March 25, 2007 — Members of the Ad Club of the Virgin Islands pulled out all the stops for this year's ADDY Awards ceremony Saturday evening, treating about 200 guests at the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort to sparkling bottles of champagne, a special video presentation and a few remarks from Gov. John deJongh Jr.
DeJongh, the first governor to attend the annual Ad Club event, opened the ceremony and set the mood for the rest of the evening with a series of jokes, saying that his primary purpose for attending was to collect business cards from the honorees, since he may be "looking for a job in the next four years."
On a more serious note, he added that creative advertising and branding is essential to the success of the territory's tourism and commerce industries. "And all that is needed — the talent, the showmanship — resides in this room," deJongh said.
Radio, television and print media clips presented throughout the evening illustrated deJongh's point, as various individuals and companies throughout the territory showed how well they can market products ranging from swim wear to local business and events.
Peals of laughter burst from the audience when a particular clip — such as an ad for First Insurance or a radio spot for McDonald's — flashed across a projection screen or emanated from the sound system. Audience members also smiled and applauded loudly when dazzling scenes of the territory's marine life filtered onto the screen in a clip designed to market Coral World Ocean Park.
The applause was deafening when the evening's big winners — Mike Perron, owner of the Paint Depot, and representatives from Austin Advertising — stepped onstage to receive their awards. Austin dominated the evening, collecting 17 awards (including the Donald Plantz Best of Radio Award), while Perron took home 14, including the coveted overall 2007 Best in Show Award.
"I accept this award for everyone in this room who refused to give textbook answers, but looked for creative alternative solutions," Perron said, amidst a cacophony of cheers, shouts and flashing cameras.
After the event, Austin Advertising President Brian Squires said the awards were a testament to his company's hard work and determination. "We don't give up until we get a product that's exactly right," he said. "And we keep on working until we have what we want."
The evening's other big winners were MLB Creative with 13 awards and Lambert Media Group with 12 awards.
Newcomer Island SoundWorks (ISW) Media also won big on Saturday, picking up the Donald Plantz Best in Television award for the music video accompanying a song by St. Thomas rapper FP, "Brother," which depicts the negative effects of gun violence and crime.
The first video out of the Virgin Islands to air on MTV Tempo, "Brother" is also the first music video to be entered into the ADDY Awards competition.
"We're very pleased with the outcome," said ISW Media President Paul Cater Deaton after the event, standing comfortably with business partners Derrick Moore and Dan McGuiness. "And we're also pleased that the video brought the three of us together in a working environment, and gave us the opportunity to create a new media complex here on St. Thomas. This is a very exciting time."
Throughout the evening, other award winners and presenters expressed excitement as well, praising the Ad Club for its hard work in organizing the event. "We haven't had over 200 people at an ADDY Awards event since the early '80s," said Bob Austin, the organization's founder and former president. "That shows we're staying good and strong."
Austin particularly honored the contributions of Lambert Media Group, and presented the company's president, Lou Lambert, with the newly created Founder's Award. "It's just a small token of my appreciation," Austin said, as Lambert stepped onto the stage.
Speaking softly, Lambert said, "This means more to us than any other award. We will cherish it. And hopefully, we will make everything work even better and bigger next year."
For a complete list of the winners click here.
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