Starcom’s Elizabeth Nan Tie and Darshan Pawani have admitted they put “100 per cent” into their campaign work that took out the Strategy category at the Cairns Hatchlings Awards 2026, presented by Yahoo, held on the final day of the Cairns Crocodiles conference in Far North Queensland.
Built on the insight that billions in media value are lost through skipped ads and inefficient inventory, the campaign Play It Forward proposed an opt-in model across YouTube’s 2.7 billion users. Watching a 30-second ad would fund humanitarian impact through brand investment, with ambitions of unlocking up to $23 billion by turning passive viewing into measurable good.
The concept spanned three pillars, including a partnership with YouTube for scale and a “Play It Forward” mechanic designed to turn ad consumption into active social impact.
When asked backstage by B&T what the secret was to a good strategy, Nan Tie said: “Simplicity and sacrifice honestly. Those are the only things you need,” she said.
Pawani said belief in the idea drove the execution.
“Passion… we believed in it and knew it would get the tick of approval, so we went for it.”
Reflecting on the pressure of the process, Nan Tie admitted there were moments of doubt.
“At 3am I was like, ‘This is the worst idea I’ve ever had in my entire life’, and then at 11am… I was like, ‘No actually that’s a sick idea’.”
Pawani added the team captured the nerves before pitching.
“I actually filmed myself before the presentation… afterwards I was like, ‘It’s done’.”
On the result, he said pride wasn’t dependent on winning.
“We know we gave it 100 per cent, and even if we didn’t win, we would have been really proud.”
Post-win, both described a mix of elation, confusion, shock and happiness as the award sunk in.
