Abby Dorrian, Sophie Gallagher, and Regan Grafton Pick AUNZ’s May Work of the Month

In partnership with AWARD, here is LBB AUNZ’s May Work of the Month, chosen by Sedona EP Abby Dorrian, Thinkerbell Aotearoa chief creative tinker Regan Grafton, M+C Saatchi AUNZ group strategy director Sophie Gallagher, and LBB reporter Tom Loudon.

​Leo and Suncorp: A Tale of Two Queenslands​

Abby Dorrian -- executive producer, Sedona

The respite our retinas needed. 'A Tale of Two Queenslands' for Suncorp via Leo felt so refreshing and classy.

The in-camera execution is beautiful; you can feel the effort. Every creative choice serves the story. There’s warmth, wonder and a genuine sense of place that makes it feel both magical and truthful at the same time. It’s a lovely reminder that distinctive craft is about demonstrating care and class and making the audience stop and feel for a moment.

Attention rewards effort. My kind of work.

​McCann New Zealand and McDonald’s: Pickle Juice​

Regan Grafton -- chief creative tinker, Thinkerbell Aotearoa

I liked how Maccas took an obscure sports trivia fact -- that athletes drink pickle juice to prevent cramping -- and seamlessly tied it into their football sponsorship. It’s a great example of a giant brand finding a weird, relevant niche and running with it.

​2045 and OpenTable: The BillBoard​​

Sophie Gallagher -- group strategy director, M&C Saatchi AUNZ

It’s hard to cut through something as cluttered as Mother’s Day with a genuinely meaningful and action-driving idea, but OpenTable nailed it this year.

Transforming the transactional nature of a receipt into an emotional canvas to capture the priceless work mothers give day in, day out is really clever.

What’s even more clever, however, is to blow that receipt up on a giant billboard in the middle of a shopping centre: the exact place thousands of Aussies are scratching their heads, trying to find the perfect gift for their mums.

It’s a masterclass in simple, effective advertising, where the media and message hit the audience exactly when they need it. What a way to settle the bill.

​Special Australia and eBay: All Sorts of Sellers​

Tom Loudon -- AUNZ reporter, Little Black Book

Amid a country music resurgence, eBay and Special Australia dropped a new track, 'All Sorts of Sellers’, to celebrate the removal of transaction fees for casual sellers.

Led by a hero film featuring a wandering traveller, eBay sells its brand world with bright colours, humour, and genuine community.

While you can find “khaki sellers, car key sellers, khaki coloured car key sellers”, you can also find “brand-new, still-in-packet” sellers for collectors, or “sailor sellers” for model ship makers.