Finalists for the best radio ad of 2018 have been announced today, with ten of Australia’s leading agencies from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, competing for the Gold Siren to be awarded next month.
The finalists include; The Monkeys, Clemenger BBDO, Marketforce, J Walter Thompson, Ogilvy, BMF, McCann, YR, Fenton Stephens and The Brand Agency.
One half of last year’s winning creative team, Joe Hawkins now with Marketforce, Perth is a finalist with Neil Martin in both the single and campaign category with ads for Lotterywest.
Last year’s winning ad was for the Road Safety Commission called ‘Time with Mum”, a humorous ad that showed young drivers what happens when the freedom to drive is taken away.
Stand-up comedian Cam Knight will host this year’s Siren Awards on 10 May at the Arthouse Hotel in Sydney. Knight has been an actor and stand-up comedian for 16 years, and a regular on Triple M, the Today Show and Studio 10.
CEO of CRA, Joan Warner said: “This is the 13th year of the Siren Awards and once again the caliber of entries has been outstanding. The awards are designed to recognise excellence in radio creative and showcase the best radio ads in Australia.”
The Gold Siren winner will receive a trip to the Cannes Radio Lions in June, accompanied by the client of their winning campaign. In addition, Silver Sirens will be awarded to the winners of the three Siren categories of single, campaign and craft.
The winners are decided by the Siren Creative Council; a panel of creative directors from leading ad agencies. Finalists are selected from five rounds and final call of Siren voting throughout 2017-2018.
In addition, there is also a $5000 cash prize for a client-voted award. A panel of clients vote for the best ad from the round 1- 5 overall winners and it is presented to the writers of the winning ad.
The national Siren Awards are run by Commercial Radio Australia and are designed to recognise the best radio advertising in Australia.
The 2018 Siren Awards will take place on Thursday, 10 May at the Arthouse Hotel, Sydney between 6 – 9 pm.
Listen to the finalists here.