Silence fell during the Cassies this year at Advertising Week. Knowing the audience, this is a feat in itself. We'd like to congratulate Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism and Target’s “Find Yourself” campaign for winning both the Grand Prix and a Gold in Sustained Success. As a guest sitting in a far corner of the Ritz-Carlton's banquet hall, our Photo Editor took advantage of the panoramic view, watching the Grand Prix video that elicited response among Toronto's toughest crowd. Media moguls, advertising executives, competing clients and neck-and-neck agency creatives nodded and sighed.
Ad Ball this year went by too quickly and seemed to end right after midnight, with many opting to attend the earlier portion of the event. With a theme of 007 Shaken and Stirred, it is true that James Bond never stays too long at parties. We can only assume that Ad Weekers were offsite for espionage or had already downloaded their required secret files. A downer? People seemed to have problems checking their coats, with an extremely long lineup that didn't seem to go anywhere. Some spent a good half an hour waiting in line, only to realize that queue cutters not only seemed to be tolerated but accepted. We can only blame the classy attributes of Ad Weekers for being so genteel, so perhaps next year, the venue should get a priority line in place.
If you missed a big portion of the week, no fear. You can always sign up with The Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA) to make up for lost networking time. Their next big event is FutureFlash, where you get to mingle with industry experts discussing theories, technologies and new opportunities in advertising.