• by August 4, 2004

MS, what?

EmSneee. MsNe.

Huh?

Oh, Emmessenny.

It's a funky-looking word that's even more of a tongue-twister if you try saying it five times fast. At any rate, last night the folks from Microsoft held the second annual Emmessenny Awards at Crobar in New York City. The club, whose red velvet ropes normally serve to keep people out, were ushering online creative and media teams in to honor break-out interactive campaigns that have run on MSN.

In all, MSN awarded $75,000 to agency winners, with Omnicom Group's Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, snaring top honors for its "Capture the World" campaign for Hewlett-Packard. As the best-in-show winner, Goodby received $25,000 and a trophy. Aaron Griffiths of Goodby strode on stage and donned a tiara for the occasion, accompanied by HP client Mary Bermel, interactive communications and global brand advertising. MSN aired a reality-style mockumentary shot in Goodby's offices that showed colleagues offering sarcastic testimonials.

Carat Interactive, Boston, won top honors in the branding category with a $10,000 prize for its Adidas campaign which appeared recently on the MSN home page, while Digitas, also of Boston, scored a $5,000 prize in the same category for its Pontiac GTO work. I'm wondering what the agency winners, (there are more than the three mentioned here), will do with their cash--go on a retreat, award mini-grants for classes or seminars, give it to charity, create a scholarship fund? Who knows.

MSN says it received 280 entries to the awards with winners chosen in four categories: best in show, branding, rich media, and direct marketing.

The party throbbed with agency and client-side folks, I'd say nearly 300 or so. I spotted people from Universal McCann, Glow Interactive, Carat Interactive, Euro RSCG, Digitas, OgilvyOne, Johnson & Johnson, and Avon, but it was dark. While the drinks flowed and the food, particularly the tiny yellow cupcakes with shredded coconut icing, was a delight, I was surprised that the world's biggest software company couldn't find a way to project a crisper resolution onto the flatscreens at Crobar so we could truly see, and enjoy the campaigns honored. I'm no techie, but I've seen better demos on my workplace PC.

Congratulations to all the winners! And a big thank you to MSN for continuing to do the heavy lifting required in order to show marketers that dynamic online investments deliver a return on investment.