Special’s Export Ultra campaign tops Axis Awards finalist tally

The Comms Council has announced the finalists for the 2025 AXIS Awards, with Special’s ‘Export Ultra Cold Call Back Service’ campaign for DB Breweries nominated in a whopping 16 categories.

Featuring rapper Vanilla Ice, the campaign was designed to help prevent Kiwis from accidentally blowing up their beers after leaving them in the freezer. It was nominated for Integrated Campaign of the Year, while Special has been selected as a finalist for Agency of the Year (see below).

Another campaign that featured prominently among the 2025 Axis Awards finalists was Clemenger UnLtd’s ‘Love Creep’ relationship education project with the Ministry of Social Development, which garnered nominations in 11 categories.

‘Make New Zealand the Best Place in the World to Have Herpes’, a de-stigmatisation campaign developed by Motion Sickness for The New Zealand Herpes Foundation, was selected as a finalist in 10 categories.

Agency of the Year

Colenso BBDO
DDB Group Aotearoa
dentsu Aotearoa
FCB Aotearoa
Motion Sickness
Saatchi & Saatchi
Special
TBWA\New Zealand

Integrated campaign

Agency	Client	Title
Saatchi & Saatchi	Toyota New Zealand	RAV4 and the D-RAVS
Saatchi & Saatchi	Chorus	The Not Fine Print
Saatchi & Saatchi	Westpac	Black Friday Hangovers
Special	National Cyber Security Centre	Scamathon
Motion Sickness	Les Mills New Zealand	Be Imperfect
Special	DB Breweries	Export Ultra Cold Call Back Service
Clemenger UnLtd	Ministry of Social Development	Love Creep

With 106 categories ranging from Craft Emerging Talent to Integrated Campaigns, the 2025 AXIS Awards continue to spotlight the best in creative excellence.

Representing creativity and innovation across all corners of the industry, this year’s finalists demonstrate the power of ideas brought to life.

Last year’s awards saw DDB win the coveted Agency of the Year award, while Motion Sickness scooped the Idea of the Year award for the ‘Rep Your Suburb’ campaign for Whānau Ora.

The 2025 Axis Awards will be held on Thursday 27 March 2025 at the Viaduct Events Centre. To view the full list of finalists, visit the Comms Council’s website.