Festival attracts advertising's best work
By Evgenia Mussuri, Kyiv Post Staff Writer

What do deer, penguins, bear and Lenin all have in common?

These were the titles of a series of four radio ads produced by the Odessa-based Kinograf Studio that took honors in the "best radio advertising" competition at the Kyiv International Advertising Festival last month.

Ad agencies and production companies submitted their best work to be reviewed by the Festival’s juries. Advertising from Ukraine and abroad was submitted in 10 categories.

The festival was the second to be sponsored by the All-Ukrainian Ad Coalition, which conducted its first competition only about ten months ago. Due in part to the short time between the two festivals and the fact that many ad campaigns debut during the summer months, the competition attracted fewer submissions this time.

Festival director Maxim Lazebnik said that about 120 television spots were submitted for judging – fewer than during the first go-round in September. Competition in the print advertising category was keenest, with 305 entries vying for recognition.

Print ads are less expensive to produce and allow for greater creativity, Lazebnik said.

The competition allowed entrants to submit advertising from anywhere in the world so sponsors and products were not important. Festival judges were concerned only with the ad’s creativity and effect.

Lazebnik noted, though, that the top prizewinners in the TV and print categories were promoting beer, leading the festival’s sponsors to consider opening a special category for brewery ads during the 2002 competition.

The Russian-speaking jury reviewed 166 radio ads, many of which were locally made.

"There was a lot of very well-done work," Lazebnik said. "It was especially good to hear so many creative Ukrainian radio ads."

Lazebnik said he was disappointed in the advertising photography category because not many photographs were submitted.

"I cannot really say that this competition was successful," he said.

Lazebnik said that the festival organizers are considering combining the photography competition with the print advertising category.

"The line between these two is quite fine anyway," he said.

So-called alternative ads provided one of the most interesting features of the festival this year.

Ads in this category included creative proposals that ultimately didn’t sell to clients, ad parodies and other ads that just didn’t fit neatly into other categories.

"I think it is very useful to have this category at the festival," Lazebnik said. "The festival is not only about distinguishing the best work, but also has to educate. It is useful for both ad agencies and their customers to see what kinds of ad ideas were not sold."

Top prize winners included:

l Best television spot: "City," Lowe Lintas Adventa Ukraine.

l Best print ad: "Ragutis Beer," Lukrecijos Reklama (Lithuania).

l Best outdoor ad: "Beijing Rome," Bates Ukraine.

l Best radio spot: "Deer," "Penguins," "Bears," and "Lenin" (series), Kinograf Studio.

l Best Advertising Photography: "Shaman," Sergey Strelnikov.

l Best Internet ad: "MacCoffee," J.K. Design Studio.

l Best Social ad: "Use and Make Use of," Ukrainian Author’s Design Studio.

Top prizes were not awaded in three categories.

Full results of the competition are available on the festival’s Web site (adcoalition.org.ua).

Evgenia Mussuri can be reached at gen@kyivpost.com.