The campaign entries were judged by a panel of judges comprising senior people from advertisers, creative agencies and media owners. The jury noted that the 51 finalists in the entry categories really upped the competition with more original campaigns this year.

It appears that the economic circumstances may have put the media agencies on the mettle to produce the most innovative and effective solutions. “This year, there is a lot of utilisation of new media. I suppose with the economic downturn people are maximising the media to its best advantage,” said Mr Vincent Lim, Managing Director of Eu Yan Sang (Singapore).

Attesting to the quality of entries this year, Pat Lim, Chairman of SMA 2009 added, “It was no easy feat judging the entries this year. There were some very closely fought categories where the jury panel was divided on which entry to award the winner. However there could only be one winner, which took careful deliberation and re-evaluation of the merits of the tied entries against the judging criteria to arrive at the final decision.”

With the list of finalists out, all eyes will be on the coveted Grand Prix Award and the Media Agency of the Year Award as the winners will be announced during the SMA gala dinner on 30 September at the Shangri-La Hotel.

Category sponsors:

ACP Magazines

The AsiaOne Network

AXN Asia

CNN

MediaCorp

Moove Media

MTV Asia

Singapore Press Holdings

Starhub

Click here for the finalists list.

About the Singapore Media Awards (SMA)

Organised by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Singapore (4As), the Singapore Media Awards recognise and celebrate the accomplishments of Singapore’s media talent, innovation and success. It also demonstrates how the media and media owners play an important role in the success of a well-executed advertising campaign. For more information, visit www.sma.com.sg

About the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Singapore (4As):
The Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Singapore was founded in 1948.   Better known as the 4As, this non-profit trade association represents advertising and marketing communications practitioners, agencies and related businesses in Singapore.  The 4As works in close co-operation with other related trade associations, schools and government bodies to nurture talent and to improve the stature and prominence of the advertising and marketing communications industry.   Among the key events organised and promoted by the 4As are the Singapore Creative Circle Awards or the Gong Show; the Students Creative Awards, commonly known as The Crowbars; and the Singapore Media Awards.

For more information, please visit www.4as.org.sg