Three Drunk Monkeys’ Justin Drape appointed head of judges for the 2010 Caxtons in Noosa

Justin Drape, co-founder of Three Drunk Monkeys, who has just been named as the chairman of judges for the 2010 Caxton Awards, has challenged Australian creatives to stop neglecting print advertising, lift their game in the medium, and enter the Caxton Awards as a way of showing their creative mettle.

Drape says press advertising was still one of the most powerful mediums available to Australian creatives, but they had neglected it because of their preoccupation with other channels.

“Of all the media available to us now, press advertising is still oneof the most powerful. We have to make an intelligent and emotiveconnection with an audience, and the work that does this is what’ll berecognised and rewarded at this year’s Caxtons,” says Drape.

“The Caxtons will also be a great forum for debate, so I’ll start now by saying that I feel –

as an industry – we’ve been so busy hanging out with the cool kids in digital and

integrated that we’ve neglected the potential of press advertising.”

Drape spent last week at Cannes where he was the Australian member of the Press and Print Jury.

He says: “In Cannes I joined seventeen other jurors to judge the best press from all over the world, and unfortunately no Australian work was deemed worthy of an award. This is a wake-up call to raise our creative standards in this category. We’re certainly kicking ass in others and this is a great opportunity to start creating print ads that are clever and imaginative enough to both move readers, and to stand out on the world stage.” 

Creatives can take up Drape’s challenge immediately. The Caxton Committee today also issued its Call for Entries into the 2010 Caxton Awards, which will remain open until August 6.

The Committee has also named members of the judging panel that will join Drape for the 2010 Caxton Awards.

They are:

Rowan Dean – Euro RSCG

Dejan Rasic – Colman Rasic

Pete Bake – The Glue Society

Andy Dilallo – Leo Burnett

Christian Finucane – 12:20

Vince Lagana – Saatchi & Saatchi

Jim Ingram – GPYR Melbourne

An important addition to the Awards this year is the new “Best Multi-Media Campaign”.  To qualify in this category, a campaign must have appeared across at least three

media channels, one of which must include an eligible newspaper asset (print, website,

newspaper inserted magazine).

Chairman of the Caxton Committee, Rob Belgiovane, said: “The 2010 Caxtons weekend will be one of the best in years. With Justin as chairman, and with the calibre of the judges he’ll be working with, what creative wouldn’t want to showcase his or her work in front of them. We’re not only excited about the judging panel this year but also the introduction of our new Multi-Media category, which recognises the powerful role of cross-platform newspaper campaigns. Add to that the line-up of speakers we’re featuring in 2010 and you have a weekend of advertising enlightenment – and no doubt controversy – like nothing else in Australia.”

Speakers confirmed so far for the event include Jon Wilkins, co-founder of international

advertising powerhouse Naked; legendary advertising icon, Ted Horton; Peter Sinclair,

the man charged with marketing more than 58 beer brands at Carlton & United

Breweries; and marketing management guru Darren Woolley.

Quay West Noosa is the venue for this year’s Caxton Seminar and Awards, to be held

from October 22 to 24.  An entry kit for the 2010 Caxton Awards can be downloaded at:

www.thecaxtonawards.com.au