KARACHI: The prestigious ‘Grand Effie’ was awarded to Shalamar Hospital/Babar Ali Foundation for ‘The Hot Tea Stain’ campaign developed by BBDO Pakistan at the third edition of Effie Awards Pakistan (EAP) virtually held recently under the aegis of the Pakistan Advertising Society (PAS), says a press release.

The award ceremony was aired live by EAP’s partner Samaa TV and simultaneously streamed on Facebook and YouTube on July 9.

Ogilvy Pakistan and Unilever Pakistan were awarded the ‘Agency Network of the Year’ the ‘Marketer of the Year’ titles, respectively.

The EAP is part of a global network of Effie Worldwide and rewards and celebrates effective marketing efforts.

This year, the Effies featured 24 products and services categories and 18 specialty categories. There were 357 campaigns up in the run for 20 gold, 16 silver and 25 bronze awards.

Judged by a panel of industry experts as well as senior professionals, local and international, each campaign goes through a series of reviews across a variety of metrics with the intention to identify the most effective campaigns, which then culminates at the awards night where the winners are announced.

On the occasion, Qamar Abbas, executive director of PAS said; “Continuing the tradition of innovation with the spirit of ‘the show must go on’, we did not hold back and continued with our celebrations to reward the best in marketing and advertising to set higher standards of communication year on year”.

Asif Aziz, chairman PAS welcoming everyone on the occasion said “PAS exists for the industry and Effie Pakistan is an opportunity to shine further and raise our standard of communication and showcase it to the world. So, let’s celebrate the talent and good work and continue to strive for excellence”.

Lifetime Achievement Award for Sarmad Ali

The PAS Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Sarmad Ali, group managing director marketing, Jang Media Group for his “pioneering leadership and contribution that not only took Jang leaps and bounds forward but also revolutionized the marketing industry”.

Thousands of people watched the show live from their homes and offices, bringing together the entire marketing, advertising and media fraternity, and also reaching out to the general public. Industry stalwarts like Asif Aziz, chairman, PAS and CCO Jazz Dr Zeelaf Munir, managing director, EBM, Sikandar Tiwana, CEO, Shan Foods, Fariyha Subhani, CEO, Upfield, Ahmed Wahab Shah, marketing director, The Coca-Cola Co, Usman Qaiser, head of marketing and brand management, Jubilee Life Insurance, Sara Koraishy, CEO, JWT Grey were some of the presenters that handed the trophies to the lucky winners.

In addition, international advertising and marketing veterans like Traci Alford, president Effie Worldwide, Stephan Leorke, CEO, World Federation of Advertisers and Raja Rajamannar, CMO of Mastercard also attended the show, shared their views and presented some awards. Stalwarts like Sikandar Sultan, chairman, Shan Foods and Amir Paracha, chairman Unilever Pakistan also participated and addressed the industry with an inspiring message.

The show was hosted by the famous voiceover artist and presenter Faizan Haqqee and the red carpet was hosted by PAS’s very own Afsheen Rizavi. The show featured a special commentary box segment also hosted by Afsheen Rizavi with industry experts Atiya Zaidi, MD, BBDO and Sheikh Adil Hussain, CMO, Tapal Tea who talked about the campaigns in the run, industry trends, and kept the viewers entertained and engaged with their banter.

This year Jafferjees partnered for the jury sessions, Jang Media Group was the print media partner, FMOne91 were our radio partners, Ogilvy Pakistan was the official creative and digital agency and Bogo and Dezato were the gift partners. In addition Wow 360 and FHM Pakistan were digital publication partners.

The night ended on a celebratory note with lots of cheers and hurrahs from teams participating across the country.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2021