Beer ad gets industry gong

A campaign testing the adage that everyone in the world is connected by no more than six degrees has taken line honours at the 2010 Interactive Advertising Bureau Australia Awards.

Media agency ZenithOptimedia created the Tooheys Extra Dry “6 Beers of Separation” campaign for its client Lion Nathan, which won both the debut category of branded content and best in show.

The adventures of four young Australians aiming to meet their celebrity heroes by sharing a six-pack of beer with six key people were filmed and broadcast in bite-size episodes on websites such as MySpace, Facebook and YouTube. After nine months, video content had been viewed about 700,000 times online and a further 21,398 episodes were downloaded from iTunes.

Speaking at the awards, IAB chief executive Paul Fisher said that although the 2009-10 financial year was uncomfortably close to the economic downturn, total spending on online advertising was expected to reach $2 billion in the year. Fisher was also encouraged by the number of campaigns for fast-moving consumer goods nominated for the awards, despite their vulnerability to the downturn in retail spending.

Professor Mark Uncles of the University of New South Wales School of Marketing and chair of the IAB judging panel says that online advertising has matured in Australia.

“Key to this coming of age are campaigns that engage consumers in the longer term,” Uncles says. “This is essential if advertising is to build brands and not simply secure immediate promotional benefits.”

Jessica Gardner

BRW

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