BBDO Germany and Fallon Minneapolis Win Top Honors at Midas Awards

BBDO Campaign GmbH of Duesseldorf, Germany and Fallon of Minneapolis, USA earned top honors at this year's Midas Awards, announced last month in London. A Grand Midas was awarded to BBDO Campaign of Duesseldorf for "Autumn of Life," their guerrilla marketing advertising campaign created for Deutsche Postbank AG. And a second Grand Midas was bestowed on Fallon of Minneapolis for their brand reminder "Live Richly. Thoughts On Life And Money," produced for Citi.

BBDO Campaign's Grand Midas work, "Autumn of Life," placed a tree clad with artificial leaves amongst bare trees of late fall and asked the question "How do you imagine the autumn of your life to be?" The suggestion was what the autumn of one's life might look like with the Postbank pension scheme. "Live Richly. Thoughts On Life And Money," which earned Fallon of Minneapolis their Grand Midas, was a coffee table compilation of favored print and out-of-home headlines from Citi's successful "Live Richly" campaign. It effectively reminded the reader to "appreciate the small moments and big picture" because "the most important part about making a living, is the living part."

Along with the mighty Grand Midas, BBDO of Duesseldorf came away with three other Golds. Two were won (in the categories of Banking and Best Copywriting) for their "Funny Money" campaign for Investment Counseling. The last win for BBDO was for "Autumn of Life," this time in the category of Retirement Financial Services.

Fallon of Minneapolis, Minnesota surely made Citi very proud as the winners were announced in London. As well as their distinguished Grand Midas honors, Fallon also racked up four other medals. Three Silvers and a Gold Trophy were awarded to Fallon for their three wins in the Credit Card category as well as in the categories of Corporate Image and Banking.

Also noteworthy was a strong showing from McCann Erickson of New York. McCann brought four medals back to the Big Apple for their work on the MasterCard account -- one Gold (for "Airport" campaign) and three Silvers (for "World Cup Sponsorship - Fever," "Priceless Involvement" and the "Dog Trilogy").

The Midas Award winners were selected from over 600 entries received from 31 countries. Preliminary judging panels were convened in advertising centers in the United States, England, Spain and South Africa. An executive panel of judges headed by the Midas Awards Chairperson, Ian Henderson of Masius, London selected the Grand Midas and Midas Award winners.

The New York Festivals is saluting its 2006 Midas Award winners and Finalists in the forthcoming Annual of Advertising Volume 15, to be distributed by Harper Collins International. In addition, all the winners and Finalists are posted on the Midas web site, http://www.midasawards.com .

About the Midas Awards

The Midas Awards is the only competition to recognize excellence in financial services communications on a global scale. The competition extends over regional, national and continental boundaries to provide a true worldview of advertising and corporate communications in the international financial community. Covering banking, brokerage, insurance, mutual fund, credit card, real estate, accounting and consulting companies, the competition focuses on five distinct areas: consumer and business-to-business communications; corporate communications; craft and technique; and best use of medium. Judges for the Midas Awards include client and agency leaders from creative and marketing disciplines whose job is to evaluate not only how a message was delivered, but how it was received. Gold and Silver Midas Awards, and Finalist Certificates for the runners-up are presented to the highest-scoring entries in each category. Grand Awards are presented for the Best of Show. For more information, contact John Basile, Marketing Coordinator by email jbasile@newyorkfestivals.com or by phone at 212.643.4800.212. Visit the Midas Awards website at http://www.midasawards.com .

CONTACT: John Basile Marketing Director The Midas Awards 260 West 39th Street New York, NY 10018 PH: 212-643-4800 Email Contact