A controversial new metal tally system implemented at last weekend’s Chillies Awards had Leo Burnett, Triad Advertising and JWT emerging as the top three advertising agencies in the country.
At a heated post awards media briefing on Monday where differing views on the tally system were aired, President of the 4A’s Laila Gunasekera Martensteyn defended the new system which takes into account the total metal tally as opposed to the old ‘Olympic’ system in which the agency with the highest number of gold metals was number one, irrespective of the total metal tally.
Ms. Martensteyn said the system was changed shortly after last year’s awards where several complaints about the ‘Olympic’ system were voiced. She added that the blueprint was passed to the entire industry and there had been no disagreement.
However, Joint Managing Director of Triad Varuni Amunugama Fernando called the new tally system a ‘damn shame’ and added that from now on, only a few large agencies will win the Chillies. Ms. Fernando said Triad will be at the forefront at mooting or challenging the blueprint. Joint Managing Director of Triad Dilith Jayaweera, who is also Vice President of the 4A’s, said the change in the tally system came as complete surprise due to Triad’s lack of involvement in the process. He said it was an industry decision and Triad respects it.
Chief Executive Officer of JWT Thayalan Bartlett said there were protests from JWT and other agencies about the new tally system but that their objections were overlooked. However, he added that a majority of the agencies voted for the changes. Under the old tally system, JWT would have come out on top this year after getting five gold metals, followed by Triad and Leo Burnett who got two gold metals each.
At the press conference, the three agencies noted that there was a huge overall improvement in the quality of pieces despite a lower number of entries. President of the IAA Surith Perera said despite a challenging year and an economic situation he described as being ‘not that great’, the Chillies was a great show of high standards. |
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