TITANIUM PANDEMONIUM: JAPANESE BARCODE WORK BEEN CRACKED BEFORE… BY THE GERMANS!
July 2 2006, 1:38 am | | 30 Comments
Mmmm… That Japanese Cannes Titanium winning barcode idea has already been done by the Germans:
http://www.pfadfinderei.com/site/print/print12.html
Apparently pfadfinderei in berlin have been doing that barcode stuff for several years. Which ponders the questions: Will Cannes disqualify the Japanese entrant and give Boony a Titanium?
30 Comments
Yeah it’s a complete joke. I mean – how many times have you seen barcodes done as graphic design. You only have to open a graphic design book to see these things done all the time. Wow, there’s a barcode that looks like grass or wow prison bars. Big deal. Ad agencies are so stuck in the past. They only had to ask a designer.And anyway we’ve been asking ourselves why there isn’t a graphic design section in Cannes anyway? Seems there’s every other category.
Booney would have had to be a finalist to win. I reckon if they do anything, they’ll just take away the one they awarded and not give one out. Whoops.The other two finalists were Droga’s stunt and that Monopoly live thing.
oh for god’s sake. stop it already. time to get back to work.
they fucking better!
That’s pretty scandalous. According to Lubars on the night, the reason for awarding Barcode over anything else was its absolute originality. This is as controversial as the Italians being awarded a penalty in the last 10 seconds.
Boony should have won anyway. 100% original & brilliant.
there’s no graphic design section cause its fucking advertising you twat
Not quite 100% original, ‘cos the interactive little doll thingy had already been done in the States (where the technology came from) but still brilliant anyway.think the guys would be happy with their gold lion, gold one show, etc anyway.
From AdCritic.com:”The Titanium winner, from Tokyo-based Design Barcode Inc. was the unanimous favorite among the nine-person jury. David Lubars, jury chair and chairman, chief creative officer of BBDO North America said the winner “transcended an ad or a piece of design; it’s something that will lift the world. They’ve taken something that we see everyday that is a depressing symbol and turned it into a new media channel.” The entry brings an engaging design twist to the Universal Product Code, turning the traditionally rectangular and linear barcode symbol into an image that reflects the nature of the product it represents. Design Barcode has created the codes for a number of brands in Japan. For the weight loss company Jenny Craig, for example, the barcode becomes the waistband of a person’s pants; a code for the Hiroshima Museum takes the shape of a mushroom cloud.The selection was a declaration of the jury’s philosophy concerning the Titanium award itself—that the prize should be for the biggest, newest idea, not necessarily for an integrated campaign. Lubars said the selection was intended “to return the award to its original charter, which is to award something we have never seen before.”The Titanium Lion was created by Dan Wieden in 2003 to recognize work that broke through traditional awards category boundaries and represented creative innovation. Lubars noted that as of last year, the prize had become a citation for integrated campaigns. “As good as the integrated campaigns were this year, that’s the state of the art now, it’s not a new thing” said Lubars.Lubars cited the LynxJet, Axe Gamekillers and Burger King campaigns as those that stood out among the integrated entries but he also said that many of the campaigns entered “drafted off of what was done last year.” Lubars also noted that more than half of the 202 titanium entries were not integrated campaigns.Design Barcode proved a controversial choice for many in attendance at the Saturday morning Titanium press conference, some voicing concern about the fluid definition of the Titanium award and the lack of recognition for integrated advertising campaigns. Lubars said the jury has recommended to festival head Terry Savage that the Cannes festival launch a separate category for integrated work.But for the jury, Design Barcode emerged early on as the clear winner. “There was amazing clarity on this jury,” said juror Chuck Porter, chairman of Crispin Porter + Bogusky. “It was a no brainer.””Our industry has banged on about ideas being important and about intellectual property issues for some time,” said juror Craig Davis, worldwide creative director of JWT. “This idea is trademarked, it’s proprietary, it speaks to many of the issues we’ve been talking about.” Scott Goodson, creative director at Strawberry Frog said the winner represented “an agency owning something that brands around the world will pay for.”In acknowledging an idea like Design Barcode, says Lubars, the jury was “walking it like we talk it.”Seems like a load of BS to me. No mention of Boony at all, move on.And on the Grand Prix TV:Guinness claimed its prize only after passionate debate among the 21 jurors over the spot and two strong frontrunners:Carlton Draught’s “Big Ad” the self-referential extravaganza from George Patterson Y&R, Melbourne and directed by Paul Middleditch, featuring a horde of robed singers who converge en masse to become from birds-eye view, a giant animated beer drinker; and Sony’s “Balls” out of Fallon/London and directed by MJZ’s Nicolai Fuglsig, an extended-length spot for the Bravia television set that artfully captures in-camera a quarter million multi-color bouncy balls that let loose through the streets of San Francisco.Tough Decision”When you have three strong contenders from very different styles, it makes for very interesting debate,” Droga said. “We did a lot of discussion, probably too much. There was a lot of passion for Sony ‘Balls’ and there was a lot of heart for Carlton ‘Big Ad.’ You could justify why any of the three could have been the Grand Prix, such was the feeling in the room. We were spoiled for choice and I think that makes for a good year when you have more than one option.” According to Droga, the jury ultimately was forced to narrow down the vote to two spots, with Carlton emerging as the runner-up. As for what pushed the British brew ad over the Aussie one, “In general, we thought the Guinness ad was stronger in concept,” noted juror Tony Hidalgo of Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, Mexico.Ya win some, ya just miss out on some.
1:38AM, I believe there is a design category at Cannes from next year.Surely the judges wouldn’t have awarded a titanium to a design piece simply to encourage entries for next year though?
hasn’t everything been done before anyway?how many times have you had to scrap an idea cos some bugger in argentina did it 10 years ago?
My son made a great coffee table in woodwork at school. Might enter it next year. It’s awesome and will change the world.
ok ben we’ve heard plenty from you. good for the foster’s marketing dept. now MOVE ON
LynchyI know this is a little off track but, seeing as Cyber Lions don’t count for creative rankings will Promo or Media Lions count? And if they do, why?
Yes, I mean we german guys are not the only one.Its kind of a battle inside the music scene for years …Respect to all who´ve done it before this ad agency ….
TO 7:48 If it’s all about “advertising” then why the hell did they award a titanium to a piece of design – YOU TWAT.
This titanium thing is a load of bollocks – crap judging decisions like this will only deminish the cred of Cannes.Who was on the jury anyway? – it’s their fault this garbage got in. Like Lynchy said they only had to google the damn thing to realise it’s a dusty old crap idea.
aussie bullshit. so you want to give an award to a crappy give away plastic toy that doesn’t work properly. only a few tvs can work with the sonic ping. the guys in the “below the line” departments of agencies have been doing this shit for years. and now that some dickhead in “above the line” realises he can win an award, he decides to get involved with direct marketing. It’s a fucking plastic doll. What makes it any better than a manipulated barcode? Nothing. Apart from that didn’t come from Australia. boohoo, wankers
Why are cyber lions not part of creative rankings?
not the first time or the last that something has won at cannes that’s been done. move on
gee, an advertising agency who stole all their ideas. How unusual.How ’bout disqualifying the judges for fraud- proclaiming to be authorities on subjects they are obviously not informed about. whoops, there goes the industry.
Cannes: rigged.World cup: rigged.Why does the rest of the world hate us so?
Because Cyber Lions are for tossers who spend too long in dark rooms. And why the hell are they called ‘Cyber’. Are we still in the 80’s? There shouldn’t be any cyber lions – it should be about integrated advertising. BTW I agree the barcodes are garbage. It’s a reflection of the judges and how out of touch and past their use by date they are.
interesting point made to me today. look at the grand prix in press and titanium – clear and simple. a moment of clear breathing space in the clutter of an award show. a simple idea the judges didn’t need to ponder. a moment of rest in a way. aah, that’s better and then back into the head fuck of other stuff.
With a comment like that it looks like you’ve been spending too much time in the dark.With your theory why wouldn’t every award be under integrated advertising then?
Cannes: rigged.World cup: rigged.Why does the rest of the world hate us so?5:31 PM It’s the man. Trying to keep the little Aussie battler down. Fuck the man I say.
Quick note,Lynchy, thanks for all the fuckin hard work on getting Aussies and Kiwis on the juries. It’s no surprise that it’s been a good year for us when we finally had someone on the jury to say “Yep that shit ran it and was liked in the country” I feel pretty confident that a Jury in the US or France way probably scratching their head at things like Boony to start with.Tops. Keep it up. This is what the press is for. Proactive work for the industry, not just reporting big brother bullshit.
from my personal observation and comments made on this and other advertising sites – it’s pretty clear that the titanium jury has failed miserably with it’s decision this year.You cannot award a tired piece of design a titanium lion and expect the global advertising community to sit by and accept it as a fair and honest decision.Australians are known for bashing their own but in all honesty we should stand proud as a nation knowing that we had work that should have had a go in this category. Work that kicks ass. It’s not about being in London or New York anymore – we should once and for all be proud of the work coming out of Australia because it is kicking ass more and more. Go Aussie.
“Because Cyber Lions are for tossers who spend too long in dark rooms.”Who’s living in the 80’s?”There shouldn’t be any cyber lions – it should be about integrated advertising.”Good one numbnuts. So should get rid of film, press and print as well?
They should get rid of the judges that chose barcodes to win titanium. The entire creative community thinks they are fuckwits. They should be banned from judging cannes for life. Lynchy should judge next year – he has far better judgement.