MPA Student Roses Awards
Despite the thinning of hair, the appearance of worry-lines and a darkening of the eyes that can only have come from working on too many pitches on too many late nights (okay, or from being in a boozer too long) creatives do seem to enjoy their jobs.
And if the horde of entries for The MPA Student Roses Creativity Awards 2005 is anything to go by, the next crop of advertising and design talent isn’t deterred by the side effects that come with having the career of a creative either.
The event, which is organised by the Marketeer Association and sponsored by the Manchester Publicity Association (MPA), aims to introduce fresh talent to agencies outside of London and remind students of the career opportunities that exist in the likes of Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham. Work was entered by students, which are on creative courses at universities and colleges across the country.
For this year’s awards, eight member agencies of the Marketeer Association set creative briefs for the students to attempt, covering a broad spectrum of disciplines and markets. Each year the winners of every brief set is offered a work placement by the respective agency, and the best three pieces of work are rewarded at the Roses Advertising Awards.
In April, this year’s entries were scrutinised by representatives from the eight agencies at The Circle Club, in Manchester. Like A River’s Rob Taylor, one of the judges for the awards, commented: “It was great to see the entries up again. The best work came from either the simplest or most open briefs. The good news is that eight students now have work placements. Result.”
So who won the gongs? Picking up bronze at the Roses ceremony, which was held at The Palace Hotel in Manchester, was Paul Nowikowski from the Birmingham Institute of Art & Design. Nowikowski produced an innovative and clever campaign in response to Citigate SMARTS’ “We Love Posters” brief.
When it came to choosing the recipients of the silver and gold accolades, the judges couldn’t separate two exceptional pieces of work. Therefore, breaking with tradition, the judges decided that both Andrew Stanger’s work and Peter Davison and Graham Buchanan’s creation were worthy of gold awards.
Stanger, who studies at the University of Northumbria, produced an imaginative and much lauded response to Love’s “Who are you looking at?” brief.
Davidson and Buchanan, also from the University of Northumbria, won their gold after tackling The Chase’s “What is Cress?” brief. The duo produced a sublime book on “What is Cress?”, which appeared to garner huge smiles and applause from all who set eyes upon it.
Once again, the awards have proved immensely successful in discovering tomorrow’s talent, providing them with an opportunity to flex their creative muscles and giving them a chance to break into the advertising and design market. If that’s not enough, the Marketeer Association agencies involved were able to show students throughout the UK that there truly is a thriving and exciting market outside of London.