smashLAB gets in the ring with advertising heavyweights Rethink and DDB at Lotus Awards

VANCOUVER, BC – November 2007 – Advertising industry heavyweights Rethink, DDB and TBWA took the stage for much of last night’s Lotus Awards at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver; meanwhile, a name known to few in the audience also gained a number of mentions. smashLAB earned Merit in the Best Logomark category for the Sinkit logo design; Merit in the Best Self Promotion category for the “Send” campaign; and, most importantly, a Lotus in the Best Interactive Miscellaneous category for Design Can Change.

Design Can Change is a smashLAB initiated effort aimed at combating climate change by championing sustainable practices in the design community. Since launching in April 2007, Design Can Change has had a tremendous response from the design community, having already had over 100,000 visits and nearly 1,000,000 page views. Nearly 1,500 designers from 68 countries have taken the pledge and are listed in the online directory.

The firm is particularly happy to see this meaningful project honoured by the Lotus Awards judges and excited about the opportunities for smaller challengers in the marketplace. As smashLAB’s Creative Director Eric Karjaluoto notes, “We’re up against firms that have hundreds of people on staff. The fact that our firm of four and a half people can crack in there just shows that good work can come from any determined creative group.”

In recent months, smashLAB’s work has also earned wins with the Davey Awards, the Applied Arts Interactive Awards, the Web Marketing Association’s WebAwards, STEP’s Best of the Web competition, and the Advertising and Design Club of Canada’s 2007 Directions competition.

About smashLAB
smashLAB is an interactive services firm that creates meaningful, memorable and easy to manage digital experiences. Their diverse clients in the private and public sector appreciate the firm’s pragmatic and sometimes unorthodox approach.

About the Lotus Awards
The annual Lotus Awards is a competitive advertising awards show that celebrates creative excellence in British Columbia. Established in 1989, the Lotus Awards show was founded by the West Coast advertising community to recognize outstanding creative work of individuals, companies and agencies in BC. Originally just an “advertising” show, it has been expanded in recent years to include design, interactive and direct mail. Leaders from high-profile companies such Heavy.com, 2Advanced Studios, and Ten Plus One Communications were selected to judge the entries.