First Middle East agency distinguished at industry's most prestigious global competition
Dubai, UAE - In another sign that advertising creativity in the Middle East is achieving levels of global excellence, Tonic Communications has been named a finalist at the 2006 D&AD Global Awards in London. The competition is the most prestigious and globally respected in the advertising and design industry.
This is the first time an agency from the Middle East has been so recognized and comes for a print execution Tonic developed for Sony Micro Vault. The selection comes on the heels of another first for the region. Tonic work will also be included in the world-famous Gunn Report, an annual of what is considered the finest global creative product over the past year.
"There is a lot of negativity about the state of creativity in the Middle East. However, this recognition shows that great work is being done here with the support of clients who recognize the link between creativity and business results," said Vincent Raffray, creative director, Tonic. "As well, the environment is increasingly fertile and competitive."
The print campaign shows a Sony Micro Vault, a large-capacity USB storage drive, with the body of the drive replaced, in different executions, by a row of encyclopaedias, file folders, photo albums, or CDs. This same campaign earned Tonic finalist status at the One Show in New York, the second year in a row that the agency has been so recognized by this important international advertising award show.
Ryusuke Fukushima, assistant manager, Sony Gulf , said, "While we are pleased this print campaign for the Micro Vault has been recognized, we weren't so surprised since our sales figures told us this was a winning ad."
Tonic Managing Partner Arnaud Verchre said, "Although we are first to be named a D&AD finalist, we are sure that given the way that marketers, the industry and the media are evolving in the Middle East, there will be many regional agencies to follow,"
By being named a finalist, Tonic will receive the title 'Member', a designation reserved only for agencies that are finalists and winners and therefore featured in the prestigious D&AD Annual.
Founded in 1962, D&AD is a UK-based charity whose mission is to champion excellence in creativity globally. The association runs awards schemes, education programs and works with the business community to ensure that creativity is high on their agenda.
In 2005 Tonic was the first agency in the region to win gold at the Cannes Lions and at the One Show in New York.
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About the D&AD Awards
The D&AD Awards, familiarly known as the 'Yellow Pencils', are the most internationally respected and prestigious creative awards for the design and advertising industry. The Awards span 30 different categories, encompassing all aspects of creative communications from writing and art direction to architecture, graphic design, music videos and photography. They annually attract more than 23,000 entries from internationally leading agencies and design groups, clients, in-house studios, architectural practices, as well as film and post-production companies from more than 58 countries. All the winners, plus a wider body of the year's best work, are showcased in the D&AD Annual & Showreel.
About Tonic Communications Group of Companies:
The Tonic Communications Group of Companies consists of a group of marketing communication organizations whose fresh strategic approach and innovative solutions are turning the industry on its head. Tonic Communications is the agency that recently won golden advertising awards at both the Cannes Lions, which has a 52 year history, and the One Show in New York, which has a 30 year history. It also has been included in the world-famous Gunn Report. The agency is the first in the Middle East to ever win these awards or receive Gunn recognition. Tonic also earned two gold awards at the inaugural Campaign Awards. The Tonic Group of Companies consists of: Tonic Communications, Tonic Design, Tonic Research, Tonic Media and Tonic PR.
Contact:
Ward Pincus
Tonic PR
+971 (0)50 764 7319
ward@tonicdubai.com
© Press Release 2006
