Sri Lanka: 'Garments without Guilt' - historic win at Global Effie

Grey Colombo's campaign 'Garments without Guilt' became Asia's first ever entry to win a Global Effie, making it the first Asian agency to win one since the inception of the awards in 2003. In a press release, Vice President and Country Head of Grey Global in Colombo Ajai V.Singh said, "Winning this award is truly historic to us as our campaign was not based on big dollar budgets but extremely clear strategic thinking and new age marketing tools which combined with equally immaculate execution and monitoring."
The press release stated that the Global Effie, known for its stringent judging, annually selects only three winners followed by finalists and a shortlist. There are no categories or segments. This year, globally, only two brands will be awarded the winner's trophy as none other matched the standards, one of which is 'Garments without Guilt.' The press release said this campaign successfully positioned Sri Lanka Apparel, the world's first apparel industry brand, on an ethical platform.
Grey's Director of Strategic Planning and Brand Services Sailesh Waidhwa said the award makes the 'Garments without Guilt' campaign the most awarded Sri Lankan campaign internationally, having won the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Award in Macau and the WPPED Cream Awards in New York. The press release said the Global Effie is considered the Oscars of advertising and marketing effectiveness as it combines creativity and business effectiveness to make ideas that work. The event will be held on June 3, 2009 in New York.