IAB Reveals 2016 MIXX Awards Shortlist, Showcasing the Best in Digital Marketing Today

Digital Advertising Leaders Compete for Prestigious Awards Honoring the World’s Most Creative and Effective Interactive Marketing

NEW YORK – The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) revealed the shortlist for the 12th annual IAB MIXX Awards, 163 pacesetting campaigns from the U.S. and 10 other countries, exemplifying what works today and what is coming tomorrow on interactive screens.

“The Curse of Oak Island Game Banner”

Matt Murphy, Partner and Executive Creative Director of 72andSunny, is serving as the chair for the 2016 IAB MIXX Awards, and winners from this group of finalists will be chosen by a cross-industry panel of 32 judges including renowned ad creatives, blue-chip brand marketers, and top publishers.

“This shortlist embodies the finest in digital advertising that combines unbridled imagination with technology and data,” said Murphy. “All of us on the judging panel will have our work cut out for us as we review this year’s nominees and debate their merits in order to determine which ultimately take home IAB MIXX Awards.”

“The IAB MIXX Awards honors those who innovate in our industry and redefine creativity,” said David Doty, Executive Vice President and CMO, IAB. “We salute all the work that has made it onto the shortlist, which exemplifies the boundary-breaking dynamism that digital must deliver to consumers on a multiplicity of screens.”

The shortlist and the final selected winners will be honored this year at the 12th annual IAB MIXX Awards dinner, reception, and celebration at Tao Downtown on Tuesday, September 27, the culmination of the prestigious two-day IAB MIXX Conference held during Advertising Week in New York City.

Ensuring that the work showcased by the IAB MIXX Awards serves as an ongoing industry resource on best practices and emerging trends, IAB captures noteworthy lessons from the year’s best work in its annual “What Works & Why in Digital: IAB MIXX Awards Insights Report.” The most recent installment of the report features case studies on select winning campaigns from 2015, alongside authoritative commentary from industry pioneers and influencers. To see the complete gallery of the 2015 award winners, please visit iab.com/mixxawards/gallery2015.

IAB MIXX AWARDS – 2016 Finalists

Brand Strategies and Objectives
Brand Awareness and Positioning

  • American Honda Motor Co. & RPA for “Paper”
  • Beats by Dre & PMG and R/GA for “Straight Outta Somewhere”
  • Cervecería Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma Heineken México & Nómades México for “You Need to Watch More Baxing”
  • Netflix & MEC and BBH New York for “House of Cards FU 2016”
  • REI & Venables Bell & Partners for “#OptOutside”

Brand Citizenship/Cause-Marketing

  • Bank of America & Hill Holliday for “#PassTheFlame: 2015 Special Olympics”
  • Google & 72andSunny for “Vote For A Better Bay Area”
  • Hefty & Havas Worldwide Chicago for “#SaidNoSchoolEver”
  • P&G’s Always & Starcom, Leo Burnett Chicago, and MSLGROUP for “#LikeAGirl: Girl Emojis”
  • Paul & UM and McCann Romania for “Bittersweet Pies”

Branded Content

  • Dunkin’ Donuts & DigitasLBi for “#WTFast: Behind The Scenes”
  • GE & BBDO New York for “GE Podcast Theatre Presents: The Message”
  • GE & T Brand Studio and Giant Spoon for “GE Virtual Reality”
  • Mondelēz International’s Lacta & OgilvyOne Worldwide Athens for “Love Like There’s No Tomorrow”
  • Samsung Electronics America & Starcom for “Rihanna’s ANTIdiaRy”

Branded Utility

  • GlaxoSmithKline’s Flonase & PHD and Wunderman Health for “Flonase Allergy Tracker”
  • letgo & CP+B Miami for “Commercializer”
  • Reynolds Wrap & Havas Worldwide Chicago for “Reynolds Endless Table”
  • Sherwin-Williams & McKinney for “The Most Colorful Search Ever”
  • Unilever’s Dove Hair & Mindshare for “Dove Love Your Curls Emojis Keyboard”

Business-to-Business

  • Boeing & Discovery Communications Creative, The Documentary Group, and Initiative for “Boeing-Discovery Global Partnership”
  • Facebook & Facebook-The Guild for “Your Business Story”
  • Lenovo & Traction for “Users Happen”
  • Xerox & Y&R New York for “Work Can Work Better”
  • Zulu Alpha Kilo for “#SayNoToSpec”

Cracking the Code

  • BAE Systems & Team BAE for “The Puzzle”
  • Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Spectre & UM for “Bond… James Bond: A Snapchat Secret”
  • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration & Rescue for “Fresh Empire Campaign”
  • Unilever’s Dove Hair & Mindshare for “Dove Love Your Curls Emojis Keyboard”
  • Untold Festival and National Institute of Blood Transfusion & UM and McCann Romania for “Pay With Blood”

Data-Inspired Creative

  • Mars Chocolate Australia’s Snickers & Clemenger BBDO Melbourne for “Hungerithm”
  • Microsoft & Wunderman Seattle for “Your Xbox Year in Review”
  • Netflix & Circus for “Social Trailers”
  • TAM & Wunderman Brasil for “Round Trip Affection”
  • Uniqlo & Isobar Australia for “UMOOD”

Digital to Destination

  • American Express & DigitasLBi for “Small Business Saturday 2015: Show Your Love”
  • Dunkin’ Donuts & DigitasLBi for “#WTFast: Integrated”
  • Mars Chocolate Australia’s Snickers & Clemenger BBDO Melbourne for “Hungerithm”
  • Red Roof Inn & 360i for “From Brake Lights To Rested Nights”
  • Uniqlo & Isobar Australia for “UMOOD”

Direct Response and Lead Generation

  • Acura & Ignition for “#RaceYourHeartOut”
  • Airbnb & Starcom and TBWA\Chiat\Day LA for “Love This? Live There.”
  • American Express & DigitasLBi for “Small Business Saturday 2015: Show Your Love”
  • Mars Chocolate Australia’s Snickers & Clemenger BBDO Melbourne for “Hungerithm”
  • Reese’s & UM, Havas Worldwide and Arnold Worldwide for “#AllTreesAreBeautiful”

Internet of Things

  • Unilever’s Degree & Mindshare for “Every Move Counts”
  • Whirlpool & DigitasLBi for “Connect To Care”
  • Yumit & Wunderman Buenos Aires for “Motivation”

Live Experience Integration

  • Dunkin’ Donuts & DigitasLBi for “#WTFast: Behind The Scenes”
  • Dunkin’ Donuts & Hill Holliday for “Dunkin’ Donuts Summer Soundtrack”
  • Google & 72andSunny for “Made with Code: LED Dress”
  • MLB Urban Youth Academy & VML for “Relay the Way”
  • Samsung Electronics & McKinney for “Samsung 4D VR Thrill Ride”

Multicultural

  • Kia Motors America’s Soul and Sorrento & NBCUniversal Hispanic Group and Initiative for “Telemundo’s El Maestro”
  • P&G’s COVERGIRL & NBCUniversal Hispanic Group and Starcom MediaVest Group for “COVERGIRL & Latin American Music Awards”
  • Samsung’s Galaxy & NBCUniversal Hispanic Group, R/GA, and LiquidThread for “Premios Billboard”
  • ShanghaiPRIDE 2015 & Wunderman Shanghai for “Hold the Hands of the One You Love”
  • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration & Rescue for “Fresh Empire Campaign”

Omni-Channel Storytelling/Cross-Media Integration

  • Farmers Insurance & RPA for “We Know From Experience”
  • Fox Home Entertainment & Armed Mind, Think Jam, Allison + Partners, Hi5 and ZenithOptimedia for “Deadpool Gets Busy”
  • Netflix & MEC and BBH New York for “House of Cards FU 2016”
  • Pacific Brands’ Bonds & Clemenger BBDO Melbourne for “The Boys”
  • Samsung Electronics America & 72andSunny for “Rihanna’s ANTIdiaRy”

Physical-Digital Integration

  • American Express & RadicalMedia for “AMEX UNSTAGED: Disclose Your Face”
  • Lockheed Martin & UM and McCann New York for “The Field Trip to Mars”
  • PayPal and Airbnb & CP+B LA for “Meet Halfway”
  • Samsung Electronics & McKinney for “Samsung 4D VR Thrill Ride”
  • Uniqlo & Isobar Australia for “UMOOD”

Product Launch

  • Dunkin’ Donuts & DigitasLBi for “#WTFast: Integrated”
  • Huawei & Blast Radius for “#OO”
  • Microsoft & Wunderman Seattle for “Halo 5 Guardians Puzzle”
  • Mondelēz International’s Cadbury Australia & SapientNitro for “ChocPlusWhat?”
  • Mondelēz International’s Oreo & 360i for “Oreo Wonder Vault”

Public Service

  • Headspace & Leo Burnett Melbourne for “Reword”
  • Lost-n-Found Youth & DigitasLBi for “The Future of Hate, Stop HB 757”
  • The Ad Council & R/GA for “Love Has No Labels”
  • Untold Festival and National Institute of Blood Transfusion & UM and McCann Romania for “Pay With Blood”

Social – Community Building

  • HBO’s Game of Thrones & 360i for “#CatchDrogon”
  • Mondelēz International’s Cadbury Australia & SapientNitro for “ChocPlusWhat?”
  • REI and Venables Bell & Partners for “#OptOutside”
  • The Ad Council & Goodby, Silverstein & Partners for “I Am A Witness”

Social – Influencer Marketing

  • Dunkin’ Donuts & Hill Holliday for “DDFieldPass: Excessive Celebrations”
  • Fox Home Entertainment for “Ryan Reynolds IS Deadpool”
  • NBA 2K & CP+B LA for “NBA 2K16 – Casting Call”
  • Rémy Cointreau’s Louis XIII & Havas Worldwide, Fred & Farid New York and Moroch Partners for “#NotComingSoon”
  • Taco Bell & ZEFR, DigitasLBi and Deutsch for “Taco Bell Quesalupa”

Social – Real-Time Engagement

  • Beats by Dre & PMG and R/GA for “Straight Outta Somewhere”
  • Gatorade & VML for “The Super Bowl Dunk”
  • Krylon & Deutsch for “The First Ever Pinterest Yard Sale”
  • Lost-n-Found Youth & DigitasLBi for “The Future of Hate, Stop HB 757”
  • Reese’s & UM, Havas Worldwide and Arnold Worldwide for “#AllTreesAreBeautiful”

Brand Tactics and Tools
Branded Site

  • Google & 72andSunny for “Lightsaber Escape: A Chrome Experiment”
  • National Geographic Channel & Neo-Pangea for “Breakthrough Interactive Companion Experience”
  • Netflix’s Narcos & WSJ. Custom Studios and MEC Digital for “Cocainenomics”
  • Sony Music Entertainment’s Legacy Recordings & Havas Worldwide New York for “Bob Dylan: Studio A Revisited”
  • U.S. Army & UM and McCann New York for “Cryptaris Mission”

Creative Optimization Ad Technology

  • letgo & CP+B Miami for “Commercializer”
  • Lexus & Team One for “Lexus RX: An Immersive Storytelling Experience”
  • Mars, Inc.’s IAMS & Starcom for “Every Dog Deserves the Right Nutrition”
  • Media Markt & Opera Mediaworks and Isobar Turkey for “Wish Delivery Ad”
  • Turkcell & Open and Publik for “What A Nice Thing Football Is!”

Digital Audio

  • Adobe & Goodby Silverstein & Partners for “Audio White Papers”
  • Cinemax’s Outcast & Campfire at SapientNitro for “Outcast Interactive Trailer”
  • Famou5 Foundation & Critical Mass for “A Conversation of Consequence”
  • GE & BBDO New York for “GE Podcast Theatre Presents: The Message”
  • Mars Chocolate North America’s Snickers Crisper & BBDO New York for “Starving Artists”

Display Ad

  • Disney & AvatarLabs for “The Jungle Book YouTube Masthead”
  • History for “The Curse of Oak Island Game Banner”
  • Moen & Crucial Interactive and PHD for “Moen Reflex Faucet Campaign”
  • Netflix’s Narcos & AvatarLabs for “Narcos Season 1 Online Media”

Geo-Targeting/Local

  • BMW & Cadreon for “Driving Moments That Matter”
  • Dunkin’ Donuts & Trilia Media and Hill Holliday for “Dunkin’ Donuts Waze Partnership”
  • Energizer’s EcoAdvanced & MEC for “Energizer EcoAdvanced”
  • Samsung’s Galaxy S6 & Starcom for “Geo-Fencing in the Programmatic Age”
  • Tiffany & Co. & MEC for “Gatecrash the Runway”

Interactive Out-of-Home

  • Allied Reit & SapientNitro for “Mímir’s Well”
  • Canon USA & 360i for “Photo Coach”
  • Google & 72andSunny for “Vote For A Better Bay Area”
  • Pacific Brands’ Bonds & Clemenger BBDO Melbourne for “The Boys”
  • PlayStation & DigitasLBi for “The Watchers Take E3”

Mobile – Branded App

  • Mars Chocolate North America’s M&M’s & BBDO New York for “Remix With M”
  • Miami HEAT & SapientNitro for “Miami HEAT App”
  • Oscar Mayer & 360i for “Sizzl”
  • Teladoc & DigitasLBi for “Teladoc Mobile App”
  • Telenet & These Days – Wunderman for “CamerApp”

Mobile – Branded Games

  • Google & 72andSunny for “Lightsaber Escape: A Chrome Experiment”
  • History for “The Curse Of Oak Island Dig Game”
  • Microsoft & Wunderman Seattle for “Halo 5 Guardians Puzzle”
  • Paramount Pictures International & MEC, Avatar Labs and Phunware for “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”
  • Valvoline & TreSensa for “Race of the Decades”

Mobile – Branded Site

  • Cinemax’s Outcast & Campfire at SapientNitro for “Outcast Interactive Trailer – Mobile”
  • Google & 72andSunny for “Lightsaber Escape: A Chrome Experiment”
  • Partnership for Drug-Free Kids & Hill Holliday for “WeGotYou”
  • Target & 72andSunny for “The Holiday Odyssey: A Storybook”

Mobile – Display Ad

  • BMW & Parsec and UM for “Time-Based Ad: BMW 7 Series”
  • Lexus & AOL and Team One for “Lexus RX Vertical VideoPlus Swipe”
  • L’Oréal’s EverPure Cleansing Balm & PadSquad for “L’Oréal Hair’Spiration Cards”
  • Media Markt & Opera Mediaworks and Isobar Turkey for “Wish Delivery Ad”
  • Samsung Electronics & Opera Mediaworks and Starcom MediaVest Group Turkey for “Fill the Banner”

Native

  • Campbell Soup Co.’s Swanson Broth & MEC Global and BBDO for “Fundamentals of Flavor”
  • Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. & Cramer-Krasselt for “Cedar Point Catch-a-Ghost”
  • Charity Water & DigitasLBi for “UnTasty Dishes”
  • Reynolds Wrap & Havas Worldwide Chicago for “Reynolds Endless Table”
  • Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Spectre & UM for “Bond… James Bond: A Snapchat Secret”

Search

  • American Express & Mindshare for “Plenti Paid Search Connects Brands”
  • FCA & Reprise Media for “FCA’s Audience First Strategy”
  • Intel Corporation & iProspect for “PC Refresh 2.0”
  • Pegasus Airlines & HYPE for “Pegasus Plus: To be or not to be”
  • TD Bank Group & Media Experts for “TD Bank New to Bank Cash Offer”

Video – Interactive Video Ad

  • Amazon Originals and Amazon Fashion & Tremor Video and Initiative for “Amazon Originals: The Fashion Fund”
  • Disney & Opera Mediaworks for “The Jungle Book Instant-Play HD Mobile Video Ad”
  • Hotels.com & CP+B London for “Skipping Ads”
  • Lean Cuisine & Innovid and Huckleberry Agency for “Taste It All”
  • Volvo & Innovid and MODI Media for “Luxury Within Reach”

Video – Online Commercial

  • American Honda Motor Co. & RPA for “Paper”
  • Hyundai Motor America & INNOCEAN USA for “Skip”
  • Pacific Brands’ Bonds & Clemenger BBDO Melbourne for “The Boys”
  • The Ad Council & R/GA for “Love Has No Labels”

Virtual and Augmented Reality

  • Gatorade & VML for “The Super Bowl Dunk”
  • GE & T Brand Studio and Giant Spoon for “GE Virtual Reality”
  • Lockheed Martin & UM and McCann New York for “The Field Trip to Mars”
  • Nissan North America & Critical Mass for “Diehard Fan”
  • Samsung Electronics & McKinney for “Samsung 4D VR Thrill Ride”

Founded in 2004 to honor creativity and effectiveness in interactive advertising, the IAB MIXX Awards have become the premier honor in digital marketing. In 2015, the IAB MIXX Best-in-Show award went to the ALS Association for “The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.” A viral grassroots marketing phenomenon, the campaign’s cause-related messaging and call-to-action were optimized through the power of digital distribution, resulting in hundreds of thousands of Facebook and Twitter posts, as well as millions of dollars to benefit the organization’s efforts – donations that helped fund research that uncovered a new ALS gene, offering a new path for therapy development.

Last year’s MIXX Awards winners included many of the most prominent brand marketers around the globe, such as Intel, Nike, Samsung, Taco Bell, and Unilever, as well as the world’s leading agencies, including 360i, 72andSunny, BBDO, Big Spaceship, Cheil Worldwide, Deutsch, Droga5, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, Leo Burnett, McKinney, Razorfish, R/GA, Saatchi & Saatchi, SapientNitro, and Wieden+Kennedy.

The IAB MIXX Awards is open to marketers, advertising agencies, and media companies that have run any media, marketing or advertising element, or campaign that was carried out at some point during the qualifying period: April 1, 2015 through March 31, 2016. Full details are available at mixxawards.iab.com/deadlines-fees.

About IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. It is comprised of more than 650 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling, delivering, and optimizing digital advertising or marketing campaigns. Together, they account for 86 percent of online advertising in the United States. Working with its member companies, the IAB develops technical standards and best practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising, while also educating brands, agencies, and the wider business community on the importance of digital marketing. The organization is committed to professional development and elevating the knowledge, skills, expertise, and diversity of the workforce across the industry. Through the work of its public policy office in Washington, D.C., the IAB advocates for its members and promotes the value of the interactive advertising industry to legislators and policymakers. There are 42 IABs licensed to operate in nations around the world and one regional IAB, in Europe. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City and has a West Coast office in San Francisco.