PERSPECTIVE: Winners give cause for optimism even in these difficult times.(Column)

With my New Year's resolution not to use seasonal cliches such as resolutions as column openers (and because Stuart Elliott has cornered the market in brilliant examples of such on page 19), let's move straight on to the most dramatic news this week: our annual awards for outstanding achievement over the past 12 months.

Admittedly, this year the drama lies firmly in the stature of the accolades and is not born of fierce argument and tangled debate; our winners will, I suspect, meet with little gainsay. In most categories, competition was strenuous and runners-up were closer to the main prize than their also-ran positioning might suggest.

But the choice of Mother as Agency of the Year for the second year running is unlikely to surprise.

Yes, debate about the depth of Mother's reel still rages (particularly when compared with the breadth and maturity of Bartle Bogle Hegarty's last year), but the quality of the distinctive creative style it displays and its pounds 80 million-plus new-business record is above criticism. Mother continues to be the agency whose blaze others trail, where the best young talent wants to work, where bold clients are turning to engineer change.

Few heads will be scratched, either, over the news that Naked takes our Media Agency gong, and for similar boundary-challenging, convention-busting reasons.

For creative flair and a sure marketing touch on all its brands, Scottish Courage is Advertiser of the Year, but it is its brilliant and ...