Annual Addy Awards Designed to Advertise Firms’ Creativity
About the same time that Italian filmmaker Roberto Benigni was gleefully thanking the world for the first of his two Academy Awards, Paula Weiser was on a smaller stage doing a similar thing.
Although she didn’t climb around on chairs or kiss all those within arms’ reach, the big winner at last week’s 1999 Addy Awards ceremony was plenty proud.
“It’s an honor to be recognized like that,” said the 34-year-old president of Weiser Litho Inc., a Westlake Village printing and design company. Weiser walked home with five Addys, seven Citations of Excellence, one award of Merit Professional and the coveted Best of Advertising award. “It’s really got us all pumped here. . . . We’re really happy.”
More than 200 celebrants attended the 25th annual Addy Awards at the Ventura Theater to recognize the best of Ventura County’s advertising industry.
Organized by the Ventura County Advertising Federation, the event honors just about every aspect of the advertising process, with flashy glass plaque awards handed out for everything from design concept to printing quality.
This year, more than 20 Addys were presented to area companies, with winners advancing to a district competition to be held this summer. District winners will go on to a national competition later this year.
According to federation president Karen Cook, the Addys do more than honor excellence--they also keep local companies informed as to how their industry is incorporating changing tastes and new technologies.
“They’re a way for companies to get the kind of exposure and recognition they deserve, but it’s also a way for them to learn about what’s happening in the industry,” Cook said. “It changes a lot, so it’s important for companies to keep on top of it.”
Ventura Printing won three Addys this year for its use of new technologies to produce advertisements. Judges and other professionals say the firm has raised the bar on ad production through the use of a new process called waterless printing.
General Manager David Wilson said that garnering such accolades is nice because, all too often, those who design and print eye-catching ads remain nameless.
“It’s recognition, which is nice,” he said. “All of us put a lot of work into what we do, and to be known and rewarded for it is always nice.”
Tom Nance, creative director at Weiser Litho, said that hearing one’s name called as the winner of an Addy is the strongest testimonial of a company’s superlative work.
“We look at it as an affirmation that we’re on the right track,” he said. “It’s not an easy business to be in because so much of it, at least from a design standpoint, is about ideas, so it’s nice to be recognized like that.”
And in the same way an Oscar bolsters an actor’s or director’s stock, an Addy helps cement a firm’s reputation for quality and creativity.
Although few winners said it actually generates business, having a cluster of awards hanging on the wall speaks volumes to potential clients.
“I wouldn’t say that business increases because you win an Addy,” said Weiser, who counts companies like J.D. Powers and Associates, the Affinity Group, and Landmark Theaters as clients. “But it doesn’t hurt. . . . It’s good PR for the company.”
But in an industry that’s about as competitive as the NBA, there’s no time to rest on one’s laurels--or Addys.
Both Weiser and Wilson said they hung their awards in the office, then went straight back to doing what they do--taking a company’s advertising campaign from concept to billboard.
“We’ll be back, though, I can assure you that,” Weiser said. “But that’s not for another year, and there’s going to be plenty to do between now and then.”
*
GROWTH POTENTIAL
Enterprise Development Center Forum will offer small companies a chance to attract investors. B6
* MORE BUSINESS NEWS: B6-10
