Following last week’s announcement that our key creative partner, leading Australian advertising agency HERO, has been named Australian Agency of the Year at WINA Festival (World Independent Advertising Awards), we decided to take a look at agency’s top campaigns and what makes them so special. This year, we’ve seen some of the most interesting, innovative and high-profile ad campaigns in Australia come out of creative powerhouse HERO over the 12 months, across its Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane offices. It’s an impressive body of work for an impressive creative independent and today represents some of the most talked-about creative advertising campaigns currently in Australia right now.
It’s worth noting that HERO’s win marks the first time in the WINA Festival’s 10 year history that an Australian agency has appeared in the global award show’s Top 10 global winners. The agency was awarded the prestigious Grand prix and a Gold trophy in Promo Activation for The Toyota C-HR Diamond Collection, Silver in Innovation / Product Innovation for Fujifilm Mindography, and Bronze in Media / Alternative Media The Toyota C-HR Diamond Collection, sealing HERO’s place as Australia’s most awarded independent creative agency. HERO was also Australia’s top performing creative advertising agency and Australia’s leading independent creative ad agency at the prestigious New York Festivals.
True to their mantra “We Turn Burn Into HEROES,” HERO continues to produce groundbreaking work recognised for both its world-class creativity and effectiveness. These campaigns are all innovative examples of the hottest award-winning creative campaigns in Australia right now. There must be a secret sauce! Let’s take a look.
- Maybelline New York, ‘Through Their Eyes’ showcased the toxic harassment facing women, non-binary people and other LGBTQIA+ communities in the Australian gaming universe [LBB]. The campaign was recognised at the 2024 AdNews Agency of the Year, MADC (Melbourne Advertising, Design + Creativity), One Show, Webby, Andy, AiMCO, AWARD (Australasian Writers and Art Directors Association) and the 2024 New York Festivals where it saw HERO Australia named the most award Australian agency for 2024. It was also recognised at the 2023 AWARD, Caples, Gerety and D&AD, as well as the Mumbrella, AdNews and B&T Agency of the Year Awards, as well as the 2023 MADStars where it was awarded the Grand Prix for Viral Video. The campaign was also awarded a prestigious Silver Cannes Lion in Social & Influencer- Social Purpose and saw Maybelline Australia named winner of the 2024 MFA (Media Federation of Australia) Awards for Best Long-Term Results. Here’s the award-winning case study
- Toyota Motor Corporation, ‘The C-HR Diamond Collection’ transformed a Toyota C-HR vehicle, the design if which was inspired by the edges of a diamond, into a literal diamond, crafting lab-grown gems from the car’s carbon parts in a world-first collaboration with iconic Australian jeweller Millie Savage, to position the vehicle as a premium icon. The campaign was recognised at the 2025 Spikes Asia and the WINA Festival where it was awarded the prestigious Grand Prix Media & Promo Activation, as well as Gold and Silver trophies. Check out the case study
- Mastercard, ‘Transit Tales’. This world-first AI-powered storytelling platform used real-time transit data to match each rail commuter’s journey to an AI-generated story for more than 1.2 million Sydney travellers. Mastercard Transit Tales turned mundane train rides into unforgettable literary escapes, to make them truly Priceless. To stand out in public transport payments, Mastercard used AI to transform “scroll time” into “story time” for Sydney commuters. The mobile platform reimagined eight classic novels into unexpected genres, personalised to each journey using real-time transit data. With 43 million story combinations, the campaign reignited Australians’ love of reading and showcased Mastercard’s creative use of technology. In its first month, Transit Tales inspired over 41,000 engagements and positioned Mastercard as a cultural innovator in AI-powered storytelling. See it in action here
- Fujifilm, ‘Instax Mindography’ features the Princeton Neuroscience Institute’s Research Scientist Dr Paul Scotti combining Functional MRI (fMRI) brain scans and cutting edge machine learning to literally reconstruct memories from the mind. The campaign was recognised at the 2025 Cannes Lions for Digital Craft, D&AD, Spikes Asia, WINA Festival, Adfest, One Show and Mumbrella Awards. Check out the award-winning case study here
- Toyota Motor Corporation, ‘Metalmorphosis’ merges camera, car, cinematography and stunt driving to tell the story of Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR). The campaign was recognised at the 2023 D&AD, SHOTS, CICLOPE International, CICLOPE APAC, AWARD and MADStars Awards, and at the Cannes Lions for Film Craft Achievement in Production. See the full film here
- DECJUBA, ‘Puffer Plane’. HERO and Australian fashion retailer DECJUBA sent social media into meltdown, with their ‘D-LUXE Puffer Plane’ amassing over 30 million views in its first week of release and more than 120 million by the end of the campaign. Yup, they basically broke the internet. With some good old-fashioned creativity, married with some ground-breaking CGI and a touch of AI, they created the Puffer Plane, a FOOH (Fake Out Of Home) puffer-wearing Boeing 787 and rolling into a gate at Melbourne Airport. The clip was posted to Instagram and TikTok and quickly circumnavigated the globe on social media quicker than you can say “is that for real?!” And DECJUBA had Instagram and TikTokkers from Melbourne to Milan marvelling at just how crazy convincing the stunt was. Check it out here
- Victoria Police, ‘Senior Constable Laurie Fox’ told the tragic story of Senior Constable Laurie Fox, who took his own life but became an unexpected police spokesperson through Deep Fake technology, which recreated his likeness to spearhead a campaign breaking down the barriers that prevented officers from talking about mental health issues and suicide. The campaign was awarded for its outstanding effectiveness at the 2022 APAC Effies with 2 Golds, 1 Sliver and a Commendation Special Grand Prix, helping secure HERO the title of 2022 APAC Effies Australian Independent Agency of the Year. The campaign was also awarded at the 2022 Caples, B&T and MADC Awards, as well as at the 2021 AdNews, Mumbrella, One Show, Webby, AWARD and Ad Stars Awards. You can see Laurie’s moving story here
- eBay ‘Museum of Authentics’ was a world-first sneaker showcase celebrating the rarest, most valuable and 100% authentic kicks on the planet. Created to launch eBay’s Sneaker Authenticity Guarantee, the museum featured million-dollar collections, a YEEZY-designed prototype, and swag by Perks And Mini (P.A.M.), all housed under 24/7 security at Neon Parc in Melbourne. The campaign reimagined classical art across social, street posters and influencer collabs, with sneakerheads queuing for a once-in-a-lifetime look at the real deal. It was a culturally fresh and grassroots way to reconnect eBay with Australia’s sneaker community and reinforce its legacy as the OG home of authentic sneaker culture. The campaign was recognised at MADStars (Bronze in Media – Special Events & Stunts; Crystal in Brand Experience, PR, Entertainment and Media), AWARD (Bronze in Experiential) and Caples (Bronze in PR and Integrated). See the full showcase here
- Worksafe, ‘It’s Never You Until It Is’. Winner of a prestigious Effie for its outstanding effectiveness, this campaign was created to reach the many agricultural workers across Australia who think that a serious incident won’t happen to them. Yet generations of unchecked work habits put them at greater risk than any other workplace. The ‘It’s never you, until it is’ campaign was created to challenge this mindset. Victorian farmers represent 3% of the workforce, but approximately 30% of all workplace deaths. This incredibly dangerous industry is highly resistant to change though. This behavioural change campaign focusses on the hardest to engage audience: family farmers who believed they were bulletproof and didn’t need to be told what to do. The launch campaign ran across regional television, print, radio, digital and social media channels and started a 5-year culture change within the industry which has seen dramatic changes in how farmers see their role in workplace safety. See the full case study here
- Menulog is a brand for whom HERO scored numerous accolades for campaigns including ‘Menulog Snoop’ featuring rapper Snoop Dogg, ‘SNACKDOWN!’ for the NSW National Rugby League (NRL) State of Origin and the Menulog #DeliveryDance which was hailed as a top TikTok campaign at the time. Award recognition included two Bronze Effies at the 2021 Australian Effies in 2021, which helped secure HERO the title of 2021 Australian Effies Independent Agency of the Year, as well as at the Mumbrella Awards and for 2021 AdNews Social Media Campaign of the Year for #DeliveryDance. You can see Snoop drop it like it’s hot here
This year, HERO’s campaign accolades saw the agency secure top spot for the second year running in the coveted Campaign Brief Australia Agency of the Year Hot List of medium agencies, announced in February. Selected from over 300 agency entries, this number one ranking reflects HERO’s consistent delivery of world-class creativity, strategic excellence and integrated marketing solutions that deliver real business impact and again confirmed HERO among Australia’s Top Independent Creative Advertising Agencies.
In Australia’s globally recognised and hotly contested creative agency market, year on year HERO continues to top the ranks of Australia’s most awarded advertising agencies, for both creativity and effectiveness. HERO’s accolades include being named #1 Independent Agency by both the Effies APAC and Australian Effies, and winning Agency of the Year titles from the New York Festivals, Mumbrella, AdNews, B&T, Campaign Brief and most recently the WINA (World Independent Advertising Awards) Festival.
HERO’s work has also been recognised globally at ever top-tier festival around the world, including Cannes Lions, One Show, Clios, London International Awards, D&AD, Adfest, New York Festivals, WINA and Spikes Asia. Even HERO’s office is award winning. The HERO HQ is the only media and marketing business in Australia listed in the prestigious Australian Interior Design Awards, the Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) and the global INDE. Awards. There must be something in the office water?
