Things that make you go OOH…

Since its inception, Ocean’s annual Digital Creative Competition, now in its 17th year, has been a catalyst for creativity, challenging the advertising industry to test the boundaries of Digital Out of Home with original ideas that often go on to succeed on the international stage.

This year’s European Grand Prix winner, ‘Dodge the Finger’ from the UK agency TBWA\MCR is a great example of how a brilliant concept subsequently made its way onto the Cannes Lions shortlist, giving a small cancer charity called Prost8 a global platform to deliver an important message to men aged 50+.

As Glenn and Tom at TBWA\MCR told us, one of OOH’s many strengths is that it doesn’t end with the screen. Great creative work naturally carries into PR, social media, content creation and day to day conversations, meaning the impact keeps growing long after a brand campaign has gone live.

This year’s competition offers creatives an even greater range or palette as new locations and formats like Ocean Showcase and The Curve in Leicester Square come to market, encouraging participants to think again about how audiences best experience Out of Home.

We’ve also expanded the UK competition with a new student category, giving emerging talent a chance to respond to a live brief from Lloyds Bank. The one overall winner will receive a paid internship with Ocean Labs, our creative innovation team. Embracing young talent reflects our belief that great creative ideas come from anywhere, regardless of experience, making the Digital Creative Competition one of the industry’s most accessible free to enter programmes.

The key to success is to treat the medium as part of the creative idea, rather than treating the screens simply as advertising space. And as Glenn and Tom advise, think of brand new ways to bring DOOH tech to life.

Beyond the screen
The most effective work provokes a reaction and makes people feel something. Ultimately, that’s one of the best ways to measure effectiveness. Here’s just four recent examples – and they’re not all Ocean work – of how creativity nails the brief, grabs attention and leads to much wider conversations:

NHS Blood & Transplant’s Emergency Low-Gos (another Digital Creative Competition winner) from Havas London systematically drained the red from global brands’ logos with a synched, targeted call-to-action to address critical summer blood shortages. Marvel, HSBC UK, The Independent, English Heritage and Westfield loaned their brands to help reach donors.

Just one Cornetto did it for me on Landsec’s Piccadilly Lights. With a giant 3D DeepScreen® chocolate disc spinning out of the screen, Ocean Studio’s latest production for The Magnum Ice Cream company was accompanied by irresistible sampling. An epic, eye-catching stunt which tempted chocolate lovers across London and beyond and set the tone for our long hot summer.

Gig economy platform TaskRabbit hits all the right notes with their wholesome London wide OOH campaign which parodies well known song lyrics, pairing them with some of the home services providers listed on its app. Connecting local people to independent skilled taskmasters is quintessentially outdoor. Every time I see one of these executions, it makes me smile.

Andrex’s bid to normalise childbirth is dividing opinion between those who reckon it’s an embarrassing misfire, and those who support how the brand destigmatises an anxiety 75% of pregnant women reportedly ‘fear.’ Either way, it’s provoking conversation and that gets a point in my book. It’s also the only recent ad that made me feel emotional towards the end.

Entries for the 2026 Digital Creative Competition close on 21st August. To submit your idea click here.

Marie Le Hur is Ocean Outdoor UK’s marketing director.