Adelaide design agency takes sole D&AD pencil Tim Addington
A design agency from Adelaide was the only Australian outfit to pick up a pencil at this year’s D&AD Awards held in London last night.
Mash, which was started six years ago by James Brown and Dominic Roberts, took home a coveted Yellow Pencil at the international awards in the packaging design category for an animated wine label.
The agency bagged one of only 64 Yellow Pencils awarded globally. The win marks a reversal in fortunes for Australia, which failed to take home any of the notoriously difficult to win awards in 2007. No agency from New Zealand was awarded a gong this year.
Brown, who was informed of the win by B&T, said: “That’s insane.”
The six strong agency won for its label design for wine brand Changing Lanes, which is a collaboration between two winemakers who share the same surname, Justin Lane and Mark Lane. The wine uses grapes from South Australia’s McLaren Vale and West Australia’s Margaret River, representing the respective home regions of the two men.
Mash created a lenticular animated label featuring the two Lanes dressed in Reservoir Dogs style suits, whose faces switch from Mark Lane (Lane 1) to Justin Lane (Lane 2) when viewed at different angles, telling the story behind the brand through its packaging.
It is the first time Mash has ever entered D&AD and it did so only after being contacted by the organisers following wins in local and international design awards.
Brown said: “It is amazing. We entered after being contacted by D&AD and are really glad we did now.”
Just two other Australia agencies were nominated for the awards. Frost Design in the environmental design category for Stockland Flip Dot Wall, and Revolver in the music video category for The Presets 'My People’.
A record six Black Pencils were awarded this year. The winners of the highest D&AD honour included Fallon for its ‘Gorilla’ viral for Cadbury and Comm Bank agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners together with Projector Inc also won for ‘Uniqlock’ in the online advertising category.
“Another record broken – the first time in our 45-year history when six Black pencils have been awarded,” said D&AD president Simon Waterfall. “This goes to show the impact this diverse range of creative fields are having in pushing forward the wider industry, marketing, and popular culture.”
Over 25,500 pieces of work entered this year from 67 countries. 690 entries were selected for the D&AD Annual 2008. There were 143 nominations were made for the awards.
