ADFEST sets the bar extremely high when it comes to awarding “metal”, so if you won a trophy last night, well done! We asked this year’s Jury Presidents to reflect on this year’s winners.

 
INTERACTIVE & MOBILE LOTUS
 
"Interactive is moving beyond advertising to provide useful experiences and services. This year, we judged educational tools for children, DNA glassware, and a lot of brand experiences that are not just about selling product,” says Yasuharu Sasaki, Head of Digital Creative & Executive Creative Director of Dentsu Inc., Tokyo.

 
“We awarded the Grande Lotus to “Kibo Science 360”, a VR experience that gives kids the experience of being on a space station. This idea is futuristic, inspirational and adaptable – it may even inspire some children to become scientists or astronauts.”

 
PRINT CRAFT & DESIGN LOTUS
 
“If we are talking about pushing boundaries in Print, we didn’t see much growth in that area. The craft was there, but as with everything dealing with art, it’s very subjective – everyone on the jury had their own favorites, says Pann Lim, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Kinetic, Singapore.

 
“What I would like to highlight is the diversity of the panel, and the diversity of the work we saw, which gave our discussions great breadth. Print will never be dead, and this year’s winners show there will always be room to express our ideas on paper.”

 
The jury unanimously honoured ‘The Unusual Football Field’ in Design. “It not only pushes the boundaries of creativity but signals that a good idea can change society in a positive way. This project is not only creative but creates spaces for the community to play together. It’s very fresh, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

 
Lim felt there were too many case films entered in Design this year – so many that “on the first day, I nearly vomited!”
 

“Some of these case films are totally unnecessary, if you don’t get the idea from seeing the design itself, you’ve failed,” says Lim.

 
DIRECT & PROMO LOTUS
 
“We were the hardest working jury because we watched 12 hours of video, and also the kindest – 22% of the shortlist are finalists. This is not because we are kind, but because the entries were very good,” says Woon Hoh, Chief Creative Officer for Hakuhodo Asia Pacific, Bangkok.

 
“I think the quality of this year’s entries is a lot higher compared to previous years. We agreed ‘Touchable Ink’ is especially exciting because it makes printing braille affordable.”

 
“The Grande Lotus winner in Promo used one of the oldest mediums in the industry and revived it in a most interesting way. Nescafe managed to get the audience to actively participate in the radio program at 5am, a “dead hour” of the day, to persuade young people to switch from tea to coffee.”

 
PRESS & OUTDOOR LOTUS
 
“Press is still the most fun to judge and the most controversial – we all started out making press campaigns, and there is a lot of pressure on the category: is it moving forward? I’m very happy with the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners,” says Fadi Yaish, Regional Executive Creative Director of Impact BBDO, Dubai.

 
The Press jury wasn’t just looking for impressive art direction but also ideas that actually work for the product or brand.

 
“In Outdoor, all the Gold winners were equally epic, but we loved the scale of Giga Selfie – it’s such a simple, sustainable idea and it raises the bar for the category.”