The advertising world celebrated late and loud at an awards ceremony in Spirit on Middle Abbey Street this week. The annual Outdoor Advertising Awards in 11 different categories with over 1,000 entries this year from Irish and Northern Ireland companies recognises the creative teams responsible for the best advertising campaigns on billboards, buses and trains.
The Grand Prix went to the designers of the Heineken Green Energy award, Lowe Worldwide. It was accepted by Shane Hoyne, of Heineken. The Campaign Effectiveness award went to Dave Harland, of Initiative Media, for the Guinness Hurling campaign.
The Best Outdoor campaign was shared by Lowe Worldwide for the Heineken Green Energy campaign and McCann Erickson - presented to Keith Doyle and Jonathan Stanistreet - for its Coca-Cola series.
Guests included Clare Corbet, of Clear Channel; Michael Cullen, editor of the monthly Maketing magazine, Niamh Cleary, of JCDecaux, which is the largest contractor of billboard space in the country; Greg Jones, of McConnells; Gavin O'Donovan, who is off to Kilkee Castle in Co Carlow this weekend for the wedding of his sister, Fiona O'Donovan, who recently returned from working in New York at television channel HBO, Peter McPartlin, of Irish International OMD and Brian Hayes, of Young Adverstising.
"It's such a public medium, it's very unforgiving," said one judge Steve Henry, of HHCL. But, he said advertisers love this medium, because "it's very informal, and it's in your face".