Sea shanty inspired ad music to the ears of Siren Award judges

An energetic ‘belt-bucklin’ twist on a sea shanty song has caught the ear of judges in round 4 of the Siren Awards, taking out the top spot.

Deloitte Digital Australia creatives Matt Lawson and Charles Baylis were the overall and single category winners for their 90-second ad, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC for Suzuki Vitara, performed by the band The Longest Johns.

The ad tells the epic journey of a man driving in his Suzuki Vitara to buy almond milk for his sweetheart, and is part of an integrated campaign, along with Land Shanties a seven-song concept album available to stream on music platforms.

Sound engineer, Dee Gjedsted from Squeak E. Clean Studios was the winner in the craft category for the ad.

Creatives Matt Lawson and Charles Baylis say the ad is unique because they “used an aquatic audio strategy that hadn’t been used in hundreds of years to sell land-based automobiles.”

“Sea Shanties were sung to make arduous, deadly, and boring voyages more fun, so, imagine what they can do for fun voyages!”

A Love Song to the Internet celebrates the unexpected wormholes the internet leads its users down.

The modern-day love song was created by Jared Wicker, Elaine Li, Ralph van Dijk, and Andy Hopkins from Howatson+Company/Eardrum for carbon-neutral internet provider, Belong.

They were winners in the campaign and audio innovation categories and achieved a highly commended in the single ad category.

CRA, chief executive officer Joan Warner says the Round 4 category winners demonstrated the power of audio in engaging target audiences, “The songs have supported the brands to make an emotional connection with their audiences in a uniquely creative way.”

Highly commended in the campaign category were The Monkeys creatives Cody Naetzker, Zenon Predecki for their ad GOAT GOAT & GOAT – Attorneys at Law, for Mountain Goat Beer, Jason Leigh, and Sharon Edmondston from M&C Saatchi for Unsung Hero an ad for Baiada–Steggles and creative Selina Hynes from Eon Broadcasters for Every Kid Deserves to Fit In, for Inclusive Kids.

Also highly commended in the single ad category were Marc Dwyer, Simon Hills-Johnes, and Glen Styles from The Studio at SCA for Live Bushfire Ready for the NSW Rural Fire Service and creatives Patrick Trethowan and Lee Phillips from Ogilvy Melbourne for their ad AAMI, Ode to the Mighty Clanger.

Sound engineer Glen Styles from The Studio at SCA, Sydney, also picked up a highly commended in the craft category for Live Bushfire Ready.

Adrian Brown, Adelle Boglis, Paddy Mithen, and Farrah Mu from the sound studio, Whooshka were highly commended both in the craft and audio innovation categories for AAMI: Ode to the Mighty Clanger.

Sound Engineer Terry Mann from Thinkerbell received a highly commended for the ad We’re Simply Nuts (For Aussie Peanuts) for Bega Simply Nuts.

Winning entries from each round are entered into the 2022 Gold Siren Awards, with the winner to be announced in May 2022.

Round 5 of the 2022 Siren Awards is now open, with entries closing on February 8, 2022.

Picture Caption: Deloitte Digital creatives Charles Baylis (left) and Matt Lawson (right).