AME Awards World’s Best Advertising & Marketing Effectiveness announced its 2015 Shortlist

Cristina Blanaru Creativity, Festivals & Awards

AME Awards for the World’s Best Advertising & Marketing Effectiveness announced this year’s shortlist for the 2015 competition. The AME Grand Jury members comprised of interactive and multidisciplinary marketers, planners, and creatives from all over the world, evaluated entries to select the shortlist from entries submitted from 18 countries worldwide.

International since 1994, AME Awards honors campaigns that successfully demonstrate groundbreaking solutions to challenging marketing problems.

This year the AME Awards saw technology continue to play a huge role in engaging consumers for the benefit of the brand, including video games, bio-reactive wristband technology, and 3D imaging—all in the name of creative effectiveness (…) Savvy brands continued to gain traction and relevancy with consumers by linking themselves to nonprofits and social causes to boost brand awareness and consumer interest.

Alisun Armstrong,

Executive Director AME Awards.

This year, AME launched multiple new categories to reflect emerging industry trends. The Website category, new in 2015, saw the following agencies and brands move on to the medal round:

  • Clemenger BBDO Sydney for Tourism Australia and Virgin Australia partnership;
  • A&E Television Networks on behalf of their series Bates Motel;
  • Critical Mass for Nissan.

The Technology category – launched this year – recognizes campaigns which employed new technology or innovative ways to use existing technology on behalf of the brand. Technology was used to reposition brands, recruit business partners, and increase brand affinity. Shortlisted entries are

  • TBWA Hakuhodo’s 3D on the Rocks” for Suntory Whisky;
  • Serviceplan Group’s “The Game Report” for Bytro Labs and “Soundtree” for BMW M4, M235i, X5, i3;
  • OMD ‘s “The Bioreactive Concert” for Pepsi;
  • OMD Hong Kong’s “A message from your future baby” for Wyeth Materna.

Entries employing strategic crowd-sourcing and crowd funding initiatives to achieve marketing goals achieved shortlist status:

  • “Drink Good. Do Good.” for Naked Juice by OMD;
  • “JIBO,The World’s First Family Robot” for HBO by RainFactory Inc.

Branded Entertainment took prominent brands front and center including: Audi AG, Cornetto, GE, Guitar Center, NON-STOP, The Maze Runner, Warner Brothers, and Zhonghua.

Automotive entries were in the spotlight with 8 agencies driving engagement for their brands. Shortlisted agencies include:

  • Jung von Matt/AG for Mercedes Benz;
  • Lukas Lindemann Rosinski, Mercedes Benz;
  • Serviceplan Group, BMW Motorrad;
  • thjnk ag, Audi AG;
  • Serviceplan Middle East, MINI;
  • Critical Mass, Nissan;
  • Spark44, Jaguar;
  • Team One, Lexus IS.

Shortlisted entries that contributed to the greater good by providing aid and social/civic awareness for non-profits or as brand initiatives include:

  • “Life Time Clock” for Fürs Leben – Für Organspende,  & “LEGO. Blind Art Project” for LEGO by Serviceplan Group;
  • “Illuma Eden” for Wyeth Illuma by OMD Hong Kong;
  • “How East Point City Turned Old Newspapers Into Mall Traffic” for East Point City by Saatchi & Saatchi Hong Kong;
  • “#SPCSunday” for SPC by Leo Burnett Melbourne;
  • “The Hijacked Contest” for fiftyfifty by Havas Worldwide Duesseldorf;
  • “UNICEF at The Glasgow Commonwealth Games” for The Organising Committe of the Commonwealth Games in collaboration with UNICEF by Jack Morton Worldwide;
  • “Sweeper” for United Nations Mine Action Service by Critical Mass;
  • “Aid Couture” for Ariel and Downy by Leo Burnett Manila;
  • “LOVE LIFE no regrets” for Bundesamt für Gesundheit / Swiss Federal Office of Public Health by Rod Kommunikation AG.

Experiential marketing campaigns helped gain brand awareness and provided a fast track to the medalist round. Shortlisted entries include:

  • “Mini Kiosk” for Coca-Cola 0.15L by Ogilvy Germany;
  • 2014 Experiential Recruiting” for and by Klick Health.

Celebrity-focused campaigns were in the spotlight and achieved stellar results. Shortlisted star-studded campaigns include:

  • “Falloninventions,” featuring Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon and kid scientists for GE;
  • “Give Blood. Give Power” enlisting Germany’s top footballers for the German Red;
  • “Guitar Center Sessions” featuring Artists Peter Gabriel, Weezer, Soundgarden, Snoop Dogg, Phantogram, Alanis Morissette, and Slash for Guitar Center;
  • “Zhonghua” starring Yao Chen, China’s Julia Roberts;
  • “British Villains” with Sir Ben Kinsley, Mark Strong, and Tom Hiddleston for Jaguar;
  • “Kringl Proof of Santa App” proved the existence of Santa Claus via an App on behalf of client Kringl.

Germany was in the lead this year with a total of 41 Shortlisted entries, up by 24% from last year. The United States saw 24 entries move ahead; Australia had 7 entries move on to the medal round; China and Hong Kong had 6 entries each Shortlisted; Canada and the Philippines saw 3 entries advance.  In addition, both Japan and the United Kingdom saw 2 entries achieve Shortlist status, and Malaysia, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates each had 1 entry Shortlisted. The complete shortlist of the competition is available here