The Roses Advertising Awards
The 25th Anniversary of the Roses Advertising Awards was held at the start of last month, at the Palace Hotel in Manchester, with agencies from England and Scotland attempting to solve that age-old question – which area of the country produces the best and most creative work?
The answer this year was emphatic: Manchester.
The advertising creative crown this year went to an agency that is esteemed for its creative clout.
CheethamBellJWT has long been known for its creativity and picking up the Grand Prix on the night consolidated this claim.
The agency on the night consolidated its reputation by winning two gold awards, including the much-coveted Grand Prix and a silver for client Fabric Warehouse, and picking up a further three golds and a silver for the X-rated Scruffs Workwear.
The jury applauded CheethamBellJWT this year for the creativity of the work produced for Fabric Warehouse. The ads, the judges believed, worked because of their simplicity of thinking, and in the execution of the work.
Meanwhile the Scruffs Workwear film, advertising outdoor workwear apparel, proved to be a firm favourite with not only the judges but also the audience on the night. The porn inspired DVD – which won gold in the Best Consumer Direct Mail, Best Viral and Best Online Advertisement or Campaign categories – put in an impressive display.
Other winners from South of the Border on the night included Mancunian rivals BJL which picked up the Ray Sale Chairman’s Award for its Old Fart campaign for radio station The Arrow. The campaign also picked up a silver for the Chris Bowen Award for Copywriting.
Commenting on the standard of work that was entered into the competition this year, the Roses Advertising Awards chairman, Chris O’Shea of How Communications, said: “I’ve got a real soft spot for the Roses. Being a judge is a bit like a little holiday for me. You see work that, in most cases, is completely new to you. And, better still, it’s been done by people you don’t know. So all the preconceptions and politics that are brought into the jury rooms of London-based awards are joyously absent.
“With the Roses, you simply look at the work and vote for what you like. This year, as ever, there was loads of rubbish, quite a lot of good stuff, and a few brilliant pieces. There was much debate and a few arguments, but I think all the jury members surfaced from The Palace Hotel basement believing justice had been done. And next morning there was the added bonus of judging the past Roses winners.
“The ones we chose still seemed brilliant; and I suspect quite a few Southern softies would have given their Soho House membership cards to have done them.”
Other winners on the night included McCann Erickson Manchester - picking up two golds and 2 silvers for its humorous Whopper campaigns for Durex condoms. True North, who so successfully picked up a grand slam at last year’s Roses Advertising and Design Awards, had a more subdued time this year picking up a gold for its inspired and effective work for the Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative ambient campaign.
Meanwhile Love Creative picked up a gold for its humorous self-promotion book entitled Office Christmas Party Guideline, and a further bronze award in the Best Viral category.
Other agencies picking up golds on the night included Clear Marketing which picked up a gong in the Best Charity ad category for client Ash; meanwhile, Leeds-based Poulter Group were Gold award winners for client Meadow Hall in the Mobile Medium Category. Liverpool-based Acme Art won a gold for its P-ornithology.com website in the Best Website category.
So, on the night English agencies held their heads up high against agencies from North of the Border, and with a record 1,000 plus entries it would appear that the agency scene is going from strength to strength, and long may that continue. Here’s to the next 25 years.
www.adline-online.co.uk/public/events/roses_results.php
To view all the winning work from the night please go to