India leads in shortlist for Warc Prize for Asian Strategy

Warc, the global marketing intelligence service, has unveiled a shortlist of 25 case studies competing for the US$5,000 Warc Prize for Asian Strategy.

India has the maximum number of shortlists with Ogilvy & Mather India having 5 entries in the fray (for Cadbury’s, Vodafone, Bajaj Auto, Breakthrough and Tata Sky). Dentsu Communications (for Aircel), BBH (for Parachute Advansed), BBDO (for Aviva), MediaCom (for P&G’s W.A.L.S.), Bates 141 (for Virgin Mobile) and JWT (for Nokia) have also been shortlisted.

The shortlist also features case studies from Vietnam, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan, plus two multi-market campaigns. In terms of client sector, consumer goods and telecoms are the best-represented on the list of 25.

The cases have been scored by eight senior clients and five global strategy experts, led by Prize Chairman Miles Young, chief executive officer of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide. The shortlist of 25 represents the entries that received the highest scores from the judges.

“The number of entries far surpassed our expectations – and the good thing is that we all thought quality was high,” said Young. “The shortlist has been based on the critical factors that we believe underpin strategic excellence – the extent to which the cases deal radically with big business issues and the extent to which they showed the majority of insight. Some of the cases, in particular, showed breakthrough thinking on both accounts.”

The highly commended entries and the winner will be unveiled in early June.

The Indian shortlist, including client and agency details, is as follows (get the complete shortlist at www.warc.com/asiaprize)

How culture codes helped Cadbury Dairy Milk create a new chocolate occasion in India Cadbury India / Ogilvy & Mather

Aircel Pocket Internet Aircel / Dentsu India

How ringing the bell can reduce violence against women Breakthrough Foundation / Ogilvy & Mather

Tata Sky Activ English Tata Sky / Ogilvy & Mather

Parachute Advansed Ayurvedic Hair Oil - Recommended by sufferers Parachute (Marico) / BBH

Aviva's 'Great Wall of Education' Aviva / BBDO India

Gillette WALS P&G India / MediaCom

Pulsar & Stunting: Creating India’s best selling sports bike Bajaj Auto / Ogilvy & Mather

Building a Youth Brand in a Youthful Country Virgin Mobile India / Bates141

BlackBerry Boys Vodafone Essar / Ogilvy & Mather

Nokia 'Saviors of the Planet' Nokia India / JWT