• Press

Press Room

Matt Shirtcliffe of AIM Proximity, New Zealand, To Win Irving Wunderman Award For 'Lifetime Creative Achievement' at 28th Annual John Caples International Awards Show

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - 15 February 2006 – An innovative print and direct mail Call For Entries (CFE), campaign for the XXVIII Caples Direct Marketing ad competition has been developed, pro bono, by David Hackett, Executive Creative Director of Euro RSCG 4-D NY, and his creative team, Chris Formisano, Sheryl White, and Virginia Atkinson.

The Creative Director behind 13 Caples awards, he is the first Irving Wunderman Award recipient from New Zealand, and the first from anywhere in the Pacific rim.

THE IRVING WUNDERMAN AWARD
Named after one of the world's most inspirational copywriters, The Irving Wunderman Award is presented by the Caples Board to an individual who, for a decade or more, has combined the highest levels of talent, imagination, curiosity and human insight into a unique body of creative work.

HONOREES
1987 Thomas L. Collins 1998 Randy Belcher
1988 Bob Stone 1999 Chris Jones (UK)
1989 William North Jayme 2000 Bruce Lee
1990 Walter H. Weintz 2001 Richard Eber
1991 Henry Cown 2002 Peter White
1992 Emily Soell 2003 Arthur Parshotam (UK)
1993 Ed McLean 2004 Steven Bassett
1994 Robert Fisler 2005 Matt Shirtcliffe (NZ)
1994 Andy Cohen
1996 Rosalie Sacks Levine
1997 Joe Cupani

Shirtcliffe began his career as a copywriter in 1994 at Colenso (later Clemenger BBDO) in Wellington. In 1999, Shirtcliffe became Creative Director of AIM Direct (now AIM Proximity) in Auckland, a position he held through 2001. In 2000 the agency won gold at the UK's Marketing Direct Creative and Innovation Awards, and three golds at ECHO. Locally, AIM remained the most awarded agency.

In 2001, AIM entered the John Caples Awards for the first time and won a Second Place, as well as a Silver at ECHO. Locally, the agency won the Grand Prix award for best campaign at the RSVP awards. Shirtcliffe was the most awarded copywriter and Creative Director. And in 2002, the agency won more Caples.

After a brief sojourn at Grey Worldwide, Shirtcliffe returned to be Creative Director and member of the Board of Directors at AIM Proximity. That year, the agency's campaign for MINI BMW won a First and Second Place Caples, and the agency won another two awards at Caples as well.

In 2004, AIM Proximity was voted AdMedia's Agency of the Year after significant business growth, and it reached a number 2 ranking in the global WON Report of creative Direct Marketing agencies. That year, their work once again featured prominently at Caples.

For 2005, AIM Proximity has five finalists at the Caples (their places will be announced on the night) for a range of clients including Bank of New Zealand, Air New Zealand, and MINI BMW. Locally, AIM Proximity won its first gold EFFIE award for advertising effectiveness, with the launch of the Airpoints Dollars program.

Also in 2005, Shirtcliffe helped arrange the first-ever creative exchange within the Proximity Worldwide network. This involved swapping two art directors between Auckland and Vienna for three months. Shirtcliffe states that the experience has proven invaluable, both for those creatives being exchanged and for the offices involved, who have shared in their knowledge and talent.

Outside of the agency, Shirtcliffe is a regular guest lecturer at the Graduate Diploma of Advertising Creativity, as well as the Marketing Association's Diploma programme and the Media Design School's Graduate course. In 2004 he was voted best guest speaker by the Marketing Association. He is also a regular contributor of articles and opinion to industry publications, including DLB magazine, AdMedia and Campaign Brief.

About The Caples

The John Caples International Awards competition and ceremony, now in its 28th year, awards the individual members of direct and interactive marketing teams judged to have entered the most innovative solutions to real-time marketing challenges.

Regularly receiving in excess of 1,000 entries with the help of several hundred Caples national and regional chairpersons in more than 46 countries, the Caples competition is then judged by more than 100 creative professionals in three rounds of judging. Critically, these creatives evaluate the creative campaign entries by reading about the problem that had to be creatively resolved and then touching and feeling the actual work - rather than viewing digital synopses as in other shows.

The yearly cycle of activities for The John Caples competition includes a Call for Entries created on a pro bono basis and made available to creatives around the world in the 3rd quarter; Caples entry submission deadline of September 30; judging in New York City during the first part of November; and a John Caples Awards Ceremony in New York City.

The 28th Caples Night Award Party will be held Thursday, March 2nd, 2006 from 5:00 PM to 9:30 PM at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011. For reservations, call 516-746-6700, x210. For more information, visit the Caples web site at www.caples.org.