Axis Awards 2022 goes virtual due to Covid; announces full list of finalists

Due to the current red light setting of the COVID-19 Protection Framework, and to ensure the safety and comfort of all participants, the Comms Council has made the decision to move this year’s Axis Award show online.

This year’s show, led by convenor Steve Cochran, chief creative officer, Saatchi & Saatchi, will be a virtual “kind of magic show”, showcasing the best creative work in Aotearoa from over the last year. The theme, as Cochran articulates, celebrates what creativity brings to our industry: “We often get asked to ‘add our magic’. This magic is made of varying combinations of imagination, insight, simplicity, craft, originality, entertainment and emotion. Creating this kind of magic to engage, motivate and build better brands is what makes this industry so challenging, special and fun. Axis is always about celebrating the work and people that our peers judge to have done it best.”

The 2022 Executive Judges are looking to awards those pieces of work that showcase the magic that creativity can bring to advertising. The five Executive Judges for 2022 are Gary Steele (DDB), Peter Vegas (FCB), Simon Vicars (ColensoBBDO), Anne Boothroyd (YoungShand), and Kelly Grindle (Special Group).  More information about this all-star team can be found on the Comms Council website.

This year’s Executive Judges will also be joined by the 1987 Axis Awards Emerging Talent recipient, Malcolm Poynton, global chief creative officer, Cheil. Recognised by AdAge as one of the ‘World’s Top 10 Digital Minds’, two-times Jury President at Cannes, Malcolm has creatively led Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy, SapientNitro and Cheil WW to Agency of the Year titles.

A proud Kiwi, former member of the NZ Yachting Team and recipient of NZ’s World Class New Zealander award, Poynton lives in London where he is a Patron of The Royal Academy of Arts, Member of the Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences and sits on the advisory Boards of D&AD and WARC.

The awards ceremony will be hosted by the winner of TVNZ’s RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under, and everyone’s favourite queen, Kita Mean – bringing her own magic to Aotearoa’s first ever virtual creative advertising awards.

The show will be broadcast on Thursday 17^th March at 2pm, via the Axis Awards website, direct to your laptop, TV, projector or phone, for you to watch with friends, colleagues, or at home.

VIEW THE FULL LIST OF FINALISTS

There will be laughs to be had, competitions to enter, and of course, trophies to be awarded. Make sure you share the magic on your social feeds and be sure to be following @commscouncilnz to be into win.

A huge thank you to our Commercial Partners TVNZ, and oOh! media. And to our sponsors, Facebook, Google, NZME, and The Radio Bureau.