Moonpig, Diageo, Great Ormond Street Hospital and The Hygiene Bank join the six winners

Saatchi & Saatchi and Mr President have secured the top prizes in Ocean’s annual digital creative competition which rewards bold, original ideas that push the boundaries of digital out of home (DOOH) advertising.

Replicating last year’s successful partnership, Saatchi & Saatchi and EE have once again taken first prize in the brand category, this time for the creation of the first ever interactive OOH schools’ field trip. The idea forms part of EE’s wellbeing work on behalf of the many UK children who miss out on outdoor activities they can’t afford.

First prize in the charity category goes to Mr President and Stonewall Housing for Behind Closed Doors which draws attention to the housing crisis affecting LGBTQ+ people who are often “kicked out for coming out”.

A panel of 18 independent expert judges drawn from the creative industries chose this year’s winners who were announced at an industry event hosted by Ocean at Frameless in London.  The six winners share £500,000 worth of airtime for their concepts to be shown across Ocean’s multiple environments and iconic digital formats in cities across the UK.

Ocean Outdoor UK CEO Phil Hall said: “The nation’s narrative sits at the heart of this year’s competition winners who use the power and scale of out of home to tackle some extremely important issues. Their ideas harness the role and purpose of DOOH as a channel which truly supports and connects with the communities it serves.

“There’s not a single campaign here that won’t make people stop, think, listen or act if they are in a position to do so. An admirable reflection of how far the DOOH medium, and Ocean’s competition, has come in the past 14 years.”

Second prize in the brand category goes to Creature London and Moonpig for Moonpiggadilly, a joyous, interactive campaign using the brand’s familiar mascot to deliver personalised messages on the famous Piccadilly Lights in an effort to lift the nation’s spirits during tough times.

Third prize in the brand category is awarded to ACNE London and Diageo for Greetings From Tomorrow, which asks people to responsibly pace themselves on a night out by introducing some 0.0% into it, an opt in choice which makes them the star of the poster.

Second prize in the charity section goes to Open Creates and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity for Big Face which plays delightfully with the entire space and scale of Ocean’s large format screens, starring children to help fundraise for an urgently needed new cancer treatment facility.

And ACNE London picks up its second award for The Hygiene Bank which comes third in the charity category for Hiding in Plain Sight, a powerful grassroots campaign using Ocean’s Loop network to help the 3.2million people affected by hygiene poverty.

Helen Haines, head of brands and events, Ocean Group, said: “We asked for big, impactful creative ideas which build brand value at scale and concepts that work beyond the screens alone. Congratulations to this year’s winners who have once again excelled the brief. We look forward to bringing these ideas to life.”

Last year, Saatchi & Saatchi and EE also took first brand prize together for Home Safe, a campaign which addressed the safety of lone women at night, using live travel data, AR and lighting technology to help them plan and track their journeys home or get to safe spots.

Previous winners of Ocean’s digital creative competition have gone on to win six prestigious Cannes Lions.

View all the winning entries here