Outernet and Standard announce winner

Outernet London, an entertainment district with some of the most advanced immersive screens in the world and one of the UKs most visited cultural attractions, and London media brand, the Evening Standard, have announced the winner of their London’s Greatest Advertising Competition. Transport for London will receive £1 million worth of advertising across the spaces and screens of the Outernet district, as well as a cross platform Evening Standard campaign.

They say the prize includes a hero advert in the flagship Now Building at Outernet, which features 23,000sq feet of floor to ceiling screens, as well as Evening Standard cover wraps and premium digital formats, including Brand Stories.

The creative brief for the competition asked brands to celebrate diversity in all its forms, following the Evening Standard’s Our London research that identified diversity as an element of London life that contributes to its unique character. Entrants were asked to showcase how their campaign could drive positive societal change through a creative execution that made the most of the media platforms that form the prize package.

The winning entry from VCCP and Wavemaker, “The fabric of London”, features a campaign that celebrates diversity using one of the most famous canvases of all - the TfL seating moquette. The entry highlights how TfL connects every corner of the city, helping every community, identity and culture to come together. Inspired by the famous moquette and including real-life stories from Londoners, the creative concept comprises an animated tapestry of the communities of London represented across Evening Standard and Outernet formats, with plans to extend the idea across the TfL network over time. Scoring highly against all entry criteria, the judges felt this striking campaign would resonate strongly with London audiences, and indeed with visitors from all over the world, showcasing our city as the culturally diverse capital of the world.

Simon Learman, creative director, VCCP said: "We’re thrilled to be invited to bring our idea to life across such spectacular and immersive media platforms. Transport for London connects millions of people every single day. And the Evening Standard and the Outernet are the perfect canvases to tell our stories of human connection. Public transport is the true leveller, and TfL provides the means to drive the most culturally rich and diverse city in the world forward. After all, everyone’s journey matters."

Three runners up have also been announced. In second, third and fourth place, Iris Worldwide for Convatec, Havas London for Vanish, in partnership with Ambitious about Autism and The & Partnership, and Mars for Ben’s Originals were also recognised by the judges for their creativity and diversity-focused messaging.

Outernet and the Evening Standard say their partnership combines the potential of two brands with the power to captivate and inspire Londoners, highlighting their shared focus of celebrating the city and the people that make it thrive.

Jessica Dracup-Holland, CMO Outernet London said: “In our first year of partnership with the Evening Standard, and launching this competition for the first time, it was fantastic to see such a high caliber of entry, with submissions from global brands like Disney, L’Oreal, Merlin and Adidas, to more local causes such as Great Ormond Street Hospital and CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). The standard was truly exceptional, and we are thrilled to have engaged the creative and media sector to deliver some incredible campaign ideas, many of which I hope to see come to life still. The TfL entry however, was a standout winner. Bringing the world-famous TfL visual brand into the campaign, the potential impact of this campaign is clear to see, with its bold use of the iconic fabric, strategic channel use for not only the Outernet and Evening Standard, but also TfL’s own channels, and authentically integrated diverse storytelling, it is exactly what we hoped to see.”

Emma Strain, customer director at Transport for London (TfL), said: “We are delighted to have won this creative competition with the Evening Standard and Outernet. Our network supports and connects all of London's communities and its instantly recognisable moquette patterns are synonymous with London itself. We can’t wait for people to see the campaign and how it celebrates diversity in all its forms.”

Dylan Jones, editor in chief Evening Standard said: “I always knew that the partnership between the Evening Standard and Outernet London would lead to great things and I have been thrilled to see the range of creativity and inspirational campaigns that our competition has generated. The Transport for London entry stood out to me not only in the visual impact it will have but also the way it represented diverse communities in a simple but effective way. I can’t wait to see this idea come to life.”

As well as Dylan Jones and Jessica Dracup-Holland, Outernet London and the Evening Standard say entries were judged by leaders from across the media sector including Justine Simons OBE (deputy mayor for culture and the creative industries), Puja Parmar (the mayor of london sadiq khan’s senior advisor on marketing), Naren Patel (CEO, Media for All), Jordan Schwarzenberger (co-founder of Arcade Media) and Ann Wixley (executive creative director at Wavemaker).