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The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mrs Rita Lau, today (July 29) met the creative teams of Leo Burnett Hong Kong and Grey Hong Kong to congratulate them on winning a total of 10 awards, including two gold awards, at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.
Grey Hong Kong's "Umbrella Bag" project won Hong Kong's first ever Gold Lion award in the outdoor category, while Leo Burnett Hong Kong picked up one Gold Lion, three Silver Lions and five Bronze Lions with four projects - the "Hidden Sound Campaign", the "Unequal Childhood Paper-cutting" series, the "Organic Poo" poster series and the "Trailer".
"The achievement of Hong Kong's advertising industry in the festival this year surpassed that of last year. It represents a recognition of our advertising talent and demonstrates that the quality of our creative work is on a par with international standards. I warmly congratulate all the award winners," Mrs Lau said.
"Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) has collaborated with the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of Hong Kong (HK4As) to provide sponsorship under the CreateSmart Initiative for the industry to participate in international competitions and major creative industry events, with a view to raising the profile of our advertising sector and showcasing Hong Kong creativity to the world. I am pleased to know that two of the Lions award winners this year were sponsored by CreateHK. This is good encouragement for others, especially budding young talent," she added.
Apart from the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, CreateHK has provided financial support to winners of the HK4As Kam Fan Awards and the HK4As Young Creative Competition to participate in other global contests or workshops. These are the D&AD Awards held earlier in the United Kingdom, the Spikes Asia Advertising Festival and the Young Spikes Creative Competition to be held in Singapore in September, and the ADFEST Young Lotus Workshop in Thailand in March 2011.
"Advertising is one of the major sectors of Hong Kong's creative industry. The Government will continue to support the development of the advertising industry and strive to develop Hong Kong into a creative capital in the region," Mrs Lau said.
She noted that the Government was considering sponsoring the HK4As to organise a forum for the winners to share their experiences and show their award-winning projects. The Government's Youth Portal (youth.gov.hk) will also upload their work for public sharing and to foster appreciation of creativity among young people.
CreateHK has also supported the HK4As for the second consecutive year to provide a two-month summer internship programme and a one-year graduate trainee programme for tertiary students who are interested in the advertising industry. This initiative enables the students to gain real-work experience and understanding of the industry while helping the sector to identify and nurture creative talent.
The Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival is a major annual international event for the advertising industry. The Lions Awards are divided into 12 different media categories, with more than 24,000 entries from all over the world received this year. For more information on the winning projects and the Lions Awards, please visit www.canneslions.com/work.
Ends/Thursday, July 29, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:49
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