Cape hospitals, Perryville firm win best of marketing show

Saint Francis Medical Center, Southeast Missouri Hospital and the Wright Group won best of show Friday at the 2006 Tri-State Advertising and Marking Professionals 12th annual ADDY Awards dinner.

The ceremony, held at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau, recognized local advertisers' work in 2006.

Red Letter Communications of Cape Girardeau was recognized for its achievement in business and marketing with the Tri-State AMP Triumph Award.

A slide-show presented pictures of James Riley, Red Letter chief executive officer and creative director, as a baby and a young adult, with long parted hair, as well as various business commercials in many lines of work.

"My story is one of someone who has benefited from great people who have taken the time to teach me, despite my youth and foolishness," said a choked-up Riley. "I know today that in all of life the more you love, the more you can do. If you could be of service, success will follow. We come a long way, haven't we, Mom?"

In all, Red Letter Communications took home 10 awards at the ceremony.

"I know in the scheme of things this isn't a big deal, but by golly it's a big deal to me," Riley said.

Saint Francis Medical Center, in addition to winning nine other awards, won best of show in print media for its 2006 annual report and shared best of show electronic media for its January campaign TV with Southeast Missouri Hospital, which won for its "A Healthier Look at Healthcare -- Physicians" commercial.

The Wright Group of Perryville, Mo., won the third best of show category, for mixed media, with its campaign for RM COCO. The group also took home 10 awards.

Another big winner was Craig Williams Creative Inc. of Pinckneyville, Ill., which at one point won six awards in a row, taking home a total of nine.

Out of a record 187 entries this year, 10 gold, 18 silver and 36 bronze awards were given out.

Jeff Cunningham, anchor/reporter of KFVS12, was master of ceremonies for the show. There was a mob theme, with trivia questions from gangster flicks on each table. Some people dressed as 1920s mobsters.

Before the awards ceremony began, a video presentation of Cunningham displayed him unsuccessfully attempting to debunk stereotypes of Italian Americans as they are portrayed on shows like "The Sopranos." He beat up his cameraman for ending a sentence on the teleprompter with a preposition and his secretary for making him coffee with creamer despite his lactose intolerance. In the end he confessed that he is not Italian, but Greek.

tkrakowiak@semissourian.com

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