• by September 26, 2005

Pushing the boundaries further than ever before, finalists delivered a unique, do-it-yourself campaign in Times Square, introduced a hometown high-flyer to Chicago, and personal messages from poptart Britney Spears.

WINNER

Agency: Fallon

Client: TED Airlines

Fallon's campaign for Ted created mass awareness for a brand new airline by developing a down-to-earth character called Ted, who doesn't rely on TV ads to introduce himself to his new hometown -- Chicago. The goal for the birth of United Airlines' low-cost brand was to make Ted as accessible as possible and to make him someone you would want to know. Fallon wanted to demonstrate that Ted knew Chicago like a local would, in order to motivate people to travel with him. Fallon took Ted to the people of Chicago, devising a variety of media messages and forms of media delivery. There was a Ted-branded commuter riverboat and barges, posters near Chicago river ferries, Ted-wrapped buses and commuter trains, inserts in theater Playbill magazines stating, "The part of __ will now be played by Ted," and customized TV spots using Intellispot, which allowed Fallon to target a different spot in each Chicago neighborhood. In less than a year after his debut, Ted achieved 74 percent brand awareness in the market. Additionally, 25 percent of the targeted consumers knew Ted "consistently offers low fares," which is 20 percent higher than the competitive average. Ted's revenues on the routes it took over from United were up 12 percent year-over-year.

Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

Client: Elizabeth Arden

Not everyone would relish the idea of receiving voicemails or text messages from Britney Spears. But the teen girls who are the market for her fragrance, Elizabeth's Arden's Curious, probably would, and that's who Goodby, Silverstein & Partners targeted with their mobile and SMS (short message service) campaign. Using pre-recorded voicemails and templated SMS messages, Goodby Silverstein promoted the launch of the teen pop star's fragrance to millions of teen girls -- those who, to the dismay of traditional advertisers, watch less TV than ever, and hardly ever read newspapers or listen to radio. The campaign also included a viral component, putting up posts on teen-frequented sites encouraging users to sign up to receive receive messages from their pop idol. Leveraging the pop star brand to create a personally-targeted ad message was a good touch.

Agency: R/GA

Client: Nike

R/GA's just-do-it-yourself Times Square Billboard designed for NikeiD married outdoor, online, and mobile advertising by enabling Times Square-goers to design their own Nike Free 5.0 shoe using their cell phones. They then could see the design projected on the massive Reuters digital billboard for a minute. After 60 seconds, individuals received a link to a code to access the shoe design on Nike's site to edit it and, ideally, buy the shoe. The concept led consumers to the product directly -- NikeiD is a customization process through which consumers can design their own sneakers. It also gave participants the thrill of controlling a huge (23-story) digital billboard.