OMA honours Australian World Out of Home Award winners

The Outdoor Media Association (OMA) has honoured the creative teams behind Australia's three category wins and a special mention at the 2026 World Out of Home Awards, hosting a celebratory lunch in Sydney on Friday where OMA Chair Charles Parry-Okeden presented the awards in person.

Held at The Guest House in the Park Hyatt Sydney, OUTShine brought together the agencies and media partners behind four campaigns recognised on the global stage in London earlier this year.

The winning work

Howatson+Company and IPG Mediabrands won the Creative Award for Special Build for "If You Can Take It, It's Yours", made for Selleys. 

VML Australia and Wavemaker took the Creative Award for Classic with "The Hidden Eye Test" for 1001 Optometry, while Hero and Carat won the Technical Innovation Award for Mastercard's "Transit Tales". 

Bear Meets Eagle on Fire and Essence Mediacom picked up a special mention in the Creative Award for Classic category for Bankwest's "Just Enough Bank".

How the campaigns already won locally

All four campaigns had already had their moment domestically. Howatson+Company took the Grand Prix at April's OMA Creative Awards for the same Selleys work, a stunt that saw a 2.8-metre marlin, a kayak, an arcade machine, a cricket bat and a toolbox glued to a Sydney billboard with Selleys Liquid Nails, daring the public to pull them free. 

VML Australia's "Hidden Eye Test" also swept three categories at that April ceremony, and Bear Meets Eagle On Fire's Bankwest campaign won Best Multi-Format Campaign.

"We already knew these campaigns were winners in our market, but to see them leading the industry's international conversation is cause for big celebration and that's why hosting OUTShine was so important," OMA CEO Elizabeth McIntyre said.

"Australian creatives are outshining the world right now, and this event put a spotlight on that. Out of Home is a medium that rewards bold thinking and invites the public to participate in the idea.

"It was a pleasure to be in London to see these campaigns recognised on the international stage, and it was an honour for the OMA to present the awards to the teams behind them."

McIntyre's growing global remit

The London trip capped a big year for McIntyre, who was appointed to the World Out of Home Organisation's board alongside Brazil's Felipe Vianta in June, days after the awards were handed out at the WOO Congress. The same London ceremony saw QMS chief John O'Neill win the WOO Leadership Award, giving Australia's out-of-home sector a second reason to celebrate its showing on the world stage this year.

Attendees at OUTShine also heard a rundown of themes from the World Out of Home Conference and the 2026 Cannes Lions, with McIntyre pointing to what it now takes to win.

"We learned that great ideas alone no longer make the cut when it comes to successful campaigns," McIntyre added.

"They must be backed by top-class execution and advertisers willing to come along for the journey.

“Our awards winners were a perfect example of this.”