agencies have been encouraged to take part. I am particularly pleased that we have been able to give Golds to three agencies with fewer than 40 employees.
“I am also delighted that Mars M&Ms ‘Spokescandies on Pause’ is our Best in Show. While we want to reward work with social purpose, The Caples has always been about celebrating campaigns that have commercial intent. This idea generated 25.2 billion media impressions, leading to the highest January/February sales for the brand ever.”
As President of the jury, Bambach has two awards within her personal gift.
The Andi Emerson Award
This is recognition of any person who the President feels has made an outstanding contribution to creativity. In 2023, Bambach has nominated Ryan Reynolds, the actor, owner of Wrexham Football Club and founder of creative agency Maximum Effort.
Says Bambach: “Through the power of humour, Ryan Reynolds’ ads for Aviation Gin built a brand worth $650 million. His ads for Mint Mobile built a brand which T-Mobile bought for $1.25 billion in March this year. He is an example to us all.”
The Courageous Client Award
The Caples Awards pioneered the idea of honouring the clients who make it possible for their agencies to do their best work.
Says Bambach: “With its apparently woke decision to replace the spokescandies for being “too polarising”, the brand opened itself up to derision and outrage. Few brands would dare poke fun at the culture wars currently raging in America but someone at the Mars-owned brand had the temerity to do just that. I am delighted to name that person as my Courageous Client of the Year: Rankin Carroll, Chief Brand Officer of Mars.”
The special jury awards:
Best in Show
BBDO New York for M&Ms “Spokescandies on Pause”
Best Art Direction/Design
Forsman+Bodenfors for First Nation/Logan “The Shuffle Ticket”
Best Copywriting
Grey London for Dole Sunshine Company “Unforbidden Fruit”
Agency of the Year: Impact BBDO Dubai
The Caples Awards is managed by Patrick Collister, former executive creative director of Ogilvy & Mather London and head of design for The Zoo at Google, with Duncan Gray, former chief creative officer for Proximity Worldwide.
For further information, please contact Patrick Collister, Custodian of The Caples Awards, patrick@caples.org. Or +44 (0)7946 707992.
Caples Awards GOLDS 2023
AUDIO
Agency: Colenso BBDO, Auckland, New Zealand
Client: Skinny Title: Phone It In
B2B
Agency: Colenso BBDO, Auckland, New Zealand
Client: Spark Title: Beyond Binary Code
Branded Content
Agency: Special Group Auckland
Client: Partners Life Title: Last Performance
Creative Use of Data
Agency: Leo Burnett Sydney
Client: Diageo Title: Bundy Mixer
Agency: Ogilvy Spain
Client: DGT Title: The 36
Digital
Agency: Forsman+Bodenfors Singapore
Client: Down Syndrome International Title: Kami
Agency: Grey London
Client: Pringles Title: Pringles NPC
Agency: MRM Santiago
Client: LATAM Airlines Title: Fly Over Monday
Agency: The Monkeys Sydney
Client: Tuvalu Title: First Digital Nation
Direct Mail
Agency: Impact BBDO Dubai
Client: UN Women Title: Child Wedding Cards
Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo
Client: Royal Canadian Legion Title: Letters Home
Gaming
Agency: Grey London
Client: Pringles Title: Pringles NPC
Agency: Leo Burnett Manila
Client: McDonald’s Title: Unbranded Menu
Healthcare
Agency: Cheil Spain
Client: Samsung Title: Unfear App
Innovation
Agency: The Monkeys Sydney
Client: Tuvalu Title: First Digital Nation
Agency: VMLY&R India
Client: Unilever Title: Smart Fill
Integrated
Agency: BBDO New York
Client: Mars M&Ms Title: Spokescandies on Pause
Mobile
Agency: serviceplan Germany
Client: Dot-Go Title: Object Interaction App
New product Launch
Agency: Leo Burnett Sydney
Client: Diageo Title: Bundy Mixer
Agency: DDB Australia
Client: Jarden Title: Creativity Index
Not for Profit
Agency: Forsman+Bodenfors Singapore
Client: Down Syndrome International Title: Kami
PR
Agency: The Monkeys Sydney
Client: Tuvalu Title: First Digital Nation
Agency: Impact BBDO
Client: AnNahar Newspaper Title: The Newspapers Inside
Agency: Impact BBDO Dubai
Client: Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation Title: #WeMissLebanon
Print
Agency: Impact BBDO
Client: AnNahar Newspaper Title: The Newspapers Inside
Agency: Havas Lisbon
Client: Raparigas da Bola Title: The Day After Women’s Day
Self-Promotion
Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo
Title: The Left-Handed Chutney Jar
Radical New Strategy
Agency: BBDO New York
Client: Mars M&Ms Title: Spokescandies on Pause
Agency: Impact BBDO
Client: AnNahar Newspaper Title: The Newspapers Inside
Agency: Innocean Berlin
Client: Wer Braucht Feminismus Title: The Vulva Spaceship
Agency: Seven.One AdFactory/White Rabbit, Budapest, Hungary
Client: Ahr Wine region Title: Flood Wine
Small Agency Award
Agency: BBD Perfect Storm London
Client: Unseen UK Title: Ukraine Welcome Message
Agency: Forsman+Bodenfors Singapore
Client: Down Syndrome International Title: Kami
Agency: Neil Dawson & Company
Client: Asics Title: Mind Games – Experiment
TV and Video
Agency: BBDO Bangkok
Client: Five Star Chicken Title: The Movies that Made (For) Us
Agency: The Monkeys Sydney
Client: Macpac Title: A Bit Precarious
Agency: Special Group Auckland
Client: Partners Life Title: Last Performance
All winning work can be viewed in the Winners’ Galleries at https://caples.org/winners