38 OBIE Awards Presented for Exceptional Out of Home Advertising
Campaigns for Sonic Drive-In, Kenneth Cole, and the Seattle Aquarium Take Home Top Honors
The Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) presented 38 OBIE Awards, including top honors for Best Billboard, Best Street Furniture/Transit/Alternative, and Best Multi-Format campaigns. The winners of the 73rd annual OBIE Awards were honored at a celebration last night during the 2015 OAAA\TAB National Convention + Expo in San Diego, CA.
“The OBIE Awards celebrate outstanding creativity and those who make it all come together as truly memorable advertising,” said OAAA Chief Marketing Officer Stephen Freitas. “This year’s winners demonstrated the power of the out of home medium to amplify a brand’s message, thereby connecting with and engaging consumers.”
Adams Outdoor Advertising took home the 2015 Best Billboard Campaign award for its “Big Slushes” campaign for Sonic Drive-In. This local campaign informed the residents of the Charleston, SC, area about Sonic’s many flavor combinations by turning billboards into giant slushes complete with 3D straws.
Kenneth Cole Productions was honored with the 2015 Best Street Furniture/Transit/Alternative Campaign award for the “Be the Evolution” campaign for Mankind Fragrance by Kenneth Cole. Inspired by today’s modern and evolved man, this New York subway campaign urged men to perform good deeds throughout the day, such as giving up a seat on the train or taking a photo for a tourist.
Copacino+Fujikado was presented with the 2015 Best Multi-Format Campaign award for the Seattle Aquarium’s “Amazing Facts” campaign. Using billboards and transit ads, the Seattle Aquarium educated and entertained potential visitors, appealing to children and their parents. Playful images and headlines were used to intrigue multiple generations and left families in awe of what they had learned about their favorite aquatic creatures.
Freitas added, “Out of home advertising is based on creative appeal and its ability to communicate to consumers with only a simple line of copy or image. Each winner creatively connected with the public, demonstrating the visual power of out of home.”
In addition to the top category awards, OAAA awarded 14 Gold OBIEs and 20 Silver OBIEs.
Iconic brand HBO was honored with the 2015 OBIE Hall of Fame Award, recognizing the brand’s consistent excellence in OOH advertising design over many decades.
A new OBIE Awards website was also launched, housing images and information about all OBIE winners. The new site will also serve as a portal to submit OBIE entries for future awards programs and offers expanded coverage of past OBIE Hall of Fame winners.
