Newspaper Advertising: Highlights of the ANNAs

The awards are judged by creatives for creatives. There are no entry
fees or forms. Instead, every month, a leading creative director
nominates ads they've seen in national newspapers.

Ads shown here represent just a few of those in the running for the
big-money prizes that come with winning an ANNA. The Winner of Winners
award for the best national newspaper ad of 2006 is worth £25,000
to the triumphant creative team. Prizes for Best Copywriting and Best
Art Direction are both worth £5,000.

This year sees the introduction of a new category, the Creative Media
Partnership Award, which acknowledges how clever use of the newspaper
medium can enhance creativity and effectiveness. The £10,000 prize
will be awarded for a combination of distinctive creative, together with
inspirational media planning and buying - work that best leverages the
power of national newspapers.

The 2006 winners will be announced on Wednesday 31 January. The ads in
contention can be seen on the ANNA's website: www.the-annas.co.uk.

DECEMBER 2005 - MURPHY'S

Tim Delaney chairman, Leagas Delaney

"The only campaign with an idea that informed me of something I might be
interested in. The only idea that used the medium well. The only
campaign with an idea. 'Joining the dots' was the best of the three I
saw, but the others also worked."

Creative team: Kevin Stark, Nick Kidney

Agency: Bartle Bogle Hegarty

Client: Murphy's

JANUARY 2006 - VIRGIN ATLANTIC

Nik Studzinski executive creative director, Publicis

"It's nice to start the year on a high, and how does 35,000 feet sound?
This is another clever and witty visual ad in a campaign that rivals The
Economist advertising (is there a higher accolade?), not only in terms
of the art directional style, but also in creativity. When I found out
the headline actually said 'soon', it had to be ad of the month."

Creative team: Robert Messeter, Michael Crowe

Agency: Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R

Client: Virgin Atlantic

FEBRUARY 2006 - GREEN & BLACK'S

Rooney Carruthers creative director, VCCP

"This obviously ran on Valentine's Day. And it's a luxury brand, Green &
Black's chocolate. They've bought their media in little chunks ... and
I'm more impressed with this than the ads. They get my vote because
they've made a bar of chocolate go a very long way."

Creative team: Colin Jones, Niall Fleming

Agency: Brave

Client: Green & Black's

MARCH 2006 - HEINZ

John O'Keeffe executive creative director, Bartle Bogle Hegarty

"A nice, simple visual pun to celebrate the 130th birthday of Heinz
tomato ketchup. It's an oasis of calm amid the editorial and advertising
clutter, which, naturally, makes it really stand out. I say 'naturally'
as though anyone could see the advantages of such clarity and
visibility. Sadly, judging by the mass of this month's output, such
considerations come way down most clients' list of priorities."

Creative team: Gavin McGrath, Pat Burns

Agency: Beattie McGuinness Bungay

Client: Heinz

APRIL 2006 - MILLETS

Richard Flintham executive creative director, Fallon

"The very overcrowded bandwagon I am attempting to jump on here is the
one I hope is applauding a client who wanted to break category norms to
get better results. Who wanted to give his agency the best possible run
at it by not getting in their way, and to the team who respected that
trust by doing responsible, engaging, simple work. Are they the best
press ads I've ever seen? No. Are they the sort of ads that Leagas
Delaney used to knock out daily? Yes. Are they lessons to us all right
now? Absolutely."

Creative team: Dave Hobbs, Richard Stoney

Agency: Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy

Client: Millets

MAY 2006 - DEPARTMENT FOR COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Andy Cheetham creative director, Cheetham Bell JWT

"I think this is a great newspaper campaign. Funnily enough, the ads
don't work as well on posters since there are too many navigation points
to take in when passing. It's a strong visual way of telling me how to
deal with a lot of the pain-in-the-neck things that surround me. The ads
are simple, nicely art-directed and easy to understand."

Creative team: Phil Beaumont, Sam Richards

Agency: Euro RSCG

Client: Department for Communities and Local Government

JUNE 2006 - NIKE

Dave Dye

"Reminds me of one of those great jingoistic Sun front covers, such as
'Achtung!'or 'Turnip Head' - the kinds of images that seep into our
culture. The fact that it was spoofed with Rooney holding Ronaldo's
decapitated head is testament to this."

Creative team: Chris Groom, Stuart Harkness, Guy Featherstone

Agency: Wieden & Kennedy

Client: Nike

JULY 2006 - YAKULT

Ed Morris, executive creative director, Lowe London

"Simple. Iconic. Tonally, bang on. Made good use of small space."

Creative team: Michael Russoff, Richard Dorey, Mark McCall

Agency: Wieden & Kennedy

Client: Yakult

AUGUST 2006 - YAKULT

Tiger Savage, head of art and deputy creative director, M&C Saatchi

"Really love the ads for Yakult. Well executed and a brand name that
says it all. The ads exploit the use of small-space advertising and, in
my book, would make equally good posters. This execution in particular
stands out, probably as it could have been made for me. God bless great
clients."

Creative team: Michael Russoff, Richard Dorey, Mark McCall

Agency: Wieden & Kennedy

Client: Yakult

SEPTEMBER 2006 - BIRDS EYE

Jim Thornton executive creative director, Leo Burnett

"This is just a brilliantly simple visual that intrigued me enough to
rouse me from my early morning commuting slumbers. It immediately takes
the problem of childhood obesity out of the distant arenas of medical
journals, newsrooms and the Houses of Parliament and makes it real again
by concentrating it back where it belongs - the home - with wit and
impact. My only gripe is that, having done such a good job at pulling me
in through the shot, the headline subsequently felt pretty feeble and
more than a little defensive. However, I came away knowing that more
than 50 per cent of Birds Eye kids' foods have had the saturated fat
removed, so job done."

Creative team: Steve Wakelam, Dean Wei

Agency: Bartle Bogle Hegarty

Client: Birds Eye

OCTOBER 2006 - VIRGIN TRAINS

Leon Jaume executive creative director, WCRS

"The Virgin Trains campaign is founded on a predictable strategy and is
burdened with two endlines, one of which ('Valuable thinking time') it
has executed in various ways. But a smile can sweep churlishness aside,
and when I read the imagined prototypes for Clark Gable's fond goodbye
in Gone With The Wind, this ad just wriggled ahead of the chasing
pack."

Creative team: Zac Ellis, Rich Littler, Kim Hutcheson, Joe
Fitzgerald

Agency: Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R

Client: Virgin

NOVEMBER 2006 - BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION

Gerrry Moira, UK director of creativity, Euro RSCG

"I'm not quite sure of this ad's real agenda, but there is no more
compelling and immediate visual on offer this month."

Creative team: Adam Chiappe, Matt Saunby

Agency: TBWA\London

Client: British Heart Foundation.