Epica Awards Sri Lanka 2020 winners announced

The very first Epica Awards Sri Lanka was deemed a “huge success” by its organisers last week. 

The two-day festival was hosted by the country’s 4As (Accredited Advertising Agencies Association) in partnership with the Paris-based competition. The conference and awards ceremony on March 5-6 attracted more than 500 attendees on both days. 

Leo Burnett won the Grand Prix with its Petal Paint campaign for JAT Holdings. The campaign was originally entered for the competition last year, but its eligibility period was extended when the event was postponed after the Easter 2019 attacks. Leo Burnett was also named Agency of the Year after reaping the greatest number of points in the overall competition.

Held at the Taj Samudra Colombo hotel the conference featured speakers such as Dentsu APAC CCO Ted Lim, BBDO Worldwide regional ECD Ali Rez, TGH collective founder and CCO Tay Guan Hin, Ogilvy Pakistan ECD/head of strategy Assam Khalid, as well as the co-founders of Ki Saigon. 

The awards jury was moderated by Epica Awards editorial director Mark Tungate, who also hosted the ceremony. The jurors were Raahil Chopra, deputy editor of Campaign India; Daniel Huntley, news editor of shots; Harmandar Singh, founder of publishing company Sledgehammer Communications in Malaysia; and Pongpiti Phasukyud, founder of Ad Addict in Thailand. Epica’s extensive online jury of more than 200 journalists around the world also got a chance to vote on the 400+ longlist. 

The event was the first time Sri Lanka had held a creative festival and awards show for 12 years. The 4As in Sri Lanka approached the Epica Awards about the possibility of creating a franchised event because it was attracted to the show’s independent, unbiased jury of journalists. 4As president Sugibun Sathiamoorthy commented: “Sri Lanka has been hungry for a platform to showcase our creativity and be judged by international standards. Creativity cannot thrive without critique, so Epica Sri Lanka is the ideal opportunity for us to learn and up our game. Epica Awards Sri Lanka’s promise of ‘unbiased creativity’ cannot come at a better time.”

Epica Awards editorial director Mark Tungate added: “It gives us great pleasure to export Epica’s unique formula of an independent press jury to Sri Lanka. We hope this is the first step in an ongoing adventure and we’re proud to be playing a small part in the country’s advertising history.

GRAND PRIX

• Leo Burnett - Petal Paint

AGENCY OF THE YEAR

• Leo Burnett

GOLD WINNERS
(Category / Title / Entrant Company / Client / Brand)

• Public Interest – Health & Safety / AURA INCENSE BARRICADE / TBWA\Sri Lanka / D'LAS INTERNATIONAL (PVT) LTD / AURA
• Consumer Direct / AURA INCENSE BARRICADE / TBWA\Sri Lanka / D'LAS INTERNATIONAL (PVT) LTD / AURA
• Product Design / AURA INCENSE BARRICADE / TBWA\Sri Lanka / D'LAS INTERNATIONAL (PVT) LTD / AURA
• Public Interest – Environment / Inherit his name, Inherit his way / Triad / National Muslim Collective / National Muslim Collective
• Product Design / Inherit his name, Inherit his way / Triad / National Muslim Collective / National Muslim Collective
• Public Interest – Health & Safety / Life Chant / Triad / Colombo Municipal Council / Public Health Department
• Consumer Direct / Life Chant / Triad / Colombo Municipal Council / Public Health Department
• Product Design / Petal Paint / Leo Burnett / JAT Holdings / JAT Paints
• Promotions & Incentives / Positive Sri Lanka / Wunderman Thompson / Brands of Sri Lanka / Positive Sri Lanka
• Product & Brand Integration / Primed up for Comfort/  Wunderman Thompson / Unilever / Comfort
• Restaurants, Bars & Cafés / Fresh Seafood / Phoenix Ogilvy / Steamboat Steamboat / Restaurant
• Household Maintenance / Petal Paint / Leo Burnett / JAT Holdings / JAT Paints
• Advertising Photography / Petal Paint / Leo Burnett / JAT Holdings / JAT Paints
• Direction & Cinematography / Pure enchantment in a cup / Phoenix Ogilvy / Sri Lanka Tea Board / Ceylon Tea
• Animation / Zipper / Phoenix Ogilvy / Ministry of Finance / Sri Lanka Vision 2025 - Reconciliation and Development

SILVER WINNERS
(Category / Title / Entrant Company / Client / Brand)

• Public Interest – Health & Safety / AIA Life Saving Photo Frame / TBWA\Sri Lanka / AIA Insurance / Lanka Limited Corporate
• Topical & Real-Time Advertising / Elephant Memorial / Sarva Integrated (Pvt) Ltd / Elephant Jazz / Elephant Jazz
• Media Innovation - Alternative Media / Life Chant / Triad / Colombo Municipal Council / Public Health Department
• Publication Design / Motherhood / Wunderman Thompson / Wunderman Thompson Sri Lank / WT Corporate
• Packaging Design / Petal Paint / Leo Burnett / JAT Holdings / JAT Paints
• Brand Identity / Positive Sri Lanka / Wunderman Thompson / Brands of Sri Lanka / Positive Sri Lanka
• Brand Identity / So Sri Lanka Brand Guidelines / Wunderman Thompson / Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau / So Sri Lanka
• Events / Sri Lanka's Fastest / Magic Mango / Bharthi Airtel Lanka / Airtel
• Online & Viral Films / Peoples Bank Children's Day Message / Digital Content (Private) Limited / Peoples Bank / Sisu Udana (Savings)
• Illustration / Festive Range 2019 / Leo Burnett / Janet Ayurveda / Spa Ceylon
• Radio Advertising / Life Chant / Triad / Colombo Municipal Council / Public Health Department
• Direction & Cinematography / A true human / Magic Mango / Commercial Credit / BCon
• Direction & Cinematography /Signal Sina Boweva / X-TEN Productions Private Limited / Unilever Sri Lanka Limited /Signal
• Public Interest – Social / Zipper / Phoenix Ogilvy / Ministry of Finance Sri Lanka / Vision 2025 - Reconciliation and Development