'Best Use Of Australian Music In Advertising' Category Returning To ARIA Awards

Last year, the ARIA Awards introduced a new category perfect for musicians and industry figures: Best Use of Australian Music in Advertising.

For the second year running, the award returns to this year’s star-studded event, celebrating the use of Australian music in creative and advertising businesses.

Yesterday, ARIA didn’t just announce that the new award would be returning this year but that applications are now open to join the judging academy. ARIA tagged John Williamson and Meg Doyle, Innocean Australia’s Charlotte Berry, Carolyn Cho, Wes Hawes and Eliza Millet, ARIA and PPCA CEO Annabelle Herd, ACMS Director of Communications Imogen Scott, and Warner Music Australasia’s President Dan Rosen, Marketing Manager Brii Jamieson, and Synchronisation & Brands VP Emily Crews.

The inaugural winner of the Best Use of an Australian Recording in an Advertisement (over 2 minutes duration) award went to the Australian Marine Conservation Society’s Voice Of The Sea, made in partnership with Innocean Australia and John Williamson.

Voice Of The Sea is now a children’s book. Williamson said about the song in a statement, “I wanted to support the Australian Marine Conservation Society with this song because they provide Australians with a way to speak out for our seas through its important conservation work.”

Carolyn Cho added: “The book launch builds on the foundations of our playful Voice Of The Sea educational platform and will continue to bring the message of ocean conservation to schools and homes across the country.”

The Best Use of Australian Music in Advertising award was born out of Our Soundtrack Our Ads, an extension of the Our Soundtrack Our Stories award introduced in 2021 to promote the use of Australian music across the media landscape, including radio and television.

In 2021, singer Jack River issued a call to arms for local media and businesses to promote homegrown music that evolved into an open invitation from the music community to discover, champion, share and consume more local music in both a commercial and mainstream landscape.

On the emergence of Our Soundtrack Our Ads, River said, “Our Soundtrack Our Ads is an exciting opportunity for brands, creatives and the music industry to unite with a common goal of championing local music and local storytelling.

“We have such amazing talent here in our backyard, so getting to hear new and upcoming voices across more commercials, social media campaigns, and creative content is exciting for the next generation of artists, brands and music lovers alike.”

Annabelle Herd added that it was time to “soundtrack Australian lives with Australian music”, stating, “Advertising has such an important role in impacting change across society. It creates ideas and tells stories that leave an important mark on culture. Music is no different. I'm thrilled to celebrate talent and creativity across the two industries with this first-of-its-kind award in 2023.”