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 the final 5 moments!
Check out the previous 20 moments here.
21. Before the rise of social media influencers, two young ambitious and charismatic media agency employees from MediaCom, Sam Geer and Alex Ryan, video blogged their way through the 2011 MFA Awards, hamming it up for the cameras as they got ready and interviewing attendees as they arrived – including asking them to pose for a non-existent photo. Good to see them both killing it on the local and global stage 13 years later – and they assure us they remain good friends.
22. Omnicom Media Group CEO Peter “Horgs” Horgan, who is also Chair of the MFA Board, recalls many fun moments over the past 25 years, including 2014 Hall of Fame inductee John Grono describing himself as “unafflicted by brevity” as he commenced his acceptance speech, the year a mariachi band went overboard in providing musical backing to proceedings, and various agencies (we won’t name names) causing a racket when they dominated the winners stage. But a real highlight for him, he says, was filming Henry Tajer’s 2015 Hall of Fame tribute video, in which Horgs demonstrates his acting skills and attributes Henry’s career success to wearing “Joe 90 spectacles”.
23. Back in the late 2000s, the team at Naked Communications left their MFA Awards trophy on the table while they partied on the dancefloor, and a brazen young leadership team from OMD – Mark Coad, Peter Horgan, Leigh Terry and Paul Payne – decided to teach their competitors a lesson about responsible award ownership. As Coady remembers it, the OMDers absconded with the trophy and the next morning sent photo evidence of its presence in the OMD office to Naked’s Mat Baxter, Adam Ferrier and Mike Wilson. All ended well, with the return of the trophy to its rightful owners.
24. The NGEN Award was introduced in 2008, giving media professionals with less than five years’ experience the opportunity to create positive impact and develop their skills by responding to a real charity client brief. For 2023 winners, Summer Treseder and Kate O’Loughlin from Initiative, the coming together of the industry was a highlight.
“The MFAs are unique in that the atmosphere is so encouraging and uplifting regardless of company, competition, or commendations,” they say. “It’s an evening where everyone unites to celebrate the exceptional work and individuals that define our industry. For us personally, it was a career-defining moment, and through the continuation of these awards, others now have the opportunity to experience that same sense of accomplishment and inspiration.”
25. If there’s one thing the industry loves as much as an awards presentation, it’s an after party! So imagine the disappointment of hundreds of MFA Awards partygoers when they arrived at the unofficial venue of the 2019 after-party (a random pub selected by the awards committee) just as it was closing for the night. Phone calls were made, complaints lodged and Ubers summoned as the reality of Sydney’s night time economy zeroed into focus.
The 25th MFA Awards are being awarded tomorrow night. Good luck to all the finalists!
