DDB Aotearoa’s Herman Ulberg and Robert Laking celebrate ‘Emerging Talent’ win at AXIS  

DDB Group Aotearoa’s Herman Ulberg (above right) and Robert Laking (above left) took out the hotly contested Emerging Talent Award at the 45th AXIS Awards held last night, reinforcing the agency’s position as one of the best breeding grounds for creative talent in the country.

Ulberg, Junior Copywriter, and Laking, Junior Art Director were crowned the winners for their work on ground breaking campaigns such as the Gold Award winning Vogel’s Certified Toasters, Olivani Forever Young and New World’s SOS Vending Machine. The creative duo took home a total of one Gold and five Silver Awards.

Both Ulberg and Laking joined DDB as part of the ‘Ride the Lightning’ graduate program launched in 2023 and have worked under all of DDB’s Creative Directors.

Says Matty Burton, chief creative officer at DDB Group AUNZ:  “Herman and Rob have worked across all our brands in a very short space of time and to have managed to make a Gold Award wining piece in their second year is a great achievment. They have shown fantastic flexibility and the ability to marry creativity with commerical insight.”

Says Ulberg: “We’ve both learned so much in our time at DDB, where we’ve been working on great brands, and with the best creative brains in the industry.”

Adds Laking: “We’re stoked to win this award. It’s come from the opportunities to work on big campaigns, and lessons from everyone at DDB Group. It’s what we signed up for.”

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