DDB Group Aotearoa named New Zealand agency of the year at Spikes Asia, scores Integrated Grand Prix, three Golds, five Silvers and five Bronzes

DDB Group Aotearoa has been named New Zealand agency of the year at Spikes Asia, taking home the Integrated Grand Prix, three Gold Spikes, five Silver Spikes and five Bronzes Spikes.

Colenso BBDO’s ‘Phone It In’ campaign for Skinny has scored the Outdoor Grand Prix plus the Radio & Audio Grand Prix.

Special has taken home the Entertainment Grand Prix for Partners Life ‘Last Performance’.

Says Gary Steele, chief creative officer at DDB Aotearoa: “To be awarded the agency of the year title recognises the incredible work of many.  We’re so proud to have been awarded in so many categories this year and across a spread of our wonderful clients.  Tourism New Zealand, McDonald’s, Rail Safety and Lion are brilliant brands and partners to work with. A huge congratulations to the other agencies in Aotearoa, it’s such a pleasure to see so much Kiwi work being celebrated across APAC.”

The IF YOU SEEK campaign has also won the coveted Grand Prix award for Tourism New Zealand, DDB Group Aotearoa and RUN.

Says Steele: “The Grand Prix award for Tourism New Zealand’s IF YOU SEEK campaign recognises a compelling piece of work that we’re really proud to have been involved with. We’re so excited to be enticing others to seek out more of our land through gifting the world a little piece of Aotearoa in the campaign.”

Says Brodie Reid, director, marketing at Tourism New Zealand: “IF YOU SEEK is Tourism New Zealand’s first global campaign since 2019 and a chance for us to welcome our visitors again as Aotearoa New Zealand reopened to the world. It is fantastic to see it recognised at the Spikes. Working in partnership with DDB Aotearoa and RUN Aotearoa, we had hoped to develop a campaign that was not only compelling and beautiful, but really worked across all our channels to entice high quality visitors back, and this win is showcasing that in action. Being able to show our manuhiri (visitors) a taste of what New Zealand can offer to ultimately help support the re-start of the tourism sector is a huge privilege.

“Visitors are returning to New Zealand and the sector is on its long recovery journey. IF YOU SEEK is helping drive some of our highest ever Brand Preference scores to date, with this Grand Prix being a wonderful testament to its effectiveness.”

The Group shares the Grand Prix with RUN.

Says Raymond Otene McKay, co-founder and CCO, RUN Aotearoa: “It is humbling as an Indigenous creative agency to work on a campaign with such a strong te ao Māori lens. A huge mihi to Tourism New Zealand for entrusting us with the responsibility of merging creativity and culture in this work alongside DDB. I am proud as a Māori leader in this space to be acknowledged alongside my RUN team at this level.”

Overall, the DDB Group took home three Gold Spikes at this year’s awards. One Integrated Spike with RUN for Tourism New Zealand’s ‘IF YOU SEEK’ campaign, one for KiwiRail’s ‘The Rail Ritual’ in Social Behaviour and a third for Steinlager “We Believe” in Print & Publishing.

Five Silvers were also awarded to the agency. Tourism New Zealand’s ‘IF YOU SEEK’ campaign was recognised with two Silver Spikes for Brand Experience & Activation and Digital Craft while “We Speak Late Night” for McDonald’s achieved three Silver Spikes for Outdoor and five Bronze Spikes, all for copywriting in Industry Craft.

Says Lisa Fedyszyn, executive creative director, Special: “We’re so proud that our Partners Life campaign has taken out the Spikes Entertainment Grand Prix. It’s the result of working with a collaborative, ambitious and creative client and brand that pushes to elevate the category to new levels. Not to mention South Pacific Pictures and their willingness to embrace this unique collaboration.”

Says Kris Ballantyne, chief customer officer at Partners Life: “The Last Performance was a convention challenging campaign, that disrupted standard advertising in the insurance industry and encouraged people to engage with life insurance, while also positively supporting our adviser network.”

Says Rory Gallery, chief strategy officer, Special: “We often talk about bringing an idea back to life, and in this instance, we can honestly say we have.  We are lucky to work with such wonderful partners who helped to breathe life into the campaign.”

For the next two weeks, you can access and view the winning entries here.

Entertainment
LAST PERFORMANCE – PARTNERS LIFE – SPECIAL AUCKLAND

Film
THE COMEBACK – SHOT ON IPHONE – APPLE – TBWA\MEDIA ARTS LAB SHANGHAI

Film Craft
KAGUYA BY GUCCI – GUCCI – TSUZUKU TOKYO / DENTSU INC. TOKYO

Grand Prix for Good
CLASSIFY CONSENT – CONSENT LABS – TBWA\SYDNEY

Healthcare
THE MISSING CHAPTER – WHISPER – LEO BURNETT MUMBAI

Industry Craft
REJECTED ALES – MATILDA BAY BREWERY – HOWATSON + COMPANY

Innovation
HYDROGEN GARBAGE TRUCK – HYUNDAI – INNOCEAN SEOUL

Integrated
IF YOU SEEK CAMPAIGN – TOURISM NEW ZEALAND – DDB NEW ZEALAND/RUN

Media
KNOCK KNOCK – KOREAN NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY – CHEIL WORLDWIDE SEOUL

Mobile
KNOCK KNOCK – KOREAN NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY – CHEIL WORLDWIDE SEOUL

Music
JOURNA-RHYTHM – THE ASAHI SHIMBUN COMPANY – TBWA\HAKUHODO INC. TOKYO

Outdoor
PHONE IT IN – SKINNY – COLENSO BBDO AUCKLAND

PR
THE FIRST DIGITAL NATION – THE GOVERNMENT OF TUVALU – THE MONKEYS, PART OF ACCENTURE SONG

Print & Publishing
KITCHEN – IKANO – OGILVY BANGKOK

Radio & Audio
PHONE IT IN – SKINNY – COLENSO BBDO AUCKLAND

Social & Influencer
#BRINGBACK2011 – OREO – LEO BURNETT MUMBAI

Strategy & Effectiveness
RESILIENCE ROAD – SUNCORP – LEO BURNETT AUSTRALIA