We're just imagining the heavy heads and hearts this morning as a night of partying no doubt continues for some on Margate beachfront and ends for others as they rush to catch their flights back to their beds to recover... Here's the announcement of this years winners! The 2008 Loerie Awards Festival Weekend kicked off on 26 July with the Saturday night awards ceremony, hosted by Media24.

2008 is the 30th Anniversary of The Loerie Awards, a celebration of creative excellence in brand communication, and the industry partied hard in Margate to celebrate this landmark year.
A total of 175 Loeries were handed out at the Saturday night ceremony, two of which were Grands Prix and 15 of which were gold awards. The Saturday awards featured Communication Design; Advertising Print, Outdoor & Ambient; Experiential print media; Experiential Alternative Media & Field Marketing; Experiential Internal Marketing and Strategic CRM Programmes; Student Awards; the Marketing Leadership and Innovation Award; and the Creative Achievement Award, which was introduced this year.

The two Grand Prix winners were:
- Am I Collective, Craft Illustration, ‘Scrabble’
- Trigger Communication, Communication Design - Architecture, Interior Design & Environmental graphics, Nike, ‘Be true pop-up store’

Both Grands Prix awarded were to small specialist agencies and are a reflection of the variety and depth within the communication industry.

On Sunday evening, 27 July, statue winners in the following categories will be announced:
Integrated Campaigns; Radio, TV & Online Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Experiential Radio, TV, Digital, Non-broadcast & Live Events; Experiential Campaigns; & The Young Creatives Award.

“With the high standards adopted by the Loeries, we can ensure that our winners compete on an international scale, and it’s a great achievement for everyone who has taken a Loerie home,” says Festus Masekwameng, chairman of The Loerie Awards and creative director at McCann Erickson. “The Loeries extends our congratulations to Saturday’s winners and all their brave clients who embrace creativity. Thank you for your participation in making the Loeries 30th Anniversary year a spectacular one for the industry.”

Agency rankings
This year, The Loerie Awards have implemented the Creative Circle's Creativity Points ranking to determine the value of the medals handed out.

The Creative Circle points allocated to each award are:
Grand Prix = 600
Gold = 350
Craft Gold = 350
Silver = 100
Craft Certificate = 100 (The Craft Certificate is new in 2008 and is not officially ranked by the Creative Circle)
Bronze = 50

However, unlike the Creative Circle ranking, The Loerie Awards does not combine points from the same agency groups. All agencies are listed as they entered their work. If agencies have entered from more than one office, the offices are distinguished by the 'office' column.

With these rankings, on Saturday night Ogilvy South Africa (Johannesburg) comes out on top with 3 050 points. In joint second place are FoxP2 from Cape Town and Joe Public South Africa, from Johannesburg, each with 1 550 points. King James, from Cape Town, came in at third place with 1 100 points.

Individuals recognised
The Marketing Leadership and Innovation Award went to Mike Glendinning, Sales and Marketing Director at Volkswagen, Audi and Seat for his career-long contribution to outstanding client-agency relationships, his in-depth understanding of what it takes to develop, nurture and build iconic brands and his knack for spotting great ideas when they come his way.

Mike Schalit, Chief Creative Officer of BBDO South Africa, took home the Creative Achievement Award, a new award this year, for his record of consistent achievement over the years, having been ranked the number one creative by the Creative Circle for the last ten years in a row.

Student golds
Five student entries received gold awards. These were:

- Andrew Haycock, AFDA, TV & Cinema – Motion Graphic Design, Grumble Bumble
- Charl Edwards, Department of Visual Arts, University of Stellenbosch, Collateral Design, ‘public affair’
- Megan Barnfather, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Three Dimensional, Environmental & Package Design, ‘Wellie Shoebox’
- Magdel Smith, North West University, Publication Design, Self Promotion, ‘Who Cares’

And a Craft Gold went to:
- Alwine Nolte, Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography, Typography Craft, ‘schooldaze’

SATURDAY TOP 20 RANKING
(Note: There are 21 companies listed as the points cut-off is 150 points)

Ogilvy South Africa 3050
FOXP2 1550
Joe Public South Africa 1550
King James 1100
Net#Work BBDO 900
Am I Collective 600
Ogilvy South Africa 600
Trigger Communication 600
Lowe Bull 550
The Jupiter Drawing Room (South Africa) 450
Draftfcb 400
GAPP Architects and Urban Designers 350
The Jupiter Drawing Room (South Africa) 300
Cross Colours 250
DDB South Africa 250
TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris 250
2Buffels Melkery 200
Ireland/Davenport 200
Coley Porter Bell 150
Euro RSCG South Africa 150
Lowe Bull 150

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