In November we launched Round 2 of the Hard Sell competition, a free-to-enter creative competition for advertising students and juniors to sell the unsellable, judged by the industry’s best.

After an unprecedented number of entries and an incredibly high standard of work throughout, we’re stoked to announce the top three.

Before we get into it, a quick reminder of the brief: Sell Gage Roads’ range of craft beers to Australia’s most stubborn beer drinkers.

FIRST PLACE
Meg Watson & Jordan Ellis (Creative Partners, Wunderman Thompson Perth)

And the judges said…

Jessamy Ross (Senior Copywriter at VMLY&R): "Great insight... it hits the flavour element of the brief perfectly!"

Gary Tranter (Chief Creative Officer at ADNA Global): "Brilliant insight. Perfect ‘Challenger Brand’ respect for the Target Audience. Innovative packaging. - Great Idea!"

Matt Chandler (Executive Creative Director at DDB Sydney): "A unique approach within all the entries. A smart strategy and nicely considered execution."

SECOND PLACE
Meg Watson & Jordan Ellis (Creative Partners, Wunderman Thompson Perth)

And the judges said…

Liz Hammond (Creative Director at Rare Perth): “100% on brief, based on a great insight and executed sharply. It’s an idea that would actually be practical to implement and would appeal to the target.”

THIRD PLACE
Lachlan Rotherham & Georgie Parchert (Creative Partners, Innocean)

And the judges said…

Gary Tranter (Chief Creative Officer at ADNA Global): "I like how this idea pushes itself outside the normal beer sampling confines and creates an experience around the sampling execution - nice!"

Jessamy Ross (Senior Copywriter at VMLY&R): "I like the originality and simplicity of this idea – and the way it hits the unique craft flavour and stubborn audience elements of the brief - my note to the entrant is that the key thing missing from the idea is a punchy, killer name. Especially with Batter, Better, Bitter etc in play."

We’d once again like to say thanks to the judges for their time and Gage Roads for allowing us to promote their products in a way they never thought possible (as well as the free bevs!).

Congratulations to the winners and all the entrants for their impressive work!