M&Ms Christmas campaign, ‘Shoppers Please’, has won the fifth round of the Siren Awards, also winning the campaign category and the single category.
The campaign was created by Clemenger BBDO in Melbourne and is currently in the running to win the Gold Siren for best radio ad of the year.
Check out the full release below. You can also listen to the radio campaign.{^media|(width)300|(height)200|(url)/getattachment/f6935f1e-0399-447c-b1cb-fba0e71f24de/Shoppers-Please.mp3.aspx|(ext).mp3^}.
"M&Ms Xmas campaign wins Sirens round 5
Mars Chocolate Australia’s (M&Ms) Xmas radio campaign has won the overall and campaign categories in the fifth round of the Siren Awards and an ad within the campaign, has taken out the single category. The campaign, called “Shoppers Please” was designed to stand out at a very busy time of year in retail, by using humour and emulating live, in-store situations of customers and staff being unable to resist M&Ms.
Created by agency, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, the 60 second spots in the campaign were written by Rohan Lancaster (pictured left) and Darren Pitt (pictured right), with sound director, Paul Le Couteur from production studio, Flagstaff Studios. The winning single ad, part of the campaign, was called “Tears” and the ads “Argument” and “Refillers” were both highly commended in the single category.
The winning writers said they were inspired to create something that was retail in nature, but didn’t feel like it: “The sparseness of the spots is what makes these different – and what carries the humour.”
Round five judge, Jo Dick from OMG said: “The quiet nature of the ad was appealing; no distractions; lots of clear space for the message to stand out and the humour to have more impact. As the ad goes on the humour continues to reward the listener.”
The retail campaign for M&Ms is now in the running to win the Gold Siren for best radio ad of the year, which will be announced at an industry breakfast event on May 9 in Melbourne. Writers of the best radio ad for 2014 win airfares, accommodation, plus automatic entry and tickets to the Cannes Advertising Lions Festival in June 2014. The client of the Gold Siren winning ad also wins a trip to Cannes and the festival, plus there is a client-voted cash prize of $5,000 awarded to the writers of the ad voted the best by a panel of clients.
The craft category was won by the ad, “Glitch”. An ad with a small child struggling to speak, as though he is computerised, and there is a glitch in his system. It was produced for the Van Wright Foundation by sound engineer, Paul Le Couteur from production studio, Flagstaff Studios.
Three ads were awarded highly commended in the craft category. They were "RAC Batteries” for RAC, produced by sound engineer, Nick Gallagher at Brainestorm; “Save at the Sales” for St John, also produced by sound engineer, Nick Gallagher and “Tomato and Onion”, for Simplot – John West and produced by sound engineer, Cameron Giles-Webb at production studio, Gusto Music.
Three ads were highly commended in the campaign category. They were “Valentine’s Day” for the City of Perth as well as “City Birds, Missile Dance and Asteroid Rock”, written for The Powerhouse Museum by writers, Joe Hawkins and Jade Manning from agency, Saatchi & Saatchi in Sydney. Another ad, called “Subtitles” for client, iSelect, written by Michael Skarbek from agency AJF Partnership was also highly commended.
In addition to the two M&M’s ads, a third ad was highly commended in the single category – “Valentine’s Day – Rest in Peace”, created for the City of Perth and written by Alida Henson, Megan Riley, Pat Lennox and Ben Green from agency, Marketforce in Perth.
Tickets for the announcement of this year’s winner in Melbourne go on sale on 7 April. For more details, visit the Sirens website www.sirenawards.com.au. Round one of the 2015 Siren Awards is now open and entries close on 9 May, 2014."
