NZ ad win is ‘bigger than Oscar’

June 22, 2010
NZ ad win is ‘bigger than Oscar’

Orcon’s Iggy Pop campaign by independent agency Special Group has won the highest accolade at the world’s most prestigious advertising awards.

It is believed it is only the fifth time a New Zealand business has won a Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in France.

The Grand Prix is the supreme award, chosen from all the entries that have won Gold Lions across 12 categories. Orcon’s Iggy Pop campaign won its Lion in the direct advertising category, beating out a record 1,500 entries.

Titled Together Incredible, the campaign featured Iggy Pop auditioning New Zealand musicians to record his iconic song The Passenger – with all the activities played out over the internet using Orcon’s broadband services.
Orcon CEO Scott Bartlett says the Grand Prix is the icing on the creative cake both for the company and for Special Group.

“In the advertising world, this is bigger than a film Oscar. A lot of people worked very hard to make the Together Incredible campaign work so well so we are very proud,” Mr Bartlett says.

“The Kiwi musicians chosen for the campaign can also take a bow – their professionalism and enthusiasm was certainly catching and made for an excellent campaign.

Special Group Managing Partner Michael Redwood says “We are completely blown away. It’s fantastic recognition for a fantastic client.”

The Cannes jury members called Orcon+Iggy one of the best uses of celebrity they had ever seen. They also deemed it a “fantastic product demonstration” that showed the public the reliability and strength of the internet service in real time.

The award is making headlines in the global advertising market. According to news reports from Cannes, it is the first time in 57 years of the awards’ history that an ad that repeatedly dropped the “F” word has won the top prize.
According to Spain’s Pablo Alzugaray, who headed the 30-person jury, the ad was a clear winner and “the Kiwis can be very proud”.

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