Award Show Bedlam, Canuck Edition! Strategy & ICE Awards

It certainly was a big award week in The Great White North. Last night in Toronto, Strategy Magazine held theit 20th annual Agency of the Year Competition, an event they celebrated by creating a snazzy augmented reality magazine cover created by Toronto digital shop Secret Location.

In some nice juicy press release language, Strategy’s Executive Editor Mary Maddever says “The work agencies are doing now is light years away from the TV/print/radiocentric campaigns we saw two decades ago. Beyond the leap to digital and 2009’s ongoing love affair with social media, the best brands now treat everything as a possible medium, and use the power of persuasion to affect perspective both more subtly, and more strategically. The Agency of the Year work doesn’t just mirror pop culture, it gets out in front with a whistle.”

So who brought home the coveted Gold Agency of the Year Award? Let’s give a rousing round of applause to DDB Canada‘s Vancouver office, whose work for the BC Dairy Foundation among other clients was well received. Silver went to DDB’s crosstown friendly rivals Rethink, with Bronze being awarded to zig in Toronto.

––––––––––––––––––––

Meanwhile over in Halifax, Atlantic Canada celebrated the 2009 ICE Awards, the big award show for ad agencies east of Quebec. ICE, which stands for Innovation-Creativity-Enterprise, was judged by top ad people from outside the region, and the jury was headed by Angus Tucker, Co-Creative Director of john st in Toronto. Says Angus in his best press release voice: “I’m proud of the winning work in ICE 2009. I really like the range. There are so many ways to sell, and it’s all in this show. There’s smart stuff, gorgeous stuff, funny stuff, and weird stuff. But it all makes you think. It all refuses to sound like an ad. Which is exactly why it stands out and gets remembered. And that of course, is what we are all paid to do.”

Ruling the roost this year was St. John’s Target, who brought home 29 ICE Buckets, including Best in Show for work it created for the Canadian Sea Turtle Network, a cause dedicated to protecting Leatherback Turtles, as well as eight Gold, and six Craft awards.

Hey wait a second… Target is in St. John’s, and the jury prez works at John St… I smell a fix here, people!

Nah, just kidding. Congrats Target!