FCB and Colenso BBDO awarded Grand ORCAs at the 2023 Outstanding Radio Creative Awards

The 2023 Outstanding Radio Creative Awards (ORCA) and Student ORCA, winners, run by The Radio Bureau, have been announced. The judges praised the high standard of entries this year, but were unanimous in their pick for the winners in every category.

FCB Aotearoa won both the Grand ORCA | Non-Standard Campaign and the People’s Choice Award for PAK’nSAVE’s ‘DJ Save-a-lot’, by creative team Tim Gavriel and Aaron Carbines.

This is the third year in a row that FCB Aotearoa has taken out both the Grand ORCA and The People’s Choice Award. 2023 marks the fifth year in a row that FCB Aotearoa has picked up at least one ORCA.

With a swathe of awards (including a Gold Lion) already gracing their shelves, it’s no surprise that Colenso BBDO’s Simon Vicars, Hadleigh Sinclair and Callum McDonald walked away with a Grand ORCA for Skinny’s ‘Phone It In’.

The Grand ORCA and People’s Choice winners take away $5,000 and $2,000 in prize money respectively, and have won their client $5,000 and $2,000 radio schedules.

Says Leisa Wall and Peter Vegas, chief creative officers at FCB: “We’re stoked the lads have upheld FCB’s winning record at the ORCAs. We might buy a little aquarium to keep them in. The ORCAs. Not Tim and Aaron.”

Judges comments on the DJ Save-a-Lot work include: “Turning your brand mascot into a radio DJ so you can legally play with and reference huge music tracks deserves an applause. A lovely loophole, much like Stickman’s head.”

Media Design School’s Frey McCahon-Jones and Reece O’Gorman took the Student ORCA this year, with their ‘A Contradictory Car’ campaign for Volkswagen New Zealand.  Another unanimous vote by the judges, but AUT University’s Keeley James  and Brooke McGrath were hot on their heels and took the runners up spot with their ‘Mafia Money’ campaign for ASB.

Judging in all categories was based on four criteria: creativity, execution, effectiveness, and innovation. The 2023 ORCA Judges were Alex Metson (Clemenger BBDO Wellington), Anne Boothroyd (anneboothroyd.com), Kristal Knight (Ogilvy New Zealand) and Steve Cochran (Saatchi & Saatchi).

The 2023 Student ORCA Judges were Rory McKechnie (DDB), Matt Williams (DDB) and Matt Watts (Chemistry).

Says Peter Richardson, general manager, The Radio Bureau: “Congratulations to all the winners and finalists on creating some outstanding audio. A special thanks to the judges who each generously gave their time and contribute greatly to making the ORCAs such a prestigious award.”

Says Alistair Jamison, CEO, Radio Broadcasters Association: “The standard of entries this year across both ORCA categories and the Student ORCA’s, highlights the versatility of radio and the ongoing opportunity to produce great work across the radio and wider audio channels. RBA are proud to support ORCA and thank the creative community for all the great audio advertising they produce across the year.”

The Grand ORCA | Standard Campaign:
Skinny & Colenso BBDO – Phone It In.
Simon Vicars, Hadleigh Sinclair and Callum McDonald
$5,000 cash prize and a $5,000 radio advertising schedule.

The Grand ORCA | Non-Standard Campaign:
PAK’nSAVE & FCB Aotearoa – The Soundtrack Hack
Tim Gavriel and Aaron Carbines
$5,000 cash prize and a $5,000 radio advertising schedule.

The People’s Choice Award:
PAK’nSAVE & FCB Aotearoa – The Soundtrack Hack
Tim Gavriel and Aaron Carbines
$2,000 cash prize and a $2,000 radio advertising schedule.

The Student ORCA:
Media Design School & Volkswagen New Zealand – A Contradictory Car
Frey McCahon-Jones and Reece O’Gorman
$700 cash prize.