AdFest release Finalist lists

Jury panels have wrapped up their judging for 11 of 14 Lotus categoriesat the AdFest 2010 Lotus Awards after three grueling days of debate andanalysis in Tokyo.

Finalists lists can now be downloadedfor the Film, Press, Poster, Outdoor, Radio, Cyber, Direct, Design, Film Craft, Print Craft andNew Director categories.

Seven JuryPresidents now remain in Tokyo to judge the remaining INNOVA, 360 andLotus Roots from 23rd – 24th July. All winners will be announced onlineon Monday.

Last night, Vinit Suraphongchai, Chairman of theADFEST Working Committee, thanked the Juries for their hard work overthe past three days. Speaking at a Thank You Party held on theglamorous 44th floor at Dentsu Inc’s headquarter, he said: “Thank youonce more for taking time off to help with the judging. I hope thestandard of the work this year is worthy of your attention. I certainlyhope that there will be future occasions when you can help ADFEST outagain, in Pattaya. Good and reputable creative people are always a muchsought after entity.

Akira Kagami, Global Executive Creative Director at Dentsu Inc, this week explained how challenging it was to relocate ADFEST’s 2010 Lotus Awards Judging to Tokyo from its original location in Pattaya, Thailand. “It was almost impossible to find enough meeting rooms at such short notice. But when I spoke to other agencies and production people in Tokyo, they were all very happy to support ADFEST. It was really wonderful to see, it was a very happy surprise for me.”

Since arriving in Tokyo on Monday 19th July, ADFEST’s 50 Jurists have enjoyed a warm welcome from Japan’s advertising industry. It is the first time so many top-tier advertising executives have gathered in Tokyo to attend a major international advertising event.

Sompat Trisadikun, Executive Creative Director at Leo Burnett & Arc Worldwide in Bangkok, believes ADFEST is unique because it strives to raise the bar for creativity in the Asia Pacific: “ADFEST is the award show for Asians. We already have Europeans judging our work at global award shows. This is our Award show, and it sets the standard for creativity in our region. All the work that wins this year will be great work from the Asia Pacific,” said Trisadikun, who was part of the Film Lotus and Radio Lotus Juries.

This year, the Jurists admitted they were tough critics to please, and warned there might be fewer Gold, Silver and Bronze Lotuses awarded compared to last year. However, they believe the quality of this year’s Lotus Awards finalists prove creative standards in Asia remain high.

“This year, we have only given away awards to the very best pieces of work. So if you win something at ADFEST this year, it will be very precious,” says Ted Lim, Jury President of Press Lotus and Poster Lotus, and Executive Creative Director and Deputy Chairman at Naga DDB Malaysia.

In the Press Lotus category, approximately 40 finalists were nominated from 406 entries, which is less than 10% of total entries. In the Outdoor Lotus category, more than 30 finalists were nominated from a total 268 entries, while in the Film Craft Lotus category, 31 finalists were nominated from a total 147 entries.

For a full breakdown of finalists, visit www.adfest.com