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2017 Radio Mercury Awards Winners Announced
T-Mobile Awarded Radio Marketer of the Year

New York, NY – June 1, 2017 -- Winners for the 2017 Radio Mercury Awards were announced this evening at the 26th annual awards presentation held at Stage 48 in New York. This year’s $50,000 Best of Show award was given to The Richards Group for their Motel 6 Campaign.   

“The Motel 6 Radio Campaign won Best of Show because it created a fresh, top-of-mind execution to convey Motel 6’s iconic brand; this campaign continues the Motel 6 narrative in a refreshing and relevant way,” noted Mark Gross, founder and creative director, Highdive Advertising and chief judge for the 2017 Radio Mercury Awards. “The 15 winners honored tonight represent creative radio at the highest level.”  



Best of Show Winners, The Richards Group, Chris Smith, Rachel Dawer, Sheri Cartwright, and Steve Grimes, with Chief Judge, Mark Gross, and RAB President & CEO, Erica Farber
“The best creative storytellers, with the ability to engage consumers and build brands, always shine bright at this event” said Erica Farber, president and CEO, Radio Advertising Bureau and chair of the Radio Creative Fund. “Motel 6’s campaign and all of this year’s winners epitomize the art of stellar radio creative.”

This year’s Marketer of the Year Award was presented to T-Mobile. Drew Horowitz, president and chief operating officer of Hubbard Radio presented this year’s award to Peter DeLuca, senior vice president, brand communications at T-Mobile. Erica Farber noted that “T-Mobile’s partnership with the radio industry to help drive key objectives forward truly sets it apart; they make radio a key component in their advertising campaigns and activate programs leveraging radio's core equities to garner results.

The lively ceremony was hosted by the radio team of Jeff & Jenn from Hubbard Radio’s Q102 in Cincinnati and included the following presenters: Chris Beresford-Hill, and Pete Kain, BBDO NY; New York radio personalities – Ebro Darden from Emmis’ Hot 97; Wendy Wild from iHeartMedia’s WKTU; Joel Santiago from Univision Radio’s X 96.3 FM; Jayde Donovan, from Cumulus’ 95.5 PLJ; and Dan Taylor, from CBS Radio’s WCBS-FM. DJ Whutever from iHeartMedia’s Power 105.1 served as the guest DJ for the night.  

Numerous leaders from the creative and advertising community including the aforementioned Mark Gross, Chris Beresford-Hill, and Peter Kain, along with Gary Pascoe, CCO, Commonwealth//McCann, and creative group head from the Richards Group, Chris Smith, were in attendance. Also in attendance were creative teams from BBDO NY, Casanova//McCann, CP+B, Havas NY, Ogilvy & Mather, and the Richards Group, along with Melissa Eubanks, from Motel 6. Dave Ehlers, CEO, Blue449; Melissa Shapiro, president, investment, Blue 449, and Lisa Allison, senior vice president, director of local broadcast investments, Blue449, and Hot 97’s Nessa attended to help celebrate T-Mobile, with previously mentioned Peter DeLuca, Kari Marshall, vice president, T-Mobile, Peter Santaniello, senior manager, field marketing, T-Mobile and  Bob Stanchina, director, sales operations & business planning, T-Mobile.

This year’s event was produced by the Radio Advertising Bureau, presented by Hubbard Radio in partnership with iHeartMedia Inc., and sponsored by: Beasley Broadcasting, Bonneville International, CBS Radio, Cherry Creek Radio, Cox Media Group, Cromwell Group,  Emmis Communications, Entercom Communications, E.W. Scripps, Forcht Broadcasting, Katz Radio Group, Marketron, Miller, Kaplan, Arase LLP, MoreFM, Neuhoff Media, Nielsen Audio, Salem Communications, Townsquare Media, Triton Digital, United Stations Radio Network, Univision Radio, vCreative, and Westwood One.

Below is a list of the winning spots. To listen to all of the work awarded at tonight’s ceremony log onto www.radiomercuryawards.com.    

$50,000 Best Of Show
2017 Motel 6 Campaign
Motel 6
The Richards Group

$5,000 Agency/Production Spot
Millennials
Motel 6
The Richards Group

$1,500 Agency/Production Spot

Adios/Amigos
Heineken / Dos Equis
Havas New York

$1,500 Agency/Production Spot
Toyota Dealer – Two
Chevrolet
Commonwealth//McCann

$1,500 International Radio Showcase
Gourmet Meals
ProDiet
Ogilvy & Mather Group HK

$1,500 Best Promotional Showcase
Baconoke
Townsquare Media Live Events – Baconfest
Townsquare Media of El Paso

$3,000 Best Use of Radio In an Integrated Campaign

GE Podcast Theater Presents: Life.Af/ter
GE
BBDO NY

$1,500 Big Idea
Stereotypical Trump
Creative Against Contradictions

$1,500 PSA Spot

Unfairy Tales – Ali
Unicef
180LA

$5,000 Radio Campaign

It’s Really Time to letgo
letgo
CP+B

$1,500 Radio Campaign
Long Story Short – 1
Quikrete
Fitzgerald + Co

$5,000 Radio Station Produced
Elliptical
Mattress Firm
Hubbard Radio

$1,500 Radio Station Produced
John Quincy Adams
Cyprus Air Fireplace
iHeartMedia Creative Services Group

$3,000 Spanish Language Single/Campaign

Expensive
Covered California
Casanova//McCann

$1,500 Student Produced Spot
Tidy Cats Cat Litter
The Creative Circus

About The Radio Mercury Awards
The Radio Mercury Awards, the only competition exclusively devoted to radio, was established in 1992 to encourage and reward the development of effective and creative radio commercials. The annual Radio Mercury Awards competition draws entries from advertising agencies, production houses, radio stations, and educational institutions across the country. Approximately 18,800 commercials have competed for over $3.3 million in prizes. The Radio Creative Fund (RCF), a non-profit corporation funded by the radio industry, governs the Radio Mercury Awards. The Radio Advertising Bureau produces the Radio Mercury Awards.


Media Contact:
Meghan Buonocore
212-681-7215
mbuonocore@rab.com