Australia’s Commercial Radio & Audio has announced the finalists for the 19th annual Siren Awards, which recognize the country’s best radio ads over the past 12 months. The winners will be announced at the Awards on May 30, which will be broadcast as a livestream event throughout Australia at 12:30 pm AEST via ARN.
The winning agency team will receive a Gold Siren trophy, two tickets to the 70th Annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where their winning ad will be entered into the Cannes Lion radio award, return travel to France and accommodation. The Gold Siren client will receive one ticket to the Cannes Festival, travel and accommodation.
The creative teams awarded Silver Siren Awards will also be revealed on May 30. There are three categories: a single radio ad, a radio campaign and an excellence in audio craft award.
Ford Ennals, the chief executive officer of CRA, said, “Radio advertising works. Effective creative radio campaigns cut through to listeners’ hearts, minds and wallets like a hot knife through butter. The Siren Awards acknowledge how creativity, combined with the intimacy and immediacy of commercial radio, enable calls to action in listeners like no other medium.”
“The Siren Awards is the only place that celebrates Australia’s best radio creative work each year. It creates a benchmark for creatives to match or exceed and gives advertisers the confidence to use the medium,” said Ralph Van Dijk, chair of the Sirens Creative Council.
“Radio is part of our lives,” added Ford, “Over 80% of Australians have listened to radio in the past week. And with the emergence of new opportunities for advertisers in the digital audio space, there is so much room for creative audio productions.”
You can listen to the finalists’ ads here.