As the Chillies 2010 organizing committee unveils its theme ‘Lean is Hot’ in the run up to Sri Lanka’s premier advertising awards show, one high profile advertising agency Triad which was adjudged the number one agency in Sri Lanka for three years in a row, is calling the awards a scam and filing legal action against the Chillies Blueprint in court next week. Another advertising agency, Phoenix Ogilvy, was informed that their entries for the awards this year were rejected on the basis that they were not members of either of the two associations, the IAA or the 4A’s.
In a statement to the Business Times this week, Triad said certain critical changes that were both draconian and punitive have been introduced to the 2010 blueprint, making the awards vulnerable to manipulation and foul play. The changes require agencies to be a member of either of the two associations and introduces a penalty on what is ‘deemed scam’ material judged subjectively by a panel amongst other changes. Triad said the retrospective nature of the document gives unfair advantage to the Blueprint members.
The agency said it was compelled to seek legal redress after many verbal and written appeals to the Chairman of the Blueprint committee but will not seek an enjoining order on the awards after taking into consideration the reputation of the industry in the face of the involvement of foreign judges.
Meanwhile in a press release, the Chillies organizing committee said the event is off to a successful start, securing over 500 entries from over 18 participating agencies. The Chillies Week which includes workshops and seminars begins on 9 May 2010. Work across TV, radio, print, digital and non-traditional media will be judged by a top panel of international judges with 10 local judges. |
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