July 2008
The annual Crowbar Awards for creative students handed out at a Gala Dinner at Orchard Hotel tonight, with Jonathan Ong, a Temasek Polytechnic student, clinching top honours with the Best of Show Crowbar. His Television Commercial (TVC) entry, “Shoulder”, also won a Gold and the Best of Advertising Category.
Mr. Victor Ng, Crowbar Awards 2008 Chairman said, “It was not easy to select the Best Of Show, as all the top winners of their respective disciplines were clearly outstanding. It came down to the common creative denominators of originality, simplicity and likeability – in the student context. “Shoulder” is one of those rare ads that makes you cannot help but smile, and marvel at how you’ll never look at the product the same way again.”
Crowbars were also handed out to the best entries in four categories: Best of Advertising, Design, Film and Photography. The winners of these categories vied for the Best of Show Award.
Organised by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Singapore (4As), the Crowbar Awards entered their eighth edition this year.
“This is one of the strongest years for the Crowbars in terms of the quality of the submissions. The juries, especially the international ones, were highly impressed by the caliber of our students. Some of the winning entries are already worthy of international awards for professionals,” added Ng.
The Best of Category winners are:
Best of Advertising
Student: Ong Wei Sheng Jonathan
School: Temasek Polytechnic
Title of Entry: Shoulder TVC
Best of Design
Student: Jervic Tan Yong Kang
School: Singapore Polytechnic
Title of Entry: Ikea
Best of Film
Student: Lincoln Chia Zhicheng, Michael Tay Hong Khoon, Lam Yaochen, Jeff Koh Jin Rong, Pu Ziyang Joe
School: Nanyang Technological University
Title of Entry: Mu Gui Ying, A Legendary Female Warrior
Best of Photography
Student: Joel Yuen Kong Chong
School: Nanyang Technological University
Title of Entry: Anatomical Fantasies of Meat
Last year, the Napkin Category, was added to the Crowbar menu. The Napkin entries were judged on the concept and idea which could be for TVCs, print, interactive or design. This encourages creative thinking, providing an avenue where students can express their ideas without the distraction of a painful execution.
This year, the Crowbar Awards attracted 1,083 entries from 27 schools, including several entries from Malaysia, New York, New Zealand and Australia. There were entries from 8 new schools, of which 4 are from overseas, building on the momentum of the 4As’ efforts in reaching out to more schools, especially those from the region.
This year’s Crowbar Festival kicked off with the Advertising Boot Camp where participants were given the opportunity to learn and work on a “live” brief by Wildlife Reserves for the Singapore Zoo.
Creative professionals such as McCann Erickson’s Goh Wee Kim, JWT’s Thomas Yang, TBWA’s Ng Pei Pei, Grey’s Justin Lim, Beautiful’s Roy Poh and Ogilvy’s Maurice Wee and Renee Lim were roped in to mentor the 26 Boot Camp participants. Heating things up this year, participants were “locked” in a room for 24 hours to crack the brief provided by a real client – The Singapore Zoo.
“Students still get lured into advertising by the fallacy of glitzy awards, wild parties and daydreaming at work. The Crowbar Boot Camp is meant to simulate real-agency working conditions – a client’s brief to solve a real marketing problem, a demanding creative director, a sense of internal competition, and of course, a crazy deadline,” said Ng.
Winners of the Crowbar Boot Camp were:
Gold
Students: Eugene Ling Han Ming & Amelia Chong
School: Singapore Polytechnic & Temasek Polytechnic
Title of Entry: Dream Place – Truer than Home
Silver
Students: Wilson Santoso & Zara Kok
School: 95% The Advertising Academy & Central St. Martins College of Art & Design
Title of Entry: Happy Animals, Happy Experience
Bronze
Students: Andrea Kuo & Lim Zhen Wen
School: Singapore Polytechnic
Title of Entry: Tarzan
Bronze
Students: Muhammad Syaiful & Wang Daguo Bob
School: Singapore Polytechnic
Title of Entry: Liberty in Captivity
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Read ASSOCIATION OF ACCREDITED ADVERTISING AGENTS SINGAPORE on TAXI Design Network
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