After a long absence, fish giant John West has made a successful return to the Irish press advertising scene by winning the NNI Press Ad of the Month award for May.

Created by Mediaworks / Boys & Girls, the simple two-ad campaign ‘Brain Food’was described by the judging panel as ‘a smart, simple campaign that makes you smile’. The ads were written by Rory Hamilton and Roger McGrath, art direction was by Bairbre McGlade and media planning was by Fiona Field and Caroline Lennon (Mediaworks)

NNI’s press ad competition for May was judged by Ger Roe of Publicis QMP and Shay Keany of ZenithOptimedia with the assistance of Maeve Donovan, chair of the judging panel. Commenting on the panel’s choice, Ger Roe said:

‘It’s great to see John West back advertising and this is a smart, simple campaign featuring a nice little insight. It’s also good to see an agency back doing what advertising is good at – communicating a solid truth about the product. Great shots, good art direction and it makes you smile.’

Maeve Donovan said that the John West campaign communicates a serious message in an attractive, amusing style. ‘Humour always does it for me and you can almost hear all the mothers in the target audience going aaaaah’, she said.‘Congratulations to Mediaworks and Boys & Girls for such an excellent piece of work.’

‘Brain Food’ for John West has now qualified for the NNI Press Ad of the Year awards next spring, along with the runners – up for May which were:

‘Bookies are for losers’ by Bonfire for Betfair
‘Cheaters’ by Rothco for Dublin Bus
‘Bloom 2010’ by McCann Erickson for Bord Bia

The NNI Press Ad of the Month competition for July is now open here.