The Loeries is a coming together of the industry collective. With over 619 brands represented by over 200 agencies from 18 countries across Africa and the Middle East, the creative showcase represents some of the best work in the region.
Having walked away with several awards at this year’s event, Luca Gallarelli, Chief Executive Officer at TBWA\SA, and Nathan Reddy, Chairman and Founder of Grid Worldwide, have commended the industry on the audaciousness of this year’s creative thinking, while challenging agencies to be braver.
“The level of work at this year’s Loeries was incredible,” says Nathan Reddy. “Awards were handed to worthy winners, many of whom showed a real gumption for problem-solving. That said, South Africa is begging for companies and brands to be doing more. Loeries shouldn’t be an end result – it should be a pulse check on whether our creative campaigns are meaningful to brands, businesses and our country at large.”
TBWA\Hunt Lascaris scooped 13 awards in total, winning four gold Loeries for the ‘Stronger’ campaign in the digital, digital crafts, and radio and audio categories. ‘Stronger’, the first Artificial Intelligence song to be released in Africa, is a collaboration between TBWA\Hunt Lascaris, Sony Music Africa and the Riky Rick Foundation and aims to raise awareness around mental health after the singer tragically ended his life in 2022.
Other awards received by TBWA\Hunt Lascaris include two silver Loeries: one for film and music video for ‘Stronger’ and the other for City Lodge’s ‘Holiday after the Holiday’ radio and audio campaign. TBWA\Hunt Lascaris also received two bronze awards and five craft certificates for other ad campaigns.
Luca Gallarelli lauded the bravery of their clients, who have been willing to push boundaries to achieve the right results. “The client and agency relationship needs to be symbiotic,” stated Gallarelli. “As soon as we stand still, we’re dead as an agency. The best partnerships are those in which both the client and the agency have an appetite for risk. If you’re willing to jump off the cliff with us, we can get it right.”
A special mention should be made of Scanad Kenya and Zeva Fashion’s ‘Stain Not Shame’ campaign. It won a gold in the PR category and consists of a limited collection of beautifully crafted dresses using blood-red designs placed boldly to challenge people to look at period stains differently. It’s a piece of purpose-driven work that really deserves recognition.
Grid Worldwide received a gold and three bronze awards for its sustainable packaging design on Inverroche Bee&Bee. Designed to transform fully functional packaging into an environmentally conscious bee hotel for solitary bees, this innovative creative collaboration has won worldwide acclaim and over ten international and local awards for its sustainability efforts and design-led thinking.
“A moment of magic created a big idea, which, in turn, has spurred on additional environmental sustainability efforts between our agency and client,” muses Nathan Reddy. Inverroche billboards are now made from recycled materials, and Pernod Ricard Global will be using Bee&Bee as a benchmark for sustainable and conscious packaging across their global portfolio. “We can’t only solve problems from a pre-meditated advertising world” says Reddy. “We need to be brave, meaningful and tackle challenges with the power of versatility.”
Other Loeries wins for Grid included a silver award for logo design for the FNB rebrand and two bronzes for mixed-media and design identity for the same campaign. Grid also won a bronze award for its graphic design posters for Zioux’s ‘Break Free’ campaign.
The inclusion of the Middle East in Loeries has sparked some debate, but Gallarelli and Reddy say it brings a global edge to the awards. “The Middle East is putting a lot of money into the creative industry,” states Reddy. “South Africa is not short of talent. We need to be acting local and thinking global if we really want to enforce meaningful change.”
“We need to take ourselves more seriously,” affirms Gallarelli. “So often agencies and brands diminish the work that we are doing, but through building brands, we are building businesses, building lives and building our future.”
In addition to creating meaningful impact for brands, Grid Worldwide worked alongside the Loeries Committee to create this year’s ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’ campaign. “The Loeries pushes agencies, clients and creatives to dig deep, put in the hours and craft their work with such skill and passion that it not only impresses their peers, but makes a difference in the world,” explains Jineil Kandasamy, Creative Director and Partner at Grid. “If we’re going to drive meaningful change, it needs to start with us.”
