The 2026 WOO winners
Australian's claimed four of the awards at the World Out of Home organisation’s annual Global Congress event last week.
The Hidden Eye Test, created by VML Australia and Wavemaker for 1001 Optometry, took the Creative Award for Classic, while Selleys' (Dulux Group) "if you can take it it's yours" campaign by Howatson+Company and IPG Mediabrands, won the Creative Award for Special Build.
Mastercard's Transit Tales, produced by Hero Australia, won the Technical Innovation Award.
John O'Neill of QMS won the Leadership Award.
Among the other global winners was Canada's TD Bank, winning the Creative Award for Digital with Blue Jays' "Hit it Here" campaign by COMMB and Starcom.
Outdoorlink USA won the Sustainability Award for its carbon reduction through intelligent illumination and remote monitoring initiative, while Goonj's Flex Forward campaign by Publicis OOH took the Chair of Judges Award.
Melanie Blood of Ocean Outdoor in the UK received the Rising Star Award, Ichiro Jinnai of Perion in Japan took the President's Award, and Antonio Vincenti of Pikasso received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
"2025 has been an outstanding year for out-of-home," said Matthew Dearden, chairman of judges and co-founder of Alight Media.
"We saw brands across the globe deliver bold, innovative campaigns that pushed the boundaries of audience engagement and impact,” said Dearden.
“Powerful innovations and technology created new growth potential, and sustainability initiatives abounded.
"All driven by the greatly talented people in our medium, from rising stars to lifetime achievers. The quality of entries was exceptional and showcased the talent, expertise and ambition of the people and teams behind every idea.
"I'm incredibly grateful to my fellow judges for their insight, dedication and expertise as we undertook the difficult task of selecting winners from such a strong field of entries."
Dino Burbidge, creative-in-residence at WOO, said this year's entries were far more competitive than last year's.
"The step-change compared to last year, in entry quality, quantity, and location was very noticeable,” said Burbidge.
“It's both a signal that the OOH advertising landscape is getting more sophisticated globally, but also that the tangible value creativity brings is shining through.
"Special Builds was a hugely competitive category, yet Classic really stole my heart this year. In a world increasingly driven by digital, paper still has the power to push creative boundaries, innovate and stop audiences in their tracks.
"Congratulations to all the entries. You certainly made the judges work hard, and long may that continue!"
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