Finalists for the best radio ad for 2018 have been announced, with 10 of Australia’s leading agencies from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth competing for the coveted Gold Siren.

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, which showed young drivers what happens when the freedom to drive is taken away.

You can check out the full list of finalists for this year’s Siren Awards here.

Stand-up comedian Cam Knight (pictured above) 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. He’s been a regular on Triple M, the Today show and Studio 10.

As well as performing sell-out shows across the country and receiving five-star reviews and award nominations, Knight featured at the televised Montreal Just for Laughs Festival at the Sydney Opera House in 2015 and the televised Sydney Comedy Festival Gala on the Comedy Channel.

Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) CEO Joan Warner said: “This is the 13th year of the Siren Awards and once again the calibre 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 and 2018.

In addition, there is also a $5,000 cash prize for a client-voted award. A panel of clients vote for the best ad from the overall winners of rounds one to five and it is presented to the writers of the winning ad.

The national Siren Awards are run by CRA and are designed to recognise the best radio advertising in the country.