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Johannesburg - It's five weeks to the Loeries, South Africa's premier creative advertising pageant, and the results are in.
But apart from Loerie Awards MD Andrew Human and the three overseas jury chairs, nobody knows who the winners are. And that's the way it will stay until the awards nights - September 25 (for communication design and print media) and 26 (for electronic, live events, mixed media and integrated campaigns).
"We have a strictly managed process," says Human. "You can't hack into the system to get the results, because the winners are stripped off our server after the decisions have been made. We don't even print out copies. None of the South African judges (130 of them) know any results, even in the categories they judged. They score individually and don't see how other judges have voted."
Two years ago, a computer glitch resulted in the premature release of about half the results. Human is determined that won't happen again.
Despite tough economic conditions and a 7% drop in entries, Human remains optimistic for an increased attendance at the annual grabfest. The capacity of the venue (Cape Town's Good Hope Centre) is 2 500 for each night - almost 20% higher than the 2 100 that Margate's giant tent could handle.
"Compared to last year at this stage, we're doing well," says Human. "The VIP areas are virtually sold out, but there are still seats available in the main section."
Margate hosted the Loeries for four years, and this is the first time in more than two decades that the event has been held in a major city. In the early years, the Loeries were held in Johannesburg, before moving to Sun City.
With Thursday September 24 a public holiday (Heritage Day), the Loeries has been extended into a long festival weekend, starting with a mayor's VIP reception and the chairperson's party on Thursday.
The awards nights are Friday and Saturday, each followed by an after-party in Long Street that could go on till dawn. Part of Long Street will by sealed off for the evenings. The Velocity Films party will be at Camps Bay on Friday.
Around the world, entries to advertising awards have been hit in two ways: clients advertise less, and agencies can't afford the entry fees, which in Cannes are typically about R6 000 a pop.
Loerie entries are cheaper, but still substantial at around R1 200. Loerie entries peaked at 3 400 last year (up 17% in a year) then fell back to 3 138.
July's Cannes Lions festival experienced a 20% drop in entries and a 40% attendance decline.
- Fin24.com.