Russia still looks down on its newly independent junior partners in the former Soviet Union in many areas of social, cultural and business life – and advertising is no exception.
So it was nice to see Ukrainian ad agencies pick up some recognition – and some prizes – at the Ninth Moscow International Advertising Festival, held in the Russian capital on Nov. 18-20.
Despite only having one of their countrymen on the panel of jurors – Oleg Cherny from the Odessa-based radio station Radio-Feel Ltd. – Ukrainian companies won several prizes at the festival, which was organized by the Association of Advertising Agencies of Russia, the Association of Advertisers of Russia and by the Public Council on Advertising.
Ukrainian ad agency Dialla grabbed second prize for their ad 'Computer piracy in Ukraine is prosecuted by law.' Third place in the print contest went to Ukraine's Ark Thompson for two ads – 'Your leather deserves a second chance,' and 'Speed up your communications,' an ad for Golden Telecom BTS.
Kyiv-based Pronto Production made its mark in the radio contest, winning three prizes, while the Zaporizhya-based ad agency Spros earned took second place in the TV contest. Radio-Feel Ltd. won first prize in the ad-series category, as well as second prize in another category.
'There were a lot of ads that were sparkling with humor,' said Evgenia Grabezhova, chief manager of marketing at Euro Index, an organizer of international trade shows.
Several other Ukrainian entries reached final rounds in other contests. Ukrainian web designers received certificates of merit in the online contest for the web sites of Miami Blues restaurant (www.miami.torba.com) and Studio 1+1's Epicenter program (http://epicentre.1plus1.net).
Categories included television, print, radio, online and ads on packaging. The festival's jurors assessed a total of 1,195 entries from 195 different agencies. Ad agencies from 17 countries, including Argentina, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and Eastern and Central Europe participated.
With more Ukrainian jurors on the panel, ad professionals here are confident Ukraine can build on its success at the Russian show in future years.
'I hope there will be more Ukrainian jurors on the panel in the future,' Grabezhova said.
Ukrainian marketing specialists are also hoping their success at the Moscow show will help them in their efforts to organize a similar ad show in Ukraine. However, many noted that the funds necessary for such an event are hard to come by in Ukraine.
'Organizing a festival of such high quality costs a lot of money,' Grabezhova said. 'I wish Philip Morris Ukraine sponsored the Ukrainian advertising festival, following the example of its affiliate in Russia.' * * *
Hamburg, Germany-based ad agency Scholz&Friends is continuing to expand, and in September opened an office in Kyiv with a full-service team of 11 employees. Scholz&Friends Kyiv has already merged with the Ukrainian-based PR agency Light Promotion. The agency's representative offices operate in 37 cities, including Kyiv, Zaporizhya and Donetsk.
Founded in 1981 in Hamburg, Scholz&Friends has expanded into 14 countries.
Scholz&Friends' clientele in Ukraine includes Reemstma, Berlin-Chemie, Hoffman La Roche, Bittner and Oleina.
Olena Nikolayenko can be reached at [email protected]
