2008 Global Awards winners announced

The New York Festival has announced the winners of its 2008 Global Awards. Now in its 14th year, the show awarded two Grand Global Awards and 25 Global Awards in a ceremony held in Sydney, Australia. The awards honour the best in healthcare communication worldwide. The New York Festival, organizers of the Global Awards, say the show received entries from 30 countries across the world. 

Blue Shield of California won a Grand Global Award for their interactive “Chat Box” microsite.  Oglivy Healthworld South Africa won the Grand Global for “Escapology 2008, a campaign designed to launch Augmentin  ES-600.   An underground academy for Escapologists was created to teach baby chicks how to break out of the coop and how to avoid ending up in the soup bowl since chicken soup is a common “old wives” tale cure for colds and flu. Germany won eight Global Award trophies. The United States won a total of seven Global Awards. Winners included: DraftFCB's concept video, for client Prolastin, "Lung Preserver"; and CCG Medtamedia Inc., for their Testimonial Video for Aricept. Digitas Health received a Global Award for their website work on "Celebration Chain" for Arimidex. England, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland and Belgium also garnered Global Award Trophies in this year's competition.

Indian agencies that were termed finalists at the show included McCann Healthcare, Mudra Health & Lifestyle, RK Swamy BBDO, Sorento Healthcare Communications, Starck Communications, Kerala and Watermelon Healthcare Communications. Details of the Indian work shortlisted can be viewed here.

"The future of healthcare work is moving into electronic communications. This will prove for better work in the future. In the US, multi-channel ways of communication is catching up with the rest of the world. It will present new challenges yet also channel new creative works in to the world. As the industry advances, creative expression will match the tools of technology," Tom Domanico, Global Awards chairman and CEO, Worldwide Creative Director, DraftFCB Healthcare, New York.