SABC Audience Services shine at the Loeries

SABC Audience Services brought in a gold Loerie in the Television & Cinema Category for "Education English"; a silver Loerie for "Education Maths"; a silver Loerie went to TBWA Hunt Lascaris for the SABC Audience Services Overall Campaign; and SABC Audience Services' campaigns called "Siphiwe, Maria and John", were awarded a bronze Loerie in the category "Animation." The fifth Loerie (bronze) went to TBWA Hunt Lascaris/SABC Audience Services in the category "writing".

Says Mike Rubenstein, Marketing Manager of SABC Audience Services: "We are extremely pleased and honoured by the recognition bestowed upon us by the Loerie judging committee. This is the first time that the SABC Audience Services division has received Loerie recognition for the TV License brand. We entered two campaigns, both of which received awards. The first campaign called 'Highlights' was a series of television commercials designed to show viewers how different television would be without the payment of TV license fees. The commercial made extensive use of humour to bring across the message. The campaign was produced based on a simple concept, using simple executions and with a small budget. I believe we received these awards because the judges recognized how the commercial captured the hearts and minds of consumers through the portrayal of distinctly South African themes in such a way that they were instantly recognizable by the viewing public."

"The essence of the second campaign was to engage the public on how appeals on Public Broadcasting platforms are made possible through the payment of license fees. The mechanism used in this campaign combined strong visuals with animation, whilst bringing across a heartwarming message about social upliftment."

Explained Rubenstein: "The most important element in devising a brief is ensuring that there is synergy between client and agency. The brief must have a simple idea; it also should be articulate with clearly defined objectives and desired outcome. I believe these campaigns were successful as not only did we follow this strategy, but I encouraged the agency to think outside the box and to stretch creative boundaries."

Television advertising (and animation as such) for various SABC Radio Stations saw Bite Visual, Masters & Savant, Net#Work BBDO and TBWA Hunt Lascaris bring home the rare birds for: Metro fm's television commercials "House Party, Route" - a silver Loerie (Masters & Savant); Animation done by Bite Visual for Metro fm's "bertha" and "dj vusi" commercials saw a silver Loerie come their way. Net#work BBDO was awarded a bronze Loerie for animation done on the RSG commercials "Spitbraai" and "Sheepzilla".

Good Hope FM's "Waterbabies" got recognition in the categories "Art Direction" (silver Loerie) and "Cinematography" (bronze Loerie) - all rewarded work was done by Egg Films. Says Station Manager Helen Graham: "We are very proud that Good Hope FM's first brand commercial has received such positive acclaim at the Loeries. The commercial reflects Good Hope FM's positioning as a sexy, stylish, music-driven brand - it's "tongue-in cheek" style has generated a lot of interest in Good Hope FM, which we believe has contributed to our recent audience increases."