Every month a top local ECD will judge the work. He or she will also nominate an equally prominent international ECD to judge the work too. Each one will then share his or her opinion of what is the best work coming out of South Africa every month.
According to iDidTht.com founder Julie Maunder, “This is exciting because it means that international judges are getting sight of local work before judging international award shows. We all know how important this familiarity is when converting an entry into actual metal. I hope that now they will be starting the judging process with ‘Hey! I know that work!’”
This is a monthly initiative, so any work done over a three-month period prior to the judging month will be eligible. iDidTht.com has invited all companies that subscribe to iDidTht.com to enter any creative work that they have during the eligibility period.
All work entered will be promoted through iDidTht.com social channels. This is currently the biggest local platform profiling South African creative work both locally and internationally through its media partnerships. Secondly, because the work is also being reviewed by an international judge, it starts the process of profiling South African work internationally, which is important when creating visibility and PR for work around international award shows. Featured work further promotes the creatives that are already part of the iDidTht.com network.
The local judge is Y&R South Africa’s CCO, Graham Lang, and his international judging partner is Nir Refuah, GM at MRM Worldwide Romania.
Lang says, “I can’t stress enough how important it is for work to be highly visible before going into award shows. This is a great way to do this and I thank iDidTht.com for always having the best interests of South African creatives at heart.”
Lang has selected the following work and commented on the choice:
1. PASSOP #IamMuslim by Native VML. The sum of the parts makes this campaign for me. It is about taking a very traditional medium such as flat posters and making them resonate though social channels using a very powerful hashtag. It is about sparking a conversation and trying to change perceptions.
2. Do You Even Dev by Nona Creative. I saw one of these billboards up and had no idea what it was all about. Now I do. This campaign is a fun way of turning a tough recruitment brief into something cool by targeting coders in a way that would absolutely resonate with them.
3. Drought Packaging by Joe Public. A simple idea for a big client. I am a big fan of brands that use their power to do good. This is an important message to get out there and, by using the products’ most valuable real estate – the packaging, Clover has stepped up and made itself relevant by being a company that cares.
4. Testi-monials by FCB Cape Town. Lekker bit of content, does the job, very funny.
5. Fire Pool & Promaths by Y&R South Africa/Velocity Films. This one is from my agency, but I wanted to reward the filmmaking craft of Keith Rose. I had never worked with him before and let us just say it was an “intense” experience. He brings so much passion to the project and he commits it all to the film. I have never worked with anyone who understands how to manipulate black and white footage in the way he does. It is part alchemy, part mad obsession. It was a true spectacle to see him in action on this campaign.
Nir Refuah, GM at MRM Worldwide Romania has selected the following work:
1. City Lodge Hotels ‘The Safe Side of 1 Star’ by TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg
2. Nivea ‘Sun Slide’ by FCB Cape Town
3. Operation Smile South Africa ‘Operation 45’ by Y&R South Africa
4. Clover Milk ‘Drought Packaging’ by Joe Public
To view all the work entered by South African ad agencies, click here.
