It was a record night for New Zealand agencies at this year’s D&AD awards in London with a standout moment of the night for Colenso BBDO/Proximity, when K9FM became the first ever New Zealand campaign to win a highly coveted Black Pencil, one of only 5 awarded globally this year.
Not only is this Black Pencil a first for New Zealand, it is also the first time any brand in the Mars portfolio has won this accolade in the 53 year history of the awards - the first Black Pencil that has been awarded in the Radio category in 32 years.
The awards, held today in London, are a celebration of the finest in design and advertising and are recognised globally as the ultimate creative accolade, entered and attended by the best from around the world. This year's awards saw the most amount of Pencils won in D&AD history with 847 handed out across five levels -Black, Yellow, Graphite, Wood and White.
New Zealand agencies did exceptionally well, with Colenso enjoying their most successful year ever. As well as winning Black & Two Yellow Pencils for K9FM, they also won three Graphite Pencils (the D&AD equivalent of a silver) for NZBCF 'Breast Cream', Tip-Top 'Back to Nature' and K9FM. They also picked up two Wooden Pencils (Bronze) for BNZ '$HRED' and another for K9FM.
Colenso’s creative chairman Nick Worthington was thrilled with the result saying, “D&AD is one of the toughest and most respected creative institutions in the world, where product design, industrial design, graphic design and advertising all rub shoulders. To be acknowledged as amongst the best creative work in the world across four clients is amazing, and obviously it's beyond special to win a Black Pencil for our brilliant Mars clients. It's a great acknowledgement that the kiwi creative spirit is alive and well.”