[Loeries] Awards ceremonies: let’s get the party started!

Ok ok, we all know by now that the partying for Loeries has begun before people even arrive at the airport - and then on the Saturday afternoon there’s the Velocity Films pool party - but if you’re a member of the media who either glued to a laptop posting up stories and trying to catch up on a day’s worth of email (or swanning it out at the SABC media lunch in Southbroom), the soccer-stadium atmosphere in the giant tent which hosts the Loeries awards is a blast!

Raucous, loud, noisy: it’s a young crowd, mainly, and definitely with the party spirit. Last night (Saturday 26 July) we had Lowe Bull in white gumboots and glow-in-the-dark orange horns, red Ogilvy-branded balloons and balls being batted around, DDB with banners, whistles and vuvuzelas and then red Bizcommunity streamers being gooied all over the place - over the audience, the stage, the winners, the Loerie statuettes - you name it, we had it covered!

Then the ceremony proper started and somehow some of the vibe disappeared last night, despite the slickness of the audiovisual presentations and stage setup. I heard that people left early because they were bored. And I can’t believe that MC John Vlismas actually repeated some of the same jokes from last year! It was certainly not as much fun for me as last year’s Saturday ceremony, so I’m really hoping that tonight all the stops will be pulled out.

Talk this afternoon at the Draftfcb lunch this afternoon at Riptide in Southbroom concerned the disrespectful behaviour at the awards last night during the deputy mayor’s welcome speech. Two creatives went up on stage while he was speaking; one kissed the deputy mayor and the other draped red underpants on his shoulder. The deputy mayor took it all in his stride and continued but why did no-one apologise afterwards? Yes, it’s the advertising industry and a certain amount of high jinks is only to be expected, but there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed and respect must still be shown, was some of the sentiment expressed at lunch.

That kind of behaviour certainly doesn’t make mom proud.