OOHMAA announces the Q2 winners of its awards - ‘The Speccies’
We’re thrilled to reveal the Q2 winners of The Speccies, OOHMAA’s celebration of excellence in Aotearoa’s Out of Home advertising. These campaigns rose to the top for their creative impact, clever use of the medium, and ability to cut through in a busy market.
Let’s shine a spotlight on the winners!
BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY/DATA
Advertiser: McDonald’s
Campaign Title: Yum only Takes a Moment
Creative Agency: DDB Aotearoa
Media Agency: OMD
Out of Home Format/s: Digital Billboards
Campaign Details: This Campaign fused advanced data and technology with bold digital creative to grab attention on busy roads. Handcrafted illustrations, stylised tech, and vibrant colours brought it to life. By integrating Google Traffic and McDonald’s Drive Thru APIs with LUMO’s ad technology, displays dynamically showed travel time and how little a McDonald’s stop would add for an iconic McDonald’s treat to enhance the journey. This embraces the platform and user experience, making each interaction feel personal and relevant.
Judges’ Comments: This is a clever use of not just one, but two dynamic data feeds, then integrating them to tell a joke relevant to the context of its audience. Bravo. While it does a good brand job, I’m sure this also worked a treat to grab some immediate sales from buyers in buying mode that just needed a little nudge. No discounts needed.
BE SEEN
Advertiser: Tourette’s Association of New Zealand
Campaign Title: Please Ignore It
Creative Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Out of Home Format/s: Digital billboards, Street posters, Retail.
Campaign Details: ‘Please Ignore It’ - the first anti-awareness awareness campaign. While most campaigns seek attention, this one asked people to look away. Built on the insight that for those with Tourette Syndrome, attention - staring, commenting, or reacting - increases stress, and intensifies tics. The campaigns bold, high-contrast colours and distorted EEG-inspired typography mirrored the neurological nature of tics. Out of Home was the ideal medium: public, unmissable, and woven into people’s daily environments.
Judges’ Comments: This has been the one campaign that’s cut through my grey winter commutes this winter. With sharp copy and neon tones slicing across the wet CBD streets. Its emotional nuance—achieved without imagery—made it a clear standout for this category. ‘Please ignore it’ delivers with an impressive level of restraint, proving that simple really is better.
OUT OF THE BOX
Advertiser: New World
Campaign Title: Hot Cross Buns
Creative Agency: DDB
Media Agency: PHD Media
Out of Home Format/s: Street Furniture Large Format and Live
Campaign Details: Nothing says Easter like the smell of freshly baked hot cross buns. To celebrate, New World, PHD, DDB and oOh! turned bus shelters across Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch into cinnamon-scented hotspots, filling commuters with the aroma of Easter and drawing shoppers into New Wold’s kitchen. An iconic Easter scent to get customers drooling, engaging with the brand and to cement New World’s Easter offering.
Judges’ Comments: Sometimes simple is best. The aroma of freshly baked hot cross buns would certainly attract my attention and leave an impression! When you pair the aroma with the large size of the site and clear brand identity, this becomes a simple yet effective out of the box solution.
BEST USE OF CHANNEL
Advertiser: McDonald’s
Campaign Title: Yum only Takes a Moment
Creative Agency: DDB Aotearoa
Media Agency: OMD
Out of Home Format/s: Digital Billboard
Campaign Details: This Campaign fused advanced data and technology with bold digital creative to grab attention on busy roads. Handcrafted illustrations, stylised tech, and vibrant colours brought it to life. By integrating Google Traffic and McDonald’s Drive Thru APIs with LUMO’s ad technology, displays dynamically showed travel time and how little a McDonald’s stop would add for an iconic McDonald’s treat to enhance the journey. This embraces the platform and user experience, making each interaction feel personal and relevant.
Judges’ Comments: This idea is exactly what we want to see in this category. It could only have been brought to life through Out of Home and it is a great example of how a simple yet smart execution can be effective in the OOH environment.
We extend a huge thank you to our fantastic judges - Erin Wartnaby, Jordan Stent, Kaitlin Mitchell and Kurt Bradley.
To our brilliant winners, congratulations! Your work continues to raise the bar and inspire the industry.
The Speccies are taking a short pause next quarter as we prepare to launch something exciting… Stay tuned, and keep the creativity coming!