Finalists announced for 2025 Australian Effie Awards
Advertising Council Australia has today announced 111 finalists for this year’s Australian Effie Awards, representing 33 agencies and 47 clients. Entrants with multiple finalist entries include Droga5, BMF, Saatchi & Saatchi, Clemenger BBDO, VML, and M+C Saatchi....
AdSchool Semester Two now open, taught by Ogilvy, Droga5, VML, Special, and more
AdSchool has opened enrolments for Semester Two, with a fresh round of part-time courses taught by senior talent from some of the country’s top agencies, including Ogilvy, Droga5, VML, and Leo Australia. “AdSchool gives emerging leaders the confidence and frameworks...
Loyalty, purpose, and gang mentality: The secrets of creative culture
Last Thursday, UK strategist Kevin Chesters delivered a provocative masterclass on team dynamics to Australia's advertising elite, challenging traditional notions of workplace culture with his "gang mentality" approach. Speaking at Advertising Council Australia’s...
Leonard, Haysom, Bowman headline Cannes Download
Nils Leonard (Founder, Uncommon Creative Studio), Mim Haysom (CMO, Suncorp), and Dave Bowman (CCO, Publicis Groupe ANZ) will lead an all-star panel at Cannes Download 2025, a national roadshow showcasing standout work fresh from this year’s Cannes Lions International...
Do more with less and still win an Effie: 3 ways to maximise marketing budgets in FY26
By Jo-Ann Foo, Senior Director at Analytic Partners. Marketers across Australia are stepping into FY26 facing the same familiar refrain: ‘Do more with less’. But this time, the pressure feels different. Budgets are being set in the wake of a high-profile federal...
New ACA workshop demystifies media for client-facing creatives and marketers.
Advertising Council Australia has announced a new one-day immersion course, Understanding Media, designed to give account managers, creatives, strategists and marketers the confidence to navigate and challenge media conversations. The practical, no-fluff workshop will...
ACA and BlackCard team up to boost cultural confidence
To mark NAIDOC Week, Advertising Council Australia (ACA) has partnered with BlackCard Training — a 100% Aboriginal-owned and Supply Nation-certified business — to offer member agencies access to a suite of e-learning modules designed to deepen their cultural...
AWARD launches ‘Crash’: Giving aspiring creative leaders the soft skills they need
AWARD has launched AWARD Crash, a new two-day intensive course to address one of the most pressing challenges facing agencies today: fast-tracked creatives lacking the soft skills to lead. Designed for mid-to-senior creatives moving up the career ladder, Crash...
Nils Leonard headlines This Way Up, Cannes Download brings the work
Three-day festival returns with a new-look AWARD Awards as part of the ultimate celebration of local and global creativity *** Creative heavyweight Nils Leonard, founder of Uncommon Creative Studio UK, and Cannes Download — the definitive showcase of 2025’s...
Australia ends Cannes Lions on a high, claiming a Grand Prix and two golds
Australia has wrapped up 2025’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in spectacular fashion, taking home a Grand Prix and two Gold Lions in recognition of world-class creative work. FINCH claimed its second Grand Prix for Good and a Gold Lion in Film for...
Young Lions roar on the global stage
Australia’s brightest young creatives have made a serious mark at the 2025 Young Lions competitions in Cannes, walking away with one Silver, one Bronze, and two shortlistings across the globe’s most competitive creative arena. In the Marketers category, Keira Spencer...
Australia continues strong run on day four of Cannes – Cannes Day 4
It was another strong showing for Australia on day four of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, with four awards collected across the Creative Business Transformation, Creative Strategy, and Brand Experience & Activation categories. LEO, Sydney...
Australia continues its winning run with three Lions – Cannes Day 3
Australia has continued its winning streak on day three of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity with three Lions awarded in the Media and PR categories. VML Sydney takes home a Silver Lion in the Media category in Social Behaviour for its Legacy Lager...
Retrain. Rethink. Reimagine. One agency’s approach to growth
Renée Hyde, Group Managing Director of Howatson+Company, is challenging traditional agency training by embedding ‘intersectional creativity’ — a mix of thinking styles and disciplines — at the heart of her team’s learning program. With a bold commitment of 5% of...
Australia takes home its second Grand Prix & eight Lions – Cannes Day 2
Australia has won its first Grand Prix in the Film Craft category, going to Bear Meets Eagle on Fire and Revolver for Telstra, plus another eight Lions in four categories, on the second day of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The Grand Prix, for...
Australia takes home its first Grand Prix and four Lions on first day of 72nd Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
An Australia/New Zealand collaboration has bagged the first Grand Prix and a Gold Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for FINCH Sydney and Motion Sickness Auckland’s NZ Herpes Foundation campaign. “The Best Place in the World to Have Herpes”...
Kirsty Muddle and Chris Howatson return to lead 2025 IPA Business & Agency Leadership.
Two of Australia’s most respected agency leaders — Kirsty Muddle (CEO, Dentsu Creative & Merkle) and Chris Howatson (Founder and CEO, Howatson+Company) — will return as co-chairs of 2025’s IPA Business & Agency Leadership course, running October 19–21 at QT Sydney....
Acclaimed international strategist Kevin Chesters to headline ACA’s ‘Better Together’
Advertising Council Australia (ACA) will host renowned strategist and author Kevin Chesters in Sydney on July 10 for an exclusive, member-only event unpacking the gang mentality behind great creative cultures. With more than 30 years’ experience leading strategy at...
Cannes Lions 2025 shortlists: Supermassive and DDB Melbourne
Cannes Lions has revealed the first 2025 shortlists for the Dan Wieden Titanium Lions and Innovation Lions. Supermassive Sydney has been shortlisted for the Dan Wieden Titanium Lions award for its ‘Policy Change’ campaign for 36 Months, pushing the under-16 social...
Nominations now open for AWARD Creative Leadership
Nominations are now open for 2025’s AWARD Creative Leadership course — a three-day residential that helps senior creatives grow their influence, master the demands of the role, and take the next step in their careers. Held from 12–14 October at QT Melbourne, the...
Inside the Young Lions Bootcamp
Last Wednesday, Advertising Council Australia (ACA) hosted an exclusive Young Lions Bootcamp for the five teams set to represent Australia at the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The session brought together Young Lions Australia 2024 alumni,...
Nani Creative: Where cultural storytelling is shaping the future of advertising
In an industry increasingly open to diverse perspectives, Nani Creative is quietly redefining leadership through authenticity, lived experience, and cultural integrity. Founded as an Aboriginal-led creative agency, it has always prioritised First Nations narratives...
ACA launches new 3-year strategy, flags next phase of industry accreditation
Advertising Council Australia (ACA) has unveiled a new three-year strategy aimed at highlighting the vital link between creativity and effectiveness, while sharpening the industry’s focus on long-term sustainability and diversity and inclusion. Unveiled by ACA Chair...
Culture isn’t a soft metric. It’s a growth lever when you get it right
Sarah Jones-Palmer, Co-Founder, The Human Co *** In fast-moving organisations, growth often arrives like a wave: a major pitch win, a merger or acquisition, a funding milestone, a restructure, or the arrival of a new rockstar CEO. There’s energy, momentum, and a sense...