McDonald’s campaign by DDB wins Nine’s State of Originality
DDB’s ‘End Of Night’ campaign for McDonald’s has taken out Nine’s inaugural State of Originality competition, winning the prize of $1 million in advertising inventory across Nine’s assets.
The campaign ran in two versions across New South Wales and Queensland during State of Origin 2021, with OMD looking after media for the campaign.
Nine’s all-star judging panel, alongside the Australian public, voted to name the McDonald’s campaign the winner. Nine director of Powered, Liana Dubois, said: “My sincere congratulations go to McDonald’s and their agencies, DDB and OMD.
“They took up both the challenge and opportunity in State of Originality to produce some great work that showcases the power of original storytelling, beautifully executed and delivered within the right context.
“I also want to thank our judges, who were all world-class. They’ve helped us to establish State of Originality as a call to arms for brands and agencies who want to be recognised for
outstanding, original, well-crafted work.”
State of Originality was announced at the back end of 2020, as a call to arms for marketers and brands to create big-brand moments for the State of Origin commercial breaks.
The first round saw the winning ad by DDB, as well as creative work from Colenso BBDO NZ, TBWA Adelaide and Leo Burnett, each looking to create their own “Super Bowl-style” cultural moment for advertising.
During game two, Nine aired spots by BWM Dentsu Melbourne, McCann, Magnum & Co, M&C Saatchi and The Post Works / Radium Design.
Finally, creative work by AKQA Media, AJF Partnership, Saatchi & Saatchi, The Monkeys, Sportsbet and Warner Bros aired during game three.
McDonald’s marketing manager – brand, media & sponsorships, Amanda Nakad said: “Congratulations to all involved. This ad is the culmination of a great idea, a well-connected agency village and brilliant execution.
“It’s a tribute to all the footy fans across the country who include Macca’s in their game day rituals, wherever they may be. Well done to DDB, OMD and Powered.”
Nine’s jury included by The Monkeys’ chief creative officer, Tara Ford, Howatson + White’s Ant White, former adman and 3AW breakfast host Russell Howcroft, and former CEO of BBH and founder of MakeLoveNotPorn, Cindy Gallop.
DDB Sydney executive creative director, Matt Chandler, said: “What better a criteria to be recognised for than originality?
“We thought there was real magic in all these little Macca’s moments that happen in the late hours after the footy finishes, and we couldn’t be more chuffed that the judges felt the same way.”
OMD director of sport partnership, Aaron Miller, added: “State of Origin continues to deliver audiences at scale reaching over eight million Australians across the three game series this year, which provided the perfect platform to launch this ad.
“This win is further credit to the brave direction McDonald’s has taken and the strength of collaboration across the agency village.
Gallop said: “This competition is called State of Originality because originality is the foundation stone for great advertising.
“We should all be asking ourselves of every ad we create, is this truly original? Is it innovative? Is it non-derivative, not recycling old tropes and clichés but creatively producing something highly compelling and engaging that we’ve never seen before? That is the standard we set as judges for State of Originality.
“And it’s the standard our winning ad delivered against. Congratulations, McDonald’s and DDB.”
White added: “There were only two ads that stood out for me this year, Macca’s and Google. Both were crafted excellently, which is half the challenge. But this award is called State of Originality.
“And for that, Macca’s just had more of a unique story. If we’re not striving to be original, why will anyone care?”
For his part, Howcroft agreed Google and McDonald’s stood out: “Google and Macca’s were up there for me too. Macca’s told a great story with a footy twist and a brilliant soundtrack.”
The ‘Viewers Choice Award’ went to the BWS ‘Before Convenience’ campaign with M&C Saatchi and Carat.
Credits
McDonald’s
Chief Marketing Officer: Chris Brown
Marketing Director – Brand, Media & Sponsorships: Amanda Nakad
Sponsorship Manager: Matthew Wallace
OMD
National Director – Sport Partnerships: Aaron Miller
Head of Trading, Sydney: Marelle Salib
Trading Manager: Stef Drazic
Gemba
Account Manager: Keegan Richmond
DDB Sydney
Chief Creative Officer Australia: Ben Welsh
Executive Creative Director: Matt Chandler
Creative Partner: David Joubert
Creative Partner: Jack Nunn
Creative Partner: Dan Saunders
Lead Senior Producer: Tania Jeram
Group Business Director: Nick Cleeve
Finch Company
Executive Producer: Loren Bradley
Producer: Camilla Mazzaferro
DOP: Jeremy Rouse
Editor: Stewart Reeves, The Editors Sydney
Grade: Ben Eagleton
Online: Quade Biddle, Atticus Post
Sound Engineer: Abigail Sie, Song Zu
Music Licensor: Level Two Music, Melbourne
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Zanda Wilson was a reporter and podcast producer at Mumbrella, specialising in radio reporting. He left Mumbrella in September 2021.
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topics
Ant White
Cindy Gallop
DDB
DDB Sydney
Liana Dubois
McDonald's
OMD
Russel Howcroft
State of Originality
Tara Ford
