The panel of judges we assembled two days ago chose an ad called Yo-Yo as deserving of Gold. The actual Gold Siren for 2012 has gone to an ad called Holidays. But we were close. Both ads were written by Sydney agency, The Monkeys, as part of the same series for Ikea. The single ad, written by Tim Green (pictured) and Tim Cairns, also won a Silver Siren for winning the single category. The winners have just been announced in Melbourne, at a breakfast hosted by Merrick Watts.


The winning ad uses a child telling his class about his school holiday experiences of his dad installing a kitchen. The ad won a Gold Lion at the Cannes Advertising Festival last year.

Judge, John Mescall, executive creative director, McCann Worldgroup, said about the winning ad: “Holidays” didn’t win just because it was funny. Nor did it win just because it had a kid in it who said f***. It won because it dared speak the ugly truth about IKEA: assembling their furniture can be a real pain in the a***. Such irreverent self-deprecation has always been a hallmark of great Australian advertising, and long may it be so.”

The winning team said: “We were inspired by the idea of a regular unskilled guy attempting to install a kitchen by himself and what the flow-on effect might be. We tried to imagine what having your Dad install a kitchen would be like, seen through the eyes of an enthusiastic six year old.

“Radio ads are often used to speed read a shopping list of product benefits, but like all good ads if you can just focus on saying one thing well, you’ll be winning.”

The winning writers will receive airfares, accommodation and tickets to this year’s Cannes Advertising Festival, to be held next month. This year, for the first time, the client also wins a trip to Cannes and the festival.

At the breakfast, Commercial Radio Australia CEO Joan Warner said: “This is in recognition of the important role clients play in driving the writing, production and delivery of high quality radio ads.”

The same Ikea ad also won the 2012 Siren Client Award, the best ad voted by a judging panel made up of clients, with the writers receiving a cash prize of $5000. 

The national Siren Awards, now in their eighth year, are run by Commercial Radio Australia and are designed to recognise the best radio advertising in the country. A winner is announced in three categories: single, campaign and craft, which receive Silver Sirens as well as an overall winner which receives the Gold Siren. The awards are judged by the Siren Council, comprised of creative directors and producers from leading advertising agencies and studios throughout Australia.

Winner of the Silver Siren for the campaign category announced today was “”AA Campaign” for Alcoholics Anonymous, written by Des Hameister from agency, Gatecrasher in Perth.

The ads are very confronting about the effects of alcohol on everyday situations. Des Hameister said about the ads: “At the end of the day, alcoholics don’t just hurt themselves. And this spot empathises with that fact in an impactful way.”

John Mescall said the ad is “a very strong radio idea, brilliantly realised.”

“As scripts, they probably could’ve gone either way, given the degree of difficulty inherent in the execution. But as finished commercials, they’re bloody great. Everyone involved should take a bow.”

The Silver Siren winner for the craft category was an ad for SA Lotteries called “Scratched Record”, and produced by sound engineers, Scott Illingworth and Pete Best from production studio, Best FX in Adelaide.

Warner said the Siren Awards provided a great opportunity to recognise excellence in Australian radio advertising and had grown in stature each year: “Each year the creative bar is lifted in terms of delivering a great product – it is essential that radio ads continue to be creative and produce good results so the medium is showcased as a very beneficial way to advertise.”

2012 Siren Award winners

Siren Awards 2012 Overall Category Winner (Gold Siren)

(also winner of 2012 Client Category (cash prize)

Agency: The Monkeys, Sydney

Writer: Tim Green and Tim Cairns

Client: Ikea

Commercial Title: “Holidays”

Siren Awards 2012 Single Category Winner (Silver Siren)

Agency: The Monkeys, Sydney

Writer: Tim Green and Tim Cairns

Client: Ikea

Commercial Title: “Holidays”

Siren Awards 2011 Campaign Category Winner (Silver Siren)

Agency: Gatecrasher, Perth

Writer: Des Hameister

Client: Alcoholics Anonymous

Commercial Title: “AA Campaign” 

Siren Awards 2011 Craft Category Winner (Silver Siren)

Sound Engineers: Scott Illingworth and Pete Best

Production Studio: Best FX, Adelaide

Client: SA Lotteries

Campaign Title: “Scratched Record”