Olive Crown Awards, the country's first awards for creative excellence in communicating sustainability, or ‘green communication', were announced by the International Advertising Association (IAA) in January.

Organisers term the response from advertising agencies and clients encouraging, and hope to clock in at least 750 entries in the first edition of the awards.

“We have received entries from several agencies, like R.K. Swamy BBDO, Mudra and Lowe, and also directly from corporates like RIL and Eureka Forbes. There have been several more queries and we will be delighted if it crosses 1,000 entries,” noted Mr Kaushik Roy, President, India Chapter of the IAA and President – Brand Strategy and Marketing, Reliance Industries.

Even agencies that have traditionally stayed away from creative award festivals such as Lowe Lintas, are in the fray for Olive Crowns. The agency's Chairman and CCO, Mr R. Balki, confirmed that Idea's ‘Save Paper' campaign was among entries, in support of the green initiative.

Scam factor

While advertising (creative) awards have been criticised for the ‘scam' factor, Mr Roy reflects on the good that can come out of them.

“Even in the case of creative awards, while one understands the negative impact of ads created for awards, in the long run awards have improved the standard of advertising. In the context of Olive Crown, we believe that the impact will be far more significant. With each advertiser contributing in some small measure through their green initiative, and communicating them, it's a small set of sure steps towards a better earth.”

The awards seek to position marketing and advertising as critical components of not just economic growth, but also responsible growth. It is open to all marketing companies, advertising agencies and others who had created and placed paid communication that espoused sustainability in calendar year 2010.

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