This year the MFA Awards mark a quarter century of change-making and effective media thinking. From physical entries delivered in person at the very last minute possible, sit-down dinners switched for theatre-style representations and back again, entertainers swinging from the ceiling and champagne vending machines, we’re celebrating 25 Moments from the MFA Awards – in no particular order! Here are moments 11 to 20.
Check out the first 10 memorable, mesmerising and momentous moments here.
11. In her nine years at the helm of the MFA from 2003 to 2012, Carol Morris heard a lot of dog-ate-my-homework excuses by agencies grovelling for extensions. As she recalls: “There were some great bullshitting stories in the early days – yes, the hard copy version – from those who missed the deadline and were desperately trying to sneak in their entry. The printer broke, the office was hit with sickness, the courier got lost, the client was in Europe – we heard it all. Happy to say, no bribes were ever accepted.”
12. No one quite remembers the year, but everyone remembers the moment: at some point in the 2010s, a violinist descended from the rafters at Randwick Racecourse as the awards ceremony opened, whizzing atop the heads of guests in a unique display of the power of experiential marketing.
13. In 2014, creative agency The Monkeys (soon to be rebranded as Droga5) took out the Grand Prix for its “Stay Living” campaign for Boost Mobile, featuring a series of short films set in a Zombie apocalypse and starring a cricket-bat-wielding rollerskating lesbian, an office girl with two makeshift swords, and dirtbike-riding archer. Very 2010s.
14. “You’re kidding me. This is a gee up.” Henry Tajer was so shocked when now-CHEP Network CEO Lee Leggett presented him with the 2015 MFA Hall of Fame Award during a meeting in New York, where he was Global CEO of IPG Mediabrands, he was convinced he was being pranked. Always generous, he had the presence of mind to acknowledge those around him. “I’m getting the credit for a lot of other people’s work,” he said.
– Watch the video here: https://www.mediafederation.org.au/mfa-events/mfa-awards/hall-of-fame/item/472-henry-tajer
15. Still as amusing today as when it first hit our computer screens, the CFE video for the 2016 MFA Awards is a pearler – watch for cameos from 2022 Hall of Famer and B&T bon viveur Greg “Sparrow” Graham, dentsu Creative CEO Kirsty Muddle, WPP chief strategy officer Katie Rigg-Smith and former Bohemia Group CEO Brett Dawson.
16. Talk about a badly timed bathroom break. At the 2017 Awards, there was a mini-panic when MFA Board Chair Peter “Horgs” Horgan went AWOL just before he was due on stage to announce an important winner – only to be tracked down in the bathroom.
17. The list of MFA Awards MCs reads like a Who’s Who of the Australian entertainment industry, kicking off with Shaun Micallef (before he has Mad as Hell), followed by Tony Squires, Will Anderson, Merrick and Rosso, Bianca Dye, Jonesy and Amanda, Adam Spencer, Julia Zemiro, HG Nelson, Paul McDermott, Andrew O’Keefe and Sonia Kruger, Eddie Perfect, Stephen Curry, Claire Hooper and Nath Valvo – a few of them appearing more than once.
18. At her first awards as MC in 2006, Julia Zemiro – who hosted three times – misinterpreted ROI as a person and called for Roy to make himself known. She kept the joke going across all the ceremonies she hosted. Carol Morris also remembers Julia’s knack for quieting the unruly audience, saying: “Somehow she seemed to spread a bit of calming energy across the room, and I think there was even a time when the audience kept quiet for a good five minutes — record-breaking.”
19. The Nine Network’s champagne vending machine at the 2019 MFA Awards was a hit with attendees, including that year’s MC, comedian Claire Hooper, who pulled out a champagne piccolo from the folds of her dress while on stage.
20. A select group of media superstars went on to win the NGEN Award twice: Sam Geer, currently Initiative MD now of Accenture Song (2009 & 2011 with Alex Ryan), John Dawson & Mark Golafshan (2013 & 2014), Max Learmont & Nolan Yu (2017 & 2019). Evidence that entering the NGEN Award can supercharge your career!
If you’d like to wish the MFA Awards a happy birthday, head to this link to record a video message: https://www.videoask.com/f6pah3t9j
We’ll be sharing more MFA Awards moments next week.
