PARIS -- Skoda, Honda, BMW, Volvo and Fiat collected gold awards at a ceremony here to recognize the best in automotive advertising.
Automotive News Europe honored the best print, multimedia and television advertising in the second annual advertising awards.
The agencies behind the work included several big name agencies such as BETC Euro RSCG, Leo Burnett, J. Walter Thompson and DDB Group, but also less familiar specialists such as Jung von Matt/Alster Werbeagentur in Hamburg and Cayenne Communications in Prague.
The awards were presented by Automotive News Europe Editor Arjen Bongard and the chairman of this year's panel of judges, automotive marketing expert Juan Jose Diaz Ruiz.
At the awards ceremony before the Paris auto show, Bongard told carmaker and ad agency representatives that the nine-member jury had been struck by the innovation and originality among the 300 entries.
"It may be a business that revolves around cars and mostly men, but in advertising the angles vary from fish and toys to pets and horses. The best in the field are absolutely outstanding and we're proud to honor them," he said.
Top honors went to campaigns that stood out as much for humor as for originality and effectiveness.
The panel gave the gold award for International TV to Skoda and Cayenne Communications. Their "Hard Test" commercial shows a man thrashing about inside an Octavia, then reveals he was testing the car's resilience against his active young children.
The National TV category was won by "Cog," a commercial where the camera follows the domino-effect movement of a series of car parts that finally gently nudges a Honda Accord.
BMW's "Horse Power" ad for the X5 SUV won gold in the print category for the power of its imagery, while multimedia honors went to Volvo for its mock-documentary "Mystery of Dalarö" campaign.
Fiat Auto and Leo Burnett London won the gold in the Outdoor category. Their simple, fun "A New Breed of Panda" campaign put the black-and-white markings of a panda on other animals to show the car's versatility.
