Russ Curry, Ministry of New Media
The Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) last night presented the 79th Annual OBIE Award Winners. As regular readers will know, each year the OBIE Awards honor the year’s most accomplished creative campaigns in out of home (OOH) advertising, and this year OAAA presented 58 awards via a virtual ceremony.
This year’s top honor, the Platinum OBIE Award, went to Google Brand Studio for its groundbreaking “The Most Searched” campaign. The impetus behind the award-winning campaign stemmed in 2019 around Martin Luther King Jr. Day with the hunch that Dr. King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” could be the most searched speech of all time.
Google data scientists tested the theory, combing 15+ years of U.S.-based Trends Data, from January 1, 2004 (when U.S. Google Search Data first became available) to July 1, 2019.
“’I Have a Dream” was, indeed, the most searched. This insight inspired a deeper search for other African Americans and African American-led movements that were the “most searched” in the United States.
“To celebrate Black History Month, we used Google Trends data to identify the most searched Black American individuals and achievements in US Google Search History,” said Michael Tabtabai, Executive Creative Director, Google Brand Studio. “From the most searched speech (“I Have a Dream”) to the most searched NASA mathematician (Katherine Johnson), these individuals and moments have defined American history and inspired millions to search and ask questions. Our creative challenge became finding the right visual language to acknowledge these iconic humans and the unique achievement of being the most searched. We arrived at a beautifully simple conclusion – the human, the query, and a physical location, all coming together to celebrate the history makers and those they inspire to ask questions in the pursuit of learning and progress.”
The Gold OBIE Award winners were presented to:
- In Media: R/GA California (Reddit Up The Vote) for Reddit, Inc.
- In Nonprofits & Public Service: William Ransom & Clear Channel (George Floyd – I Can’t Breathe Mama) for NE Sculpture Co
- In Nonprofits & Public Service: The Buntin Group (OUTPOUR) for The Buntin Group
- In Nonprofits & Public Service: Extra Credit Projects (Ruth Bader Ginsburg Tribute) for Extra Credit Projects
- In Consumer Goods & Services: Alto NY (In honor of all the brave nurses. Now and forever) for Montefiore-Einstein
The OBIE CRAFT Award winners are:
- Copywriting: OUTFRONT Studios (Accessories for Your Batteries) for Adam & Eve
- Digital Design: OUTFRONT Media (GIFS OF TIME) for OUTFRONT & GIPHY
- Illustration: Alto NY (In honor of all the brave nurses. Now and forever.) for Montefiore-Einstein
“I am so proud of our members and the OOH community for their powerful responses to this year’s particular challenges. From beating back the advance of a deadly virus to meeting our communities’ enlivened commitment to diversity and inclusion, these creatives have stepped up and really won the day.” said Anna Bager, President and CEO, OAAA.
In addition to the platinum and gold awards, 16 silver and 33 bronze OBIE Awards were presented.
This Year’s OBIE AWARD judges included:
- Jury Chief, Tiffany Rolfe, Global Chief Officer, R/GA
- Shepard Fairey, Artist
- Keven Grady, EVP, Head of Design, FCB Chicago
- Susan Hoffman, Chairman, Wieden+Kennedy
- Jonathan Midenhall, Co-Founder & Chair, TwentyFirstCenturyBrand
- Jim Wilson, CEO, Talon North America
- Leslie Wingo, President and CEO, Sanders/Wingo
Jury Chief Rolfe added, “It was quite an adventure to look at what our industry has been able to accomplish during this very trying year. These winners all gave us a lot to think about and a wonderful preview of what we can expect in the future as the whole world moves out of home and brings new eyes to our work.”
The complete list of OBIE winners and Finalists can be found on the website at www.obieawards.org.
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