Diary: You don’t have to be in it to win it

Chebacked agency Ozone has been busy over the past few months promoting Zocor HeartPro the first overthecounter statin to launch in the UK in August.

Chebacked agency Ozone has been busy over the past few months promoting Zocor HeartPro the first overthecounter statin to launch in the UK in August.

So, staff at the agency’s SW3 office were in healthy spirits this week, with the Zocor campaign having scooped an award the agency’s top brass cla to not even know the brand was in the running for.

The snappilytitled TNS SnapshOTC Awards 2004 saw Zocor win a highly commended award in the wait for it Best Value Consumer Advertising for an OTC Brand category.

This came as a surprise to many, not just Ozone, because the brand’s backers Johnson & Johnson MSD didn’t begin the brand’s ad campaign until polling for the award had stopped.

A TNS spokeswoman admits to PRWeek that the award was ‘highly unusual’ but adds: ‘This is in line with the fact that Zocor is a highly unusual launch’.

A ‘chuffed’ Paul Jarman, Ozone MD, with champers no doubt close at hand, said: ‘I looked at the TNS website for confirmation and there we were among the winners. It’s the first te we’ve won a commendation in a category that we didn’t even enter at an awards ceremony we didn’t even go to.’