91 Agencies Vying for Top Awards in Out of Home Advertising
2015 OBIE Awards to be Presented on May 12 in San Diego
The Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) has revealed the 91 contenders for the 2015 OBIE Awards. Now in its 73rd year, the OBIE Awards program is the oldest and one of the most prestigious shows in advertising, awarding creative excellence in the out of home (OOH) medium.
In addition to multiple Silver and Gold OBIE Awards, OAAA will name three top prizes: Best Billboard Campaign, Best Street Furniture/Transit/Alternative Campaign, and Best Multi-format Campaign.
“With OOH, it has to be simple. That’s kind of the cost of entry…You have to get it right away, and I think that’s a really great creative challenge,” said Tom Scharpf, creative director, Venable Bell & Partners and 2015 OBIE judge. “You can solve something visually or you can solve it with a joke, but the joke better be quick and it better be well-written.”
The 91 campaigns nominated this year demonstrate the myriad ways that simplicity can be captured and expressed through the OOH medium. Some campaigns used that canvas to pique consumers’ interest through striking visuals, like the Mammoth Mountain execution that transformed a billboard into a brightly colored beanie to get travelers excited about being just an hour away from their ski weekend destination.
As technologies expand and improve, there are greater opportunities to personalize interactions with consumers. Coca-Cola used interactive digital bus shelters to bring their “Share a Coke” campaign to the streets of Chicago. The shelters allowed passersby to make a label with their own name on the giant bottle, creating a photo opportunity which could be shared via social media.
“It’s hard to make something that stops someone in their tracks without yelling at them. That’s the challenge: how do you stop them but reward them for their time? How do you do it in a way that’s insighful, that’s artistic, that’s entertaining?” said 2015 OBIE Chief Judge Dave Loew, EVP, executive creative director, Leo Burnett Chicago, and one of this year’s OBIE judges.
“What you’re seeing now with OOH more and more is people being able to interact with units with their mobile phones, and that creates this great two-way communication. That’s when things get really interesting,” said Loew.
The 2015 winners will be announced at the OBIE Awards Gala on Tuesday, May 12. The event will be held as part of the OAAA\TAB National Convention + Expo at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, CA.
A complete alphabetical list of 2015 OBIE contender agencies and campaigns follows:
- 101 & Extra Credit Projects – Art Everywhere US
- 101 & Extra Credit Projects – Art Everywhere US "American Eagle Wall"
- 101 & Extra Credit Projects – Art Everywhere US "American Gothic Stairs"
- 30sixty advertising + design – HISTORY The World Wars
- 30sixty advertising + design – HISTORY The World Wars "Times Square"
- 30sixty advertising + design & Atomic Props – HISTORY HOUDINI
- A&E Television Networks & BPG – A&E Bates Motel
- Adams Outdoor Advertising – 1st Class Painting
- Adams Outdoor Advertising – Boy Scouts Coastal Carolina Council
- Adams Outdoor Advertising – Kuhn and Kuhn Law Firm
- Adams Outdoor Advertising – Mulder's Moving & Storage
- Adams Outdoor Advertising – Sonic Drive-In
- Adams Outdoor Advertising – The Celtic Classic
- AMV BBDO & Grand Visual – Pepsi Max
- Barkley – Dice.com
- Boone Oakley – Charlotte Hornets
- BrandTuitive – Nespresso
- Brokaw Inc. – University Hospitals
- BVK – New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange
- Cactus – Colorado Crisis Services
- Cactus – Colorado HealthOP
- Camp + King – Scharffen Berger
- Colle+McVoy – Explore Minnesota Tourism
- Comedy Central Brand Creative – Comedy Central Drunk History
- Control Group – Amazon.com
- Copacino+Fujikado – Seattle Aquarium
- CP+B – Fruit of the Loom
- CP+B – Hotels.com
- DDB – US Open
- Departure – San Diego Humane Society
- DeVito/Verdi – VCU Medical Center
- droga5 – Diet Coke
- droga5 & Monster Media – glaceau smartwater
- Dunn&Co. – Tampa Bay Lightning
- Eddie Bauer – Eddie Bauer
- Extra Credit Projects – The Pump House
- GdB (Gabriel deGrood Bendt) – Park Dental
- GdB (Gabriel deGrood Bendt) – Summit Brewing Co.
- Google Creative Lab, New York – Google Android
- HBO – HBO Game of Thrones
- HBO – HBO Silicon Valley
- Ingram Advertising Agency and Venables Bell & Partners – Audi A3
- J. Walter Thompson – PUMA
- Juniper Park – Great Western Brewery
- Juniper Park – Miller Lite
- Juniper Park – Tropicana Farmstand
- Kastner & Partners – Red Bull
- kbs+ – BMW i3
- Kenneth Cole Productions – Mankind by Kenneth Cole Fragrances
- Lamar, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area LLC & Nemo Designs – Mammoth Mountain
- Laughlin Constable – Delta Dental
- Laughlin Constable – Wisconsin Department of Tourism
- Laughlin Constable – Wisconsin Veterans Museum
- Leo Burnett Chicago – Art Institute of Chicago
- Leo Burnett Chicago – McDonald's
- Leo Burnett Detroit – Buick
- Leo Burnett Toronto – IKEA
- Leo Burnett Toronto – Raising the Roof
- Lowe Campbell Ewald – HAVEN
- Martin Williams – Basilica Block Party
- Marty Weiss & Friends – Sobieski Vodka
- MBD Communications, Inc. – International Spy Museum
- McCann XBC – MasterCard
- McGarrah Jessee – Shiner Beers "Bottle Opener"
- McGarrah Jessee – Shiner Beers "Half/Half/Half"
- McGarrah Jessee – Shiner Beers "Happy Hour"
- Meers Advertising – United Way of Greater Kansas City
- Mono – TNT The Last Ship
- Mullen – Indeed.com
- NBC Entertainment Marketing – NBC The Blacklist
- Off Madison Ave – Arizona Office of Tourism
- OUTFRONT Media – Georgia Tech Basketball
- OUTFRONT Media – Georgia Tech Football
- OUTFRONT Media – The Salvation Army
- OUTFRONT Media – Vimeo
- Publicis Kaplan Thaler – Citi Field
- R/GA – Samsung Galaxy S5
- ROTHCO – Heineken Cities
- Serve – SpotAbuse.org
- Serve – SpotAbuse.org "Boy/Dog"
- SHOEme.ca – SHOEme.ca
- Sukle Advertising & Design – Denver Water
- Taxi NYC & Monster Media – Mohegan Sun
- TDA_Boulder – FirstBank
- Team Detroit – Ford Focus ST
- The Moderns – More Art
- Victors & Spoils – Bolthouse Farms
- Walz Tetrick – Kansas City Royals
- Wieden+Kennedy – Coca-Cola
- Zulu Alpha Kilo – Corona Extra
- Zulu Alpha Kilo – Jack Astor's Bar & Grill
