M&C Saatchi Sydney + JWT Sydney / Soap score Gold at the 2014 IAB MIXX Awards in New York

M&C Saatchi’s Optus ‘Clever Buoy’ has won the inaugural Special Innovation ‘Can’t Be Contained’ Gold and JWT Sydney’s Cancer Council NSW ‘I Touch Myself Project‘ via Soap Creative has won Gold in Public Service at the globally prestigious IAB Mixx Awards in New York.

VLM Australia, Clemenger BBDO and Isobar Australia also received Silver and Bronze awards.

Says Randall Rothenberg, IAB’s US president and CEO: “The awards are a beacon of where the industry is going – an indicator of what works and why. They serve to not only recognise the best-of-the-best creative work in interactive marketing, but also are intended to educate the marketplace and inspire firms by pointing to what is possible and where the industry is heading.”

Says Alice Manners, CEO of IAB Australia, who attended the Awards: “The MIXX Awards honour both the exceptional creative and effective work globally, so our Australian agencies can be very proud of their efforts. There is no doubt we continue to punch above our weight as we consistently demonstrate the potential digital offers marketers to reach and move consumers.”

Essentially a People’s Choice award, M&C Saatchi Sydney’s Clever Buoy was awarded the gold by the audience of top-tier creatives, marketers, publishers and technologists in attendance. Each text-voted their favourite following a five-minute pitch by each of the three finalists in the category in a first for the 10-year-old awards. Clever Buoy was voted ahead of the likes of the “Oreo Trending Vending” via Mondelez International and DigitasLBi’s ‘Interactive Print’ for Motorola Moto X who were also contenders in its category.

Befitting the special nature of the award, M&C Saatchi was presented a 3D printed IAB logo as well as the classic IAB MIXX Awards statue.

The win caps off a remarkable week of awards won for the project that created breakthrough shark detection technology to demonstrate the power of the Optus network.

On Friday night Clever Buoy won the inaugural Spikes Asia Innovation Grand Prix in addition to two Bronze Digital Spikes. And just today it was selected as Best Ads Interactive Ad of the Week by guest judge Bram Holzapfel, CD at DDB + Tribal Worldwide Amsterdam.

JWT Sydney picked up a Gold and a Bronze Spike in Branded Content & Entertainment at Spikes Asia, as well as two Silver Awards in the Healthcare category.

Best in Show went to the Creative Artists Agency for Chipotle Mexican Grill ‘The Scarecrow‘ which also scored Gold in the Brand Awareness & Positioning and Branded Content categories.

The IAB MIXX Awards jury was headed up by Jeff Benjamin, chief creative officer, JWT North America, who oversaw a panel of industry thought leaders who closely reviewed and apprised hundreds of interactive campaigns and programs from around the world.

The Australian 2014 IAB MIXX Award winners were as follows:

M&C Saatchi Australia for Optus: Clever Buoy

• Gold – Can’t Be Contained

Soap Creative and JWT Australia for Cancer Council NSW: I Touch Myself Project

• Gold – Public Service

VLM Australia for Rip Curl: Rip Curl Search GPS

• Silver – Branded Utility

• Silver – Data Inspired Creative

• Bronze – Mobile

Clemenger BBDO Melbourne for Tourism Victoria: Remote Controlled Tourist

• Silver – Branded Content

Isobar Australia for Select Australia: Select footy Cards

• Bronze – Branded Mobile application