NEW YORK — Winners of the 2014 Caples Awards were tasked to be creative, bold and results-oriented.
But to be direct often means to be courageous. What takes more courage, after all, for a household-products brand than to confront a woman in a public restroom with four bare-chested studs, singing and swinging sledgehammers and fire hoses? Henkel and its agency, Shackleton Madrid, disappointed some of those women when all the boys handed them was some free toilet-bowl cleaner. Nevertheless, Henkel and its "Flush to Paradise" campaign (which became a YouTube sensation) wasn't disappointed when it won the 2014 Courageous Client Award during the Caples presentations here this week.
For more than 35 years Caples have honored the best in direct marketing worldwide. Named for legendary copywriter John Caples, and sponsored this year by ASL Marketing, Dollar Photo Club, and Campaign U.S., the awards celebrate the boldest and most creative solutions to marketing problems around the globe. Caples is produced by Direct Marketing News.
"Caples," said OgilvyOne Worldwide CEO Brian Fetherstonhaugh, "was a results-oriented creative guy who influenced another guy named David Ogilvy." Fetherstonhaugh received the 2014 Andi Emerson Award (named for the awards competition's founder) for his many contributions to the direct marketing creative community, both at Ogilvy and previously at Procter & Gamble Canada.
Honored with the 2014 Irving Wunderman Award was David Lubars, chairman and chief creative officer of BBDO Worldwide. In presenting the trophy, Direct Marketing News Editor-in-Chief Ginger Conlon lauded Lubars for the indelible mark he has made on the advertising industry on behalf of clients including Bud Light, GE, Snickers and Visa. "John Caples retired from BBDO in 1982 at age 82, and I am proud to be part of that tradition," Lubars said.
The 2014 Best in Show award went to the Luxottica Group, the world's largest eyecare company with eyewear brands like Oakley and Ray-Ban and retail chains including LensCrafters, Pearle Visio, and OPSM. It was OPSM that snagged the Caples for its "Penny the Pirate" campaign that let parents conduct in-home vision testing with children's books and mobile apps.
Besides Luxottica and Henkel, Caples Gold Award winners included
- ANZ Bank and TBWA Group Melbourne for "GAYTMs"
- Champs Sports and BBDO New York for "Hard Hinting Banner Campaign"
- New Zealand Transport Agency and Clemenger BBDO and for "Mistakes"
- Heineken New Zealand and Colenso BBDO for "The Great Monteith's Meatpack Hunt"
- Nivea Brasil and FCB Brasil for "Protection Ad"
- Audi Spain and Proximity Barcelona for "Audi Toy Service"
- The Communications Agencies Association of New Zealand and Clemenger BBDO for "Share the Love"
- JC Decaux and BBDO Belgium for "JC Decaux Street View Unpaid Bills"
- Foxtel and CHE Proximity for "Alert Shirt"
- Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society of New Zealand and Ogilvy & Mather for "Make a Difference"
- Anheuser-Busch and BBDO New York for Bud Light's "Whatever Happens"
- DELA and Ogilvy & Mather Amsterdam for "Beautiful Ending"
This article first appeared on dmnews.com.