The five shortlists are for 'The Big O', a campaign done in 2016 for condom brand Durex. The MMA Smarties announced the shortlisted agencies, and their campaigns, ahead of the final event set for a date in November where winners will be announced.

Eoin Welsh, Havas chief creative officer, says, "It’s fantastic to be shortlisted in these awards. It means that our work is recognised and counted among the best future-facing work in marketing. It’s a great affirmation of our identity as the agency that helps clients stay relevant today and fluent in tomorrow. The work behind the campaign 'smashed' the usual silos and got different disciplines within the Havas Village, collaborating seamlessly and successfully to great success."

'The Big O' was shortlisted in the Brand Awareness, Lead Generation, Cross Mobile Integration, Mobile Website, and Mobile Social categories. Each of the categories speaks to collaboration across more than one discipline, bringing together content, digital, design, media, public relations, and marketing.

Durex – The Big O


Boyd Roberts, Havas Boondoggle managing director, adds, "Being shortlisted is a feather in the cap of what is a young team made up of dynamic people. While we have been clear on the direction we are building towards as a startup within the Havas Village, being shortlisted for these awards is a nod to that progress. There is definitely much enthusiasm from me, and the rest of the team, as a result of this, and I hope it will beget more creative, boundary-pushing work from us."

Angie Hattingh, creative director at Havas Boondoggle, says, "This campaign presented a number of challenges for us. We had to achieve a lot with a little. Having a campaign that used live data to drive its messaging into social was a risky solution, but we worked smart, leveraging behavioural and cultural insights. Working with Durex is always fun, and we had a great time challenging ourselves."

'The Big O' campaign’s aim was to introduce Durex to seven African markets and get them, along with an existing three markets, totaling ten, to engage with the brand and purchase its products. Durex built the campaign on a major sporting event in 2016.

Targeted countries took to a video challenge, which challenged individuals to showcase why they are Africa’s 'greatest' lovers. People engaged over three weeks, including participants in Nigeria, South Africa, Angola, Kenya, Ghana, Botswana, and other countries, who engaged each other and were spurred on by regular content on Facebook and Twitter.

An orgasm leaderboard was used to track engagement, linking to sales, and over 230 000 people visited the campaign microsite. The challenge video was viewed over 2.3 million times with an engagement rate of just over 14%. In total, across all campaign elements, the campaign had over 158 million impressions, reached over 21 million people, with 3.1 million people in total, engaging, and resulted in a 37% increase in sales.

The MMA Smarties aims to recognise and celebrate fresh campaigns in mobile marketing (which is broadly defined as including advertising, applications, messaging campaigns, m-commerce, and CRM on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets).

The shortlisted agencies and campaigns were selected by marketer and agency professionals from South Africa, and the adjudication was based on four criteria; strategy, execution, creative, and results.

The awards programme also included marketing content for mobile from industry verticals ranging from automotive, food and drink, retail, entertainment, electronics, health and beauty, and sports.

For more information, visit www.havasboondoggle.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Twitter.