For the third straight year, Barking Owl outshone the competition, providing transformative and impactful music and sound across the advertising landscape in 2022.

The 17-person company, helmed by Co-Founder and Creative Director Kelly Bayett, elevated Meta’s short film “Amani” from Droga5 with atmospheric sounds bolstering the visuals of a bike race through East Africa, from whirring bicycle wheels to the crunch of gravel beneath tires. Sound designer Gus Koven and his team spent a full day in the mountains of East Africa with local cyclists to capture these ambient sounds.  

Barking Owl also crafted music and sound for 11 different 2022 Super Bowl and Super Bowl–adjacent campaigns, including delivery service GoPuff and Mirimar’s “Quartertime Show.” Composer Houston Fry orchestrated three potential songs to accompany rapper Lil Dicky’s overly dramatic entrance in the commercial, ultimately landing on a cinematic, “Star Wars”-esque piece that contrasts with the performance’s later descent into chaos.

And for Apple’s “Data Auction” campaign, Barking Owl amplified the hectic, tense atmosphere of a surreal auction house with skillful sound design and mixing.

See all the 2023 Ad Age Creativity Awards winners.