Spikes Asia Awards 2022: Campaign's contenders

‘Meddle in the New Zealand Election’: Special Group Auckland

Brand: Every Kiwi Vote Counts
Category: Creative Effectiveness

What it's about: History has shown—and is currently showing—that Russia has been known to be skilled at foreign interference. Leaning on the fact that the Russians were proven to have meddled in the 2016 US election, this campaign borrowed the meddling skills of one not-so-subtle Russian in the New Zealand elections. Instead of assisting in election rigging, this character was sneakily used in a social campaign to encourage overseas Kiwis to vote. The 18-day campaign apparently achieved the highest turnout of overseas voters on record, or a 42% increase to be precise.

Nominated by: Surekha Ragavan, experiential and PR editor and editor of PRWeek Asia

"This deliciously bold campaign works because of its crafty copywriting and starkly precise execution. It’s great too that the campaign was stretched for 18 days—with the main character Viktor in a different scenario each day—so that it remained top-of-mind for prospective voters. But the thing we like best about it is its confident use of a potentially ‘sensitive’ insight towards a good cause. The art of dark humour is often lost in advertising, but here’s a campaign that reminds us of its lure."

'One House to Save Many': Leo Burnett Sydney

Brand: Suncorp
Category: Innovation

What it's about: Suncorp, an insurance brand, pulled together university researchers, a government body, and an architectural firm to design, build and test a prototype home that is capable of withstanding fire, floods and cyclones. The process was documented on a website and in a 23-minute documentary that aired on a major network. For more details, see "Watch this brand new house get bombarded with fire, wind and flood".

Nominated by: Matthew Miller, managing editor

"Aside from making for a dramatic video, this concept fulfills two key criteria we always like to see when brands set out to show that they're being good citizens. First, it was a serious effort involving real experts—not just a stunt for the cameras. Second, the effort aligns well with the brand's own interests. The company offers 'Build back better' coverage, which allows homeowners to repair damage using more resilient materials and techniques, which is as win-win since the brand can reduce future claims. (See this recent article for an example of how phony it can look when a brand urges action that runs counter to its own interests.) By the way, the shortlist for Innovation is already out, and many of the entries are worth a look."

'The Unfiltered History Tour': Dentsu Webchutney

Brand: Vice World News
Category: Mobile

What it's about: It is a special virtual tour of the British Museum unlocking the stories of the 10 most disputed artefacts, “told by the people from the countries they were taken from". On the website, visitors could choose whether they are inside the museum, interact with AR immersive experience designed for on-site visitors, and listen to in-depth audio podcast episodes no matter where they are. For more information see "Virtual tour gives 'unfiltered' history of British Museum's stolen artefacts".

Nominated by: Minnie Wang, senior reporter

"This seems like the kind of work that people will remember after many years, for telling the untold stories from history. It’s the coolest audio guide available for anyone who wants to know more about the most disputed collections in the British Museum, whether you have been to the museum many times or just encounter the AR experience online for the first time."

'iTest': Tribal Aotearoa Auckland

Brand: Samsung
Category: Digital Craft

What it's about: What was meant to be a small test for just Samsung New Zealand grew rapidly to over 200 markets. A simple UI, gave iPhone users an easy way to get a feel of the Android world (highlighting strengths of its camera, for example) and hopefully catalyse a shift. Apple wouldn’t have allowed this to be created on its App Store, so Tribal and Samsung devised a workaround by using a web app (web apps can be added to the Apple home screen). The amount spent on this idea was miniscule ($200), but the impact was disproportionately high, with over 10 million downloads.

Nominated by: Rahul Sachitanand, associate editor

"Crafty pieces of creative work don’t need to have budgets with many zeroes in them. Tribal Aotearoa, Auckland jumped on this premise when it tried to get brand-loyal Apple users to experience an Android interface and hopefully drag themselves away from their flock of iSheep and switch to a Samsung phone."

'Vs Series': Mediacom Singapore with creative lead Grey Tokyo

Brand: SK-II
Category: Media

What it's about: A series of six animated films in which female athletes face off against societal pressures personified in kaiju (‘strange beast’) form.It includes Badminton players Ayaka Takahashi and Misaki Matsumoto pitting their humanity against their machine-like training regiment, Gymnast Simone Biles fighting harassment from internet trolls and swimmer Liu Xiang taking on a sea monster that embodies public perception of her looks instead of athleticism. FOr more details on the campaign see "Olympic athletes battle kaiju representing societal pressure in SK-II series".

Nominated by: Robert Sawatzky, editorial director

"You just need to watch them. They’re captivating and powerful with beautifully crafted animation that merges with live action and original music. Each view of the films contributed $1 towards an SK-II fund to help women create positive change. From an integrated media perspective, the work resonates equally as powerful in posters and billboards, as clearly demonstrated through the collaborative gripping takeover of Times Square OOH billboards by the Simone Biles film."