VMLY&R South Africa took home eight Loerie Awards, including two Craft Golds, a Campaign Silver, a Silver, three Bronze awards and a craft certificate across multiple categories.
The brands that won were Cancer Dojo, Nando’s and Edgars, which placed VMLY&R in the top six South African agencies for a number of awards won at Loeries 2019.
‘The winning work is all a great example of what we call Work That Lives In People’s Lives,’ said VMLY&R South Africa CCO, Ryan McManus. The recently rebranded agency knows that consumers care less and less every day about advertising that is irrelevant and interruptive, which is why it creates campaigns that really engage with the customer in a culturally relevant manner.
The ‘Don’t tell me what to do’ campaign created for Edgars reconnected the 90-year old department store to culture and shifted it from pedestrian to dynamic, making it impossible to ignore. It achieved a 533% increase in positive brand sentiment and contributed to the iconic brand shifting back to profitability after a decade of decline.
Billboards that merged tech and social commentary for Nando’s entertained motorists with live, up-to-the-minute information while promoting the brand’s newly released online ordering app, taking the flavour of Nando’s social commentary to a completely new medium.
Work that has real purpose is the Mandala Project for Cancer Dojo, supporting and helping cancer patients to play a positive role in their treatment. Merging the ancient Buddhist practice of sand mandalas and the science of Psychoneuroimmunology, a series of interactive posters were designed that enabled patients to interact positively with parts of their body affected by cancer, letting them play a role in their own healing.
‘We are very proud to be able to make this work and even more thrilled to have it recognised on the Loeries stage,’ said McManus. ‘A huge thank you to our clients for believing in these projects and being brave enough to realise them. And of course, to all the amazing partners that worked tirelessly with us to bring them to life.’
VMLY&R’s strategic focus is to craft and create work that is not only entertaining and engaging, but also delivers results for clients.
VMLY&R South Africa’s winning work can be viewed as follows:
| Category | Prize | Brand | Title | View |
| OOH Crafts – Illustration | Craft Gold | Cancer Dojo | Cancer Mandala | bit.ly/2nqcqdq |
| Film Crafts – Original Music & Sound Design | Craft Gold | Edgars | Don’t Tell Me What To Do | bit.ly/2PdtywU Note: this is the full 3 minute film |
| OOH – Outdoor Media | Campaign Silver | Nando’s | Live Tactical Billboards | bit.ly/320oWf0 |
| Digital – Social Media | Silver | Edgars | Don’t Tell Me What To Do | bit.ly/2MG3IzR |
| OOH – Direct Mail | Bronze | Cancer Dojo | Cancer Mandala | bit.ly/2nqcqdq |
| Branded Content – Radio & Audio | Bronze | Edgars | Don’t Tell Me What To Do | bit.ly/2MG3IzR |
| Film – Online Film above 30” | Bronze | Edgars | Don’t Tell Me What To Do | bit.ly/2PdtywU Note: this is the full 3 minute film |
| Digital Crafts — Music & Sound Design | Craft Certificate | Edgars | Don’t Tell Me What To Do | bit.ly/2MG3IzR |
