And once again, that ad's a winner

By DITA DE BONI

Will the kudos for New Zealand's most notorious ad never end?

Last night, at the 20th annual Axis Awards, Saatchi & Saatchi's infamous "bugger" advertisement for Toyota again swept the field, winning the Best in Show award and narrowly beating for top prize a series of five advertisements from Colenso for New Zealand Ski Magazine.

The glittering event also saw the first award granted to a cyber effort. The Land Transport Safety Authority's website took the top prize in the newly created interactive category.

A spokesperson for the Advertising Agencies Association (3As) said there had been an "incredible response" to this year's contestant pool, with the number of entries having leaped from 765 to 960.

Yesterday's annual general meeting was a watershed for the 3As, with the association formally changing its name to the Communications Agency Association of New Zealand (CAANZ) to mark the inclusion of direct marketing, interactive and media organisations.

It also marked David Innes' last meeting as executive director. Mr Innes has been with the 3As for over seven years and was praised by chairman Neil Livingstone for his energy and for building strong relationships with associate organisations.

Mr Innes moves on to a part-time job with DB Breweries. He is succeeded by Lynne Clifton.