OAAA Announces Annual Awards For Top OOH/DOOH Media Work

May 8, 2025 by Dave Haynes

The Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) has been handing out awards for excellence in billboards, posters and other formats LONG before digital came along, and this week at its annual conference the trade association revealed the winners of the 83rd Annual OBIE Awards.

The Platinum OBIE Award, the top honor, went to Coca-Cola and its agency Ogilvy for Recycle Me – a billboard campaign that spotlighted the beverage company’s recyclable packaging.

It’s a bit hard to decode which awards are static and which are digital, so here’s all of them – with me bolding the ones that look or smell like digital to me:

Gold OBIE Awards were presented in the following categories:

• Billboards: The Coca-Cola Company and Ogilvy for Recycle Me
• Buzzworthy & Transit: e.l.f. Beauty and Oberland for Change the Board Game – So Many Dicks
• Custom Installation: ABC Entertainment, Rhubarb, RBM, and FLIX FX for Abbott Elementary S4 3D Diorama Buildout
• Holographic & Projection: Nike and Wieden+Kennedy for Dodgers World Series Reactive ‘24
• Integrated Multi-Media: Progressive Insurance and Arnold Worldwide for Unbecoming Your Parents in Paris
• International: JCDecaux, DAVID Madrid, and Ogilvy for Meet Marina Prieto
• Public Service & Nonprofits: Anzen Health, Mediaplus North America, and Talon for 855-How-To-Quit-Opioids

Silver OBIE Awards recognized outstanding work in categories such as experiential, local, international, and combined formats:

• Buzzworthy: Atlantic Records, Charli XCX, and Colossal Media for The Brat Wall
• Experiential (Physical Presence): Diageo, Studio Nari, and MX for Johnnie Walker x Squid Game LTO Launch
• Holographic & Projection: CBS Media Ventures, National Experiential, and Horizon Media for The Ferris Wheel of Fortune (photo at top source WABC)
• International: Adidas, Accenture Song, and Ocean Outdoor for Adidas Billboard Run
• Local: Greene Wilson Trial Lawyers and Out of Home Creative for Worn Once
• Consumer Products & Goods: Pernod Ricard and Inwindow Outdoor for Perrier-Jouët Be More Flower
• Film & Media: Chicago International Film Festival and Ogilvy for 60 Years of Film
• Film & Media and Combined Multi-OOH Formats: The Walt Disney Company and Midnight Oil for Hulu on Disney+ Launch Campaign

Bronze OBIE Awards honored a wide range of innovative campaigns across formats:

• Contextual: Kraft Heinz, Johannes Leonardo, and Overall Murals for Ore-Ida Deliciously Predictable Rain-Activated Mural
• Experiential (Physical Presence): Suntory Global Spirits, Wonderworks Communications, and City Eventions for Maker’s Mark Winter Wheat Wonderland NYC Pop Up
• Integrated Multi-Media: Netflix, Mocean, and Scenester Projects for The Perfect Couple – Custom Sand Mural
• International: Oatly, Jellyfish, and Billups for Support Your Local Oat Dealer Campaign
• Fashion & Luxury Goods: Prada, Genevoism, and Colossal Media for Prada
• Transit: Sony Electronics and SHADOW for Sony x Olivia Rodrigo NYC Subway Takeover 
• Transit: Pixar Animation Studios for Inside Out 2  
• Combined Multi-OOH Formats: Nike, Wieden+Kennedy, and Billups for Winning Isn’t For Everyone – Paris Olympics ’24
• Murals: Netflix, ARSONAL, Midnight Oil, and Overall Murals for Unfrosted Custom Mural 
• Murals: Uber and Overall Murals for Uber Eats – Football Is For Food Lenticular Mural

Craft Awards celebrated creative excellence in execution:

• Copywriting: Progressive Insurance and Arnold Worldwide for Unbecoming Your Parents in Paris
• Illustration: ICU Art and Bully Pulpit International for Harris for President Mural Illustrations
• Photography: Apple and TBWA\ Media Arts Lab for Shot on iPhone: Hopefuls

Student OBIE Awards, now in their second year, spotlighted emerging talent from the next generation of creative leaders:

• Gold: Emilee Holzwarth, Kendall College of Art and Design for Schwinn Brand Refresh
• Silver: Victoria Clark, Kendall College of Art and Design for Preserve The Reserve
• Bronze: Laura Funes, Kendall College of Art and Design for FC Porto Ad Campaign

Winners were selected by a panel of top creative and media executives, chaired by Joe Sciarrotta, Worldwide Deputy Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy. Jurors represented leading organizations including Connelly Partners, Digitas, JPMorgan Chase, L’Oréal, MullenLowe, Ocean Outdoor, Outdoor Media Group, Pentagram, and SharkNinja.