Automakers outside the U.S. have taken home the lion's share of accolades at the second annual Automobile Advertising of the Year competition at the North American International Auto Show. The contest, from the auto show and the One Club, celebrates creative excellence in advertising in the automotive category.
Not surprisingly, "Epic Split" for Volvo Trucks was among the winners, taking the honor for online advertising. In case you were asleep all of last year, the already much-feted ad was created by Forsman & Bodenfors and featured action hero Jean-Claude Van Damme in a daring split between two backwards-moving Volvo trucks.
Three broadcast spots, for Audi, Hyundai and Toyota, earned prizes in the broadcast TV category. Audi's "Scripted Life," created out of Venables, Bell & Partners, depicts how an office man goes about his day as if he's living according to a movie script -- that is, until an Audi comes along.
Innocean's Hyundai spot from last year's Super Bowl, "Dad's Sixth Sense," shows how over the years a father manages to save his son from various calamities. But when he can't, Hyundai steps in to assist.
Toyota Australia earned the third broadcast honor, for a comedic ad created out of Saatchi Australia that illustrates how only the truly tough are worthy of driving the brand's Hilux compact pickup trucks.
Earning a nod in the interactive category was Honda's "The Other Side." Created out of Wieden & Kennedy London and Stink Digital, the interactive YouTube film shows the double lives of a man who drives a Civic and its flashier counterpart, the Type R. Viewers can switch between two tales, one, of a standup family man and the other, about an adventurous undercover cop.
Jeep, the only awarded U.S. car brand in the show, earned an honor in the print category, for "Upside Down," a series of ads created by Leo Burnett France that showed how your POV on the world can change, once you drive its vehicles.
Volkswagen and Ogilvy & Mather Beijing earned an experiential award for its "Eyes on the Road" stunt, which took place at a Hong Kong movie theater. Movie goers watched a car speeding along a road on screen when suddenly they all received text messages on their phones. As they looked down, the car crashes -- a shocking tactic to promote an anti-texting and driving message.
