"Animals Like Garbage" by Ruf Lanz for TIR is "Poster of the Year".

The winners of the "Swiss Poster Award 2016" have been announced. They were honored at the "APG|SGA Poster Night" in Zurich on March 9, 2017. From the more than 340 creations submitted, 14 works won one of the trophies in gold, silver or bronze. The main prize "Poster of the Year" was awarded to the Foundation for the Animal in Law with the Animals Like Garbage Campaign.

Responsible at Tier im Recht (TIR): Gieri Bolliger (Managing Director), Christine Künzli (Deputy Managing Director), Vanessa Gerritsen (Deputy Managing Director), Michelle Richner (Legal Research Associate). Responsible at Ruf Lanz: Danielle Lanz, Markus Ruf (Creative Direction), Isabelle Hauser (Art Direction), Markus Ruf (Text), Linda Egloff (Consulting). Implementation: Carioca Studio@Visualeyes International.

The "Poster of the Year" thus goes to an emotional poster campaign from Ruf Lanz. Animals are often disposed of by their owners like garbage. This tragic reality in many households is portrayed on the posters of the Animal in Law Foundation in an outstanding way in terms of design and raises awareness against cruelty to animals. "The "Animals like Garbage" series makes injustice visible, triggers emotions, appeals to our conscience and activates," said jury president Christian Brändle. The jury therefore chose the campaign as the winner of the year.

Markus Ruf and Gieri Bolliger, managing directors of Tier im Recht, are aware that the foundation's anniversary campaign has a startling and harsh effect. "But that's intentional, because when an organization turns 20, you might ask yourself, 'Do we even need it today?' We want to convey that the situation for many animals is unfortunately still tough. Many criminal cases for animal cruelty are dropped, or there are such paltry penalties that they don't act as a deterrent," they said in an interview with Werbewoche last November.

With the "Must-haves for the household"campaign for Sibler and the Asian-like characters of the Facial expressions for Autism Switzerland, the Ruf Lanz agency was also awarded two gold medals. Also securing gold were Atelier Bundi from Boll for Architekturforum Bern, Y&R Group Switzerland (Wunderman) with the weather-sensitive Marionnaud poster and Leo Burnett with the already multiple award-winning (Epica Gold, Edi-Gold) WOZ crossword campaign.

Not only was Rod able to celebrate silver twice with the Love Life Campaign 2016 but also Digitec. The online electronics retailer puts the award in the showcase of its in-house design team. The fourth silver award went to Havas with the poster "Pause" for the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.

Of the four bronze awards, Ruf Lanz secured two more: on the one hand, for the popular Zoofäscht campaign "Now everyone would like to be a kangaroo," on the other hand for the disappointed hotel reviews of the Maiensässhotel Guarda Val, Lenzerheide.

Of note: Cavalcade was only launched in mid-2016 founded and is the only non-German Swiss agency to win an award. Bronze is awarded for the children's drawing Memories to the Natural History Museum in Geneva. The fourth bronze award went to Jung von Matt for its job ad campaign for OBI.

Surprise moments during the award ceremony

The jury of experts, consisting of 20 renowned members from the fields of advertising, culture and design, had previously made a shortlist from over 340 submitted poster designs: The secret shortlist served as the basis for the award. The 14 works were awarded prizes at the "APG|SGA Poster Night" on March 9, 2017, in the newly opened Samsung Hall. It was not only the competition entries that provided surprises, but also the new stage design. Marcel Weiss, together with Nicole Mettier and Georg Vogel, staged the nominated posters in handmade paper and cardboard scenarios. The so-called "stop-motion technique" brought the world of outdoor advertising to life and transported the audience into a new dimension.

Dinner party for the poster celebrities

Röbi Koller hosted the show and guided the guests through the evening under the motto "Experience Out of Home". For the show act, the tango couple Annatina Luck and Daniel Aranda and the musician Christine Schmid slipped into the role of street artists. The winners of the largest poster competition were then celebrated in an informal atmosphere at the dinner party. The themed buffet was modeled on a street food festival, with various "market stalls" offering culinary delights to discover and feast on. Winners, jury and more than 350 guests - among them well-known personalities from the advertising industry - celebrated the Poster Night until late in the evening. (hae/pd)