Call for entries: Loerie Awards 2016

First staged in 1978 to support South Africa's TV advertising industry, the Loeries have since expanded to encompass all areas of brand communication throughout Africa and the Middle East, including a category dedicated to music videos. The awards serve as a source of inspiration: the benchmark against which all creative projects in the region are measured. For brands, the Loeries are about identifying creative talent that has the potential to set them apart from their competitors and positively contribute to brand equity.

The organisers are inviting creative industry professionals throughout the region to submit their entries for the 2016 Loeries. The call opened on 1 February and closes on Monday 16 May.

A new year means a new theme. This year the ‘Creativity Unites Africa Middle East’ campaign turns the focus on using the occasion to come together to dialogue, share and inspire one another. According to Loeries CEO Andrew Human, “While many in the region acknowledge the potential possessed by our combined creative force, it is critical that people must come together under one roof to explore the possibilities – the Loeries provide for that.”

Most relevant to the music industry is the Loeries’ music video category. Last year’s winner in the music video category was Johannesburg-based animation company New Monday’s video for American band Thee More Shallows’ song ‘2AM’, directed by Frank Weber.

In the past, the Loeries have awarded prizes for music videos by Die Antwoord - for ‘Baby's on Fire’ (2012), 'Fatty Boom Boom' (2013) and 'Pitbull Terrier' (2014) - by Johannesburg-based Egg Films, while in 2011 Spoek Mathambo won a Loerie for his video ‘Control’ by Orange Films.

In the run-up to this year's awards, we await the new Loeries theme song, which in 2015 was performed by African heavyweights AKA and Burna Boy.

New awards

In order to simplify the entry process, the 2016 Loeries also sees a number of exciting changes to the awards categories. The changes for this year’s awards include the following:

• In the Print category, a new award for South African Non-English Print Advertising
• In Print & Outdoor Crafts, a new award for South Africa Non-English Writing
• In the Radio Category, a new award for South African Non-English Radio Station Commercials
• In Radio Crafts, news award for South African Non-English Writing and South African Non-English Performance
• In the TV, Film and Cinema Category, a new award for South African Non-English TV Commercials under 90s
• In TV, Film & Cinema Crafts, a new award for South African Non-English Writing and South African Non-English Performance
• The Ubuntu Award for Sustainable Marketing has changed to Shared Value.

Who should enter?

Design and advertising agencies, public relations firms, film and video producers, architectural consultancies, marketers and brands across the full spectrum of brand communication working within Africa and the Middle East are invited to submit their most creative and inspiring work for the period from 1 June 2015 to 31 May 2016.

The deadline for entries is Monday 16 May. The special 'Early Bird' discount ends on Friday 15 April.

For more details and to enter your work, visit the Loeries website.