Awards draw world’s advertising creatives to New York

New York recently played host to a truly global gathering of advertising’s leading creative lights – all in the name of the 31st John Caples International Awards, presented by Haymarket’s DMNews.

The 70 creative directors – from agencies in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, South Africa, Australia, Canada, the US and the UK – paid their own expenses to meet in Manhattan. Over four days, they made their pick of the world’s best work in direct and interactive marketing.

DMNews editor-in-chief Cara Wood said: “The judging days really brought to life for me what Caples have been about for the last 30 years – an international forum for creative directors to touch, feel and analyse the best work of the past year.”

This year’s awards are the first that the 30-year-old non-profit group Caples has held in partnership with Haymarket Media, the New-York based publisher of direct marketing title DMNews.

“DMNews is about capturing the ongoing efforts and creative achievements of the community,” said Wood, “and to play a larger role in this award is the next step in terms of supporting the international direct marketing community.”

An additional first for 2009 is the Student Campaign of the Year Award, a contest for American university students to find a creative solution to a real-world direct and interactive marketing challenge.

All winners will be announced on March 19, 2009, at a gala dinner in New York’s Capitale ballroom.

On the same day, DMNews and Caples will also hold a first-time conference where international creatives will debate current industry topics, learn and test new strategies in workshops.