Bear Meets Eagle on Fire and Telstra Dominate at AWARD Awards: Agency, Creative Leader, Marketing Team, CMO of the Year

​Bear Meets Eagle On Fire has been named Agency of the Year at the 46th AWARD Awards. The accolade was the result of a run of Telstra work that also led the agency’s founder and CCO Micah Walker to be chosen as Creative Leader of the Year, Brent Smart as CMO of the Year, and the telco as Marketing Team of the Year.

The Grand Award went to New Zealand indie Motion Sickness and prodco FINCH for ‘Make New Zealand The Best Place In The World To Have Herpes’, which also won four Golds. DDB took home the honour of Agency Network of the Year, and FINCH became Production Company of the Year.

Bear won eight Golds across four campaigns at the ceremony, which closed out This Way Up, AWARD’s annual creative festival in Sydney.

The wins came across multiple categories, for four different pieces of Telstra work, including: ‘Wherever Your Business Goes’ for Art Direction; ‘Better on a Better Mobile Network’ for Art Direction, Copywriting, and Film Advertising; ‘Wherever We Go’ for Graphic Design; and ‘Silent Films’, for Film and Entertainment.

The Agency of the Year runner-up was shared between DDB Aotearoa and Special.

DDB was named Agency Network of the Year for nine Golds; six from New Zealand and three for Australia: ‘Certified Toasters’ for Retail, Integrated Marketing, Business Transformation, and New Media; ‘The Forbidden Flagmoji’ for Creative Expression; ‘The University of Dyslexic Thinking’ for Creative Strategy; ‘RooBadge’ for Radio and Audio; and ‘Worst Children’s Library’ for Events and Stunts, and PR.

With the most credits on entries across the show, FINCH also pipped Bear’s production partner, Revolver, for Production Company of the Year, but Revolver director Steve Rogers won Individual Director of the Year.

Revolver won four Golds of its own, while the other big winners were VML Australia, Special Australia, Wolf BKK, and It’s Friday, all with two Golds. Supermassive, TBWA\Media Arts Lab Australia, and Sonar Music all also won Gold.

The Best B2B Campaign was awarded to Supermassive and FINCH for ‘36 Months’.

Jury president and Uncommon founder Nils Leonard said, “Sometimes the best work does exactly what it shouldn't. This work isn't trying to fit into algorithms; it slices through them, using brash and childlike patter to make an important and grown-up point. The best work does more than answer a brief but becomes a reference point for a time; this stuff has that energy. Irreverent. Unignorable. Important.”

AWARD chair Mandie van der Merwe congratulated the winners, which were announced at a ceremony held at Doltone House in Sydney’s Pyrmont.

“You’ve earned serious bragging rights across APAC and probably given your creative rivals a few wounds to lick,” she said.

“Your work didn’t just stand out; it made us lean in, moved us, and inspired action. A huge shout-out to our Special Awards winners as well. You’re at the pointy end of creativity, setting the benchmark for the work AWARD champions and celebrations in this part of the world.

More than 300 awards were won across the evening, with 19 different campaigns accounting for 36 Golds. Earlier in the night, JOY’s Mathilda Grinling was named AWARD School’s national top student for 2025.

The full list of Special Award Winners:

Individual Agency Of The Year
Bear Meets Eagle On Fire, Winner
Special and DDB Group Aotearoa, (Equal) 2nd
Motion Sickness, 4th
VML Sydney, 5th

Agency Network Of The Year - Sponsored By Outdoor Media Association
DDB, Winner
TBWA,  2nd
Clemenger BBDO, 3rd
Special Group, 4th
VML, 5th

Production Company Of The Year
FINCH, Winner
Revolver, 2nd
Scoundrel, 3rd
The Sweetshop, 4th
EXIT,  5th

Music And Sound Company Of The Year
Rumble Studios, Winner

Grand Award
Make New Zealand The Best Place In The World To Have Herpes, Motion Sickness & FINCH, Winner

Best B2B Campaign - Sponsored By LinkedIn
36 Months, Supermassive & FINCH, Winner
Wherever Your Business Goes, Bear Meets Eagle On Fire, +61, and Revolver, Highly Commended

Creative Leader Or Leadership Team Of The Year
Micah Walker, Bear Meets Eagle On Fire, Winner
Sam Stuchbury, Motion Sickness, Highly Commended

Creative Director Or Team Of The Year
Ian Williamson, Bear Meets Eagle On Fire, Winner

Individual Creative Or Team Of The Year
Will Winter-Irving and Joe Ranallo, Special Australia, Winner
Gaetano Perry and Tim Thach, FCB Aotearoa, Highly Commended

Emerging Creative Or Team Of The Year
Charlie Dejean and Andrew Bao ,VML, Winner

Individual Director Of The Year
Steve Rogers, Revolver, Winner
Tim Bullock ,Scoundrel, 2nd
Kyra Bartley, FINCH, 3rd

Emerging Director Of The Year
Connor Pritchard, Good Oil Films, Winner
Arundati Thandur, FINCH, Highly Commended

Indigenous Creative Talent
Jordan Watton ,Freelance, Winner
Kevin Wilson, Nani Creative, Highly Commended

Marketing Team And CMO Of The Year - Sponsored By Meta
Telstra, Winner
Samsung, 2nd
The New Zealand Herpes Foundation, 3rd
1001 Optometry and Goodman Fielder, (Equal) 4th

Agency Producer Of The Year - Sponsored By TalentPay
Emma Wright, Bear Meets Eagle On Fire, Winner

Photographer Of The Year
Simon Harsent, The Pool Collective, Winner
Sarah Adamson, Photoplay Photography, Highly Commended

The full list of Gold winners:

Public Affairs Campaign 
36 Months, 36 Months, Supermassive

Film Art Direction, Campaign
Better on a Better Mobile Network, Telstra,  Bear Meets Eagle On Fire

Best use of Copywriting, Campaign 
Better on a Better Mobile Network, Telstra, Bear Meets Eagle On Fire

Campaign
Better on a Better Mobile Network, Telstra, Revolver

TV Commercial Campaigns
Better on a Better Mobile Network, Telstra, Bear Meets Eagle On Fire

Retail
Certified Toasters, Goodman Fielder New Zealand, DDB Group Aotearoa

Best Integrated Marketing Campaign
Certified Toasters, Goodman Fielder New Zealand, DDB Group Aotearoa

Business Transformation
Certified Toasters, Goodman Fielder New Zealand, DDB Group Aotearoa

Use of New Media
Certified Toasters, Goodman Fielder New Zealand, DDB Group Aotearoa

TV and Cinema Commercials
Considering What?, Channel 4, Revolver

Tactical
Hey Drake, This Yours?, Sydney Water, It's Friday

Use of Talent and Influencers
Hey Drake, This Yours?, Sydney Water, It's Friday

Excellence in Audio
Hospitals United For Sick Kids - Blip: Lightyears From Home, Hospitals United For Sick Kids, Sonar Music

Best Use of Paid Talent and Influencers
Made For Down Under, Bonds, Special Australia

Disease Awareness
Make New Zealand The Best Place In The World To Have Herpes, The New Zealand Herpes Foundation, Motion Sickness

Branded Content and Entertainment, Campaign
Make New Zealand The Best Place In The World To Have Herpes, The New Zealand Herpes Foundation, Motion Sickness

Integrated Campaign
Make New Zealand The Best Place In The World To Have Herpes, The New Zealand Herpes Foundation, Motion Sickness

PR & Promotion
Make New Zealand The Best Place In The World To Have Herpes, The New Zealand Herpes Foundation, Motion Sickness

Sound Design
Rick’s Rescue, Apple, TBWA\ Media Arts Lab Australia

Cinema Only Campaigns
Silent Films, Telstra, Bear Meets Eagle On Fire

Cinema Commercials Up to 60 Seconds
Silent Films - Four Legged Friend, Telstra, Bear Meets Eagle On Fire

Cinema Commercials Up to 60 Seconds
Silent Films - Magnetic Boy, Telstra, Bear Meets Eagle On Fire

Creative Expression
The Forbidden Flagmoji, Solid Lines, DDB Group Australia

Posters, Campaign
The Hidden Eye Test, 1001 Optometry, VML Australia

Use of Print, Press & Outdoor
The Hidden Eye Test, 1001 Optometry, VML Australia

TV and Cinema Commercials
The Shoemaker, Telstra, Revolver

Creative Strategy
The University of Dyslexic Thinking, Made By Dyslexia, DDB Group Australia

Fiction Film 5-30 mins, Individual
Uncle KFC's Rice Bowl, KFC Thailand, Wolf BKK

Social Videos, Individual
Uncle KFC’s Rice Bowl, KFC Thailand, Wolf BKK

Innovative Use of Radio & Audio
Volkswagen RooBadge, Volkswagen Australia, DDB Group Australia

Posters
Wherever We Go, Telstra, Bear Meets Eagle On Fire

Film Art Direction, Individual
Wherever Your Business Goes, Telstra, Bear Meets Eagle On Fire

Best Use of Events and Stunts
Worst Children's Library, Samsung Electronics New Zealand, DDB Group Aotearoa