RACE AGAINST WASTE WINS WORLDWIDE ADVERTISING AWARD

Thursday, 27th January 2005

The Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government’s Race Against Waste advertising campaign has won a Gold World Medal for Effectiveness at the New York Festival’s Gala AME Awards Ceremony in New York, in the Public Service, Not for Profit category. This is the first time that an ad campaign from Ireland has won an Effectiveness Award in the New York Festivals in which over 60 countries entered. The award is for the evocative and shocking “Why?” campaign featuring a TV advertisement with a tidal wave of waste and rats invading the everyday calm of suburban Ireland. David Lyle and Julie Anne Bailie, Directors of Lyle Bailie International, who designed and planned the national ad campaign, will accept the award at a ceremony in New York tonight.

"This is fantastic news. I am delighted that our efforts to change people’s attitudes on waste and to start reducing, reusing, recycling and composting have gained worldwide recognition," said Dick Roche, TD, Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government.

"The Race Against Waste campaign increased the sense of personal individual responsibility for the environment from 40% to 70% - an outstanding achievement for everybody in the 'Race Against Waste' team who worked so hard to make such a major impact on Ireland’s waste problems," said David Lyle, Chief Executive, Lyle Bailie International.

"The Race Against Waste is the most comprehensive advertising and communications campaign on waste that we have ever carried out and this, the third award for the campaign, is a further endorsement that we are going about it in the best way," continued Minister Roche. "I congratulate all those involved in the campaign".

"We are thrilled at this world-class recognition of Ireland’s Race Against Waste campaign," said Julie Anne Bailie, Executive Creative Director, Lyle Bailie International. "Our case study demonstrated that 93% of adults were influenced by the campaign – a golden result by any standard."

The AME Awards for advertising and marketing effectiveness honor excellence in effective and creative communications. The Board of Judges is made up of an international, multi-disciplinary group representing marketers, advertisers and advertising agencies. Each campaign is judged by how well it meets its objectives within its category, and also in its own marketplace, whether local, regional, national or international. It then competes with all comparable campaigns submitted from around the world.

Race Against Waste has also won the Public Relations Institute of Ireland’s Best Public Information Campaign 2004 and won a silver medal at the IAPI ADFX 2004 Advertising Effectiveness Awards.

For more information about how to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost at home and at work visit www.raceagainstwaste.ie or lo-call 1890-667639 during office hours for advice and information about all aspects of waste management for people at home and at work.

ENDS.

For further information: Neasa Kane, 087-232 0038 / Mary Murphy, 087-233 6415