A Gallery of OAAA “Obie” Out-of-Home Award Winners

The Outdoor Advertising Assn. of America (OAAA) announced the winners of its 74th Annual OBIE Awards at its annual convention, which took place April 19 in Boca Raton, FL. The competition involved 108 nominated out-of-home advertising (OOH) campaigns, yielding four Best of Show honorees, eight Gold Award winners and 25 Silver Award designates.
Matt Dowshen, the president of Partners + Napiers and a judge for this year’s OBIEs, aptly summarized OOH’s function: “OOH forces you to be simple and clear about everything. It forces you say that one true thing about your brand.”
Although OOH and on-premise signage have somewhat diverged as communication media, some of the winning campaigns suggest a new synergy: vehicle wraps, wall-mounted graphics and 3-D graphics indicate that OOH campaign managers know that engagement sometimes requires more than a billboard – even an electronic version – can deliver.
The following seven campaigns from the competition gallery deliver messages effectively – some use understated humor, whereas others practically grab (almost literally, in one case) the viewer with in-your-face environmental graphics. Enjoy!