The standout advertising of the year was celebrated last night. Photo / Supplied
The standout advertising of the year was celebrated last night. Photo / Supplied
A group of 750 advertising industry workers shrugged off coronavirus fear, huddling together at the SkyCity Convention Centre to celebrate the best advertising of 2019.
Last night was for the 40th edition of the Axis Awards, the pre-eminent celebration of the creative side of the advertising business.
The event came at an awkward time this year, with public events being cancelled around the world amid growing concerns about coronavirus.
This did not stop the advertising community from getting together to collect their accolades.
A total of 39 gold awards were handed out across numerous categories over the course of the evening to standout creative advertising work.
The big winner of the night was Auckland-based ad agency DDB, which picked up the coveted Ad Agency of Year for an overall haul of eight golds over the course of the night.
Two of the standout campaigns developed by the agency last year included Lotto NZ's Lo5t campaign, which turned a TV ad into a Lotto ticket, and Steinlager's Black Laundry activation, which saw a store on Karanghape Road transformed into a speakeasy-styled bar where punters could dye an item of clothing black during the Rugby World Cup.
DDB takes the throne from its longtime competitor FCB, which won the Agency of the Year title last year.
Steinlager converted an entire store into an ad during the Rugby World Cup. Photo / File
This year's prestigious Grand Axis award, which goes to the best single piece of work of the year, went to ad agency Clemenger BBDO for the NZTA campaign called Belted Survivors.
The hard-hitting print and outdoor campaign, targeted at young men who need to be reminded to wear their seat belts, would also go on to win three gold awards across a range of categories.
Clemenger BBDO's hard-hitting campaign made a powerful point about safety belts. Photo / File
The sterling performance of this campaign also led to the NZTA being declared the client of the Year in recognition of its commitment to creative advertising.
The other big winner on the night was Colenso BBDO, which entertained viewers last year with its quirky DB Breweries ad, which featured a song titled I'm drinking it for you to promote light beers.
By the end of the evening, Colenso had a haul of five gold awards.
An award-winning ad Kiwis may not have seen was Colenso BBDO's Every Dog has its Ad campaign for Mars Petcare brand Puppo, which used a sophisticated algorithm to create over 100,000 personalised ads for each of the dogs registered in New York.
Independent ad agency Stanley Street picked up three Gold Axis Awards this year with two for Auckland Transport's 'The Most Dangerous Stunt in the World', featuring Zoe Bell as the Influencer.
TBWA scored a gold for ANZ's loveable Mr Humfreez, a beautifully designed ornament that offers more than a cute face.
And Special Group lifted a gold for Uber Eats' Shark bait in Transit Advertising.
None of the advertising would be possible without the efforts of the production teams bringing the bold ideas to life. And the gong for Production Company of the Year went to Sweetshop, which won five golds across three standout pieces of work.
Paul Head, the chief executive of the Commercial Communications Council, spoke about the importance of continuing to celebrate the best creative work in New Zealand.
The event was hosted by Tom Sainsbury. Photo / Supplied
"Axis remains an important moment, and one that we all respect in the New Zealand creative calendar because it celebrates our best creative work - the work our industry is justifiably proud of because it has looked at the world through a new lens, challenged the existing paradigms, permeated popular culture and influenced behavioural change; well done to all the winners this year."
