The biggest competition in Australian advertising returns for the 2022 State of Origin series.

Nine has announced the return of State of Originality, Australia’s biggest advertising prize, with $1 million again up for grabs to the brand and agency that creates the most original ad in the 2022 State of Origin Series.

This year Nine launched State of Originality, challenging Australia’s marketers to help make State of Origin not only an absolute sporting blockbuster but also a must-watch TV event where the ads would be as exciting as the football action.

McDonald’s were our first winners in 2020, with “End of Night” created by DDB with media partner OMD taking home the coveted big prize.

“McDonald’s brought us a beautiful ad to win the very first State of Originality, celebrating a part of the day few of us see, long after the big game is over. It was brilliantly crafted with a wicked soundtrack, It’s Oh So Quiet from Betty Hutton,” said Liana Dubois, Nine’s Director of Powered.

“In 2022, Nine will once again throw down the gauntlet, challenging advertisers to bring their big ideas to our screens to engage with our audiences.”

The State of Originality prize awards $1 million in advertising inventory across Nine’s television, radio, digital and print assets to the commercial judged the winner after the three live Origin telecasts.

Our judges for 2022 include dynamic duo Josh Whiteman and Paul Chappell, Co-Founders of Brand+Story and creators of this year’s acclaimed story of optimism, Fly Away from Qantas; Tara Ford, Chief Creative Officer, The Monkeys; Liana Dubois, Director, Powered by Nine; Cindy Gallop, Founder of MakeLoveNotPorn; and 3AW Breakfast presenter and media maven, Russel Howcroft.

“We could not be more thrilled to be bringing back State of Originality for a second year,” said Dubois. “And in particular, we’re delighted by the calibre of judges joining me to select the winner for 2022. Each of them shares Nine’s passion for great creativity and the fundamental power of a big idea to change the fortunes of a brand.”

Eligibility to enter requires advertising to be booked within the three-game period of State of Origin in 2022.

For further information see https://www.stateoforiginality.com.au/.

For more information:
Nic Christensen
Head of Corporate Affairs 
nchristensen@nine.com.au

2022 Judging Panel

Paul Chappell – Strategic Partner & Co-Founder, Brand+Story  

Brand+Story is a branded content and creative consultancy based in Sydney and responsible for the recent Qantas TV campaign which has become an instant classic. 

Co-Founder and Strategic Partner Paul Chappell has over 25 years’ experience in broadcast media, including co-founding The Story Lab, a specialist content production and distribution agency within the Dentsu Aegis Network and now in over 18 countries worldwide. 

Paul combines senior brand strategy experience with creative storytelling experience across traditional, digital and social media formats. He developed the first ever studio-produced Facebook Live show in Australia and has developed and produced numerous long and short-form branded content features for some of Australia’s most famous brands including Qantas, Defence Force Australia, Holden, Asahi Beverages, Brown Brothers, World Vision and Australia Post.  

Tara Ford – Chief Creative Officer, The Monkeys 

Tara Ford is the newly appointed Chief Creative Officer of The Monkeys Sydney and a board member of the Advertising Council of Australia. 

In 2020, she was named Creative Person of the Year (Australia/New Zealand) by Campaign Asia. She made the B&T Women in Media Power list (No.18), the first and only creative ever to do it. She was also on The Global Creative Influencer of the Year top 100 list according to Creativepool. In recent years she has been consistently ranked number one for Executive Creative Directors in Australia, according to Best Ads.* 

Tara has worked at some of the most creative agencies around the world. Her work has been constantly recognised throughout her career, at the highest level of every major international award show. The accolades include Cannes and Spikes Grand Prix. Just one example is her GAYTM campaign for ANZ Bank. Ford has judged and chaired at every major global award show, including this year’s film Cannes jury.  

Cindy Gallop – Founder, MLNP 

Cindy Gallop is the founder of www.IfWeRanTheWorld.com, co-action software (and HBS case study) for brands to implement the business model of the future: Shared Values + Shared Action = Shared Profit (financial and social). She launched makelovenotporn.com – Pro-sex. Pro-porn. Pro-knowing the difference – at TED 2009, and subsequently turned MLNP into the world’s first human-curated, user-generated, social sex videosharing platform, socialising sex to promote consent, good sexual values and behaviour. Her challenges of finding investors mean she is also raising the world’s first sextech fund, www.alltheskyholdings.com. Cindy speaks at conferences around the world and consults, describing her consultancy approach as “I like to blow shit up. I am the Michael Bay of business.” Follow her on Twitter @cindygallop. 

Russel Howcroft – 3AW Breakfast presenter 

Over a long career in media and marketing, Russel Howcroft has been one of the most prominent voices for the power and cultural/economic importance of advertising, particularly through his role as a panellist on the ABC’s Gruen program and fronting the documentary series, How Australia Got Its Mojo. 

His current roles include being a presenter on Melbourne’s No.1 rated 3AW radio breakfast program, chair of the Australian Film Television and Radio School and co-founder The Grid Melbourne, a festival designed to bring entrepreneurs and innovators together. He has held multiple senior roles across the industry, having served as PwC’s Chief Creative Officer, Executive General Manager of Network 10, a board director on the ASX listed Enero, and CEO of one of Australia’s leading creative agencies, Y&R Brands. 

Russel has also chaired or sat on the boards of a number of key advertising, film and television industry bodies including ThinkTV, the Australian Film Institute, the Screen Forever Advisory Board and the AFA. He has written/co-written three best-selling books, with his most recent, Right Brain Workout II, now being published throughout the world. He is also a founding partner and brand consultant to Sayers Group.  

Josh Whiteman – Director & Co-Founder, Brand+Story 

Josh Whiteman is an award-winning director and creative based in Sydney and Co-founder of Brand+Story.  

Following 12 years as a copywriter and CD in multinational agencies including Publicis, Grey, Ogilvy and Host Sydney, Josh shifted to directing in 2010 and has since delivered over 60 TVC campaigns for clients including Coca-Cola, Commbank, Freedom Furniture and Destination Queenstown. His most recent campaign for Qantas struck a chord and was described in the media as “the ad which made all of Australia cry”. 

Josh’s long-form work includes the 2009 feature documentary Shadow Play about renowned Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn, narrated by U2’s Bono. Outside of advertising, he has worked in development for Mushroom Pictures, Energee Entertainment and Mystery Clock Cinema. Josh is  creator of the drama series The White Room, currently in development with Goalpost Pictures, and has just completed directing the pilot for the comedy series, The Crew’s Ship. 

Wednesday, September 15, 2021