M&C Saatchi’s Justin Graham selected for Our Soundtrack Our Ads inspired ARIA Award jury

Our Soundtrack Our Ads, in partnership with the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), today revealed the jury for the inaugural ARIA award category to recognise and celebrate the best use of Australian music in the creative and advertising industry – debuting at the 2023 ARIA Awards. M&C Saatchi AUNZ group CEO and Advertising Council Australia board member Justin Graham has been named as one of the jurors.

Joining Graham (pictured above) on the jury is Beth Appleton, CEO at Jaxsta Music; Eric J Dubowsky, ARIA and Grammy award winning producer; Mohamed Komba, senior director, A&R Australasia at Warner Music; Libby Minogue, CMO at Virgin Australia; Holly Rankin (aka Jack River), artist and founder of Our Soundtrack Our Stories and Madeleine Stockwell, marketing manager at Smirnoff.

Says Graham: “I’m honoured to be judging the inaugural Our Soundtrack Our Ads inspired ARIA award category.

“This is such an important opportunity for brands, creatives and the music industry to come together to create powerful work that entertains and influences Australians, while championing and supporting the future of the Australian musicians and artists.”

Both Virgin Australia and Smirnoff are long-time supporters of the Australian music industry, with brand initiatives including Virgin Australia’s music industry baggage allowance service, and Smirnoff Selzter’s ‘Ads for Artists’.

Entries for the new category will be judged for the best use of Australian music in the service of an advertisement’s overall creative concept, with two awards for up to and over two minutes duration.

More details on the award eligibility criteria for brands, creatives and agencies is available here.

The award category was created following the announcement of Our Soundtrack Our Ads: a joint initiative between Our Soundtrack Our Stories and M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment. It is an extension of the existing Our Soundtrack Our Stories, launched in 2021 to promote the use of Australian music across the local business and media landscape.

Our Soundtrack Our Ads calls on the Australian creative and advertising industry to pledge their support for homegrown music by investing music budgets into homegrown artists and elevating its work with local voices, sounds and stories.

Says Annabelle Herd, CEO at ARIA: “This category is such an exciting, and important, addition to the ARIA Awards. We’re continuously looking for opportunities for Australian music to be heard in all its forms, by all who create it, so we’re thrilled that this award will provide a platform to recognise and celebrate the brands that are doing the same.”

To celebrate the entries for the award category opening, Our Soundtrack Our Ads is hosting an industry event at M&C Saatchi, 99 Macquarie St, Sydney on Wednesday 7 June, 2023. The event will feature a panel discussion by some of the judges, as well as a live performance by Kita Alexander.