This year’s Gold Siren Winner, equivalent to the best radio ad in Australia, will be announced in Sydney on May 8, at Waters Edge, Walsh Bay. The winner of the 2009 Siren Awards for creative excellence in radio advertising will be announced at a breakfast, hosted by Jonathan ‘Jono’ Coleman and Ian ‘Dano’ Rogerson, from the drivetime show, “The Jono & Dano Show", on-air on WS-FM (Sydney), GOLD 104 (Melbourne) and 4KQ (Brisbane), as well as many regional stations across Australia.

The breakfast will feature the best radio ads of the past twelve months. The 2009 winner, chosen by a panel of industry experts, will be automatically entered into the Cannes Radio Lions – to be held in June and its writer will also win two tickets to attend the festival.


Last year’s Gold Siren winner, an advertisement for RACV Financial Services called “Disclaimer”, written by Paul Reardon and Julian Schreiber from Clemenger BBDO in Melbourne, won a Silver Radio Lion at the Cannes Advertising Festival. The RACV ad was one of three 2008 Sirens finalists and winners that made it to the radio shortlist in Cannes last year. Paul Reardon from Clemenger BBDO is this year’s Australian radio judge at Cannes.


Chief executive officer of Commercial Radio Australia, Joan Warner said the Siren Awards provided a great opportunity to recognise excellence in Australian radio advertising and also highlight the great work being achieved, both at home and overseas: “Each year the Siren Awards continue to raise the bar in terms of creativity and originality. There have been nearly 600 entries this year – a fantastic result which shows how important this Award has become. Also the success of past winners and entrants at Cannes is testament to the fact that great work is being achieved with radio ads in Australia,” Ms Warner said.


The breakfast will be followed by the Sirens Masterclass, a one-day, creative seminar that provides keynote speakers and interactive sessions. The Masterclass includes lunch and group tasks which will allow people to share ideas and network. Guest speakers for this year’s event will be announced soon.


Both the Sirens breakfast and Masterclass will be held at Waters Edge, Sydney. The breakfast will run from 7.30am to 9.30am and the Masterclass will follow the breakfast and includes lunch. Tickets are on sale now at $395 for the breakfast and Masterclass combined and an early bird discounted rate of $350 is available for those who book and pay before Friday, April 10. Tickets for the breakfast only are $65 and a table of ten is available for $595. For a booking form and more information visit the Sirens website, www.sirenawards.com.au.


The national Siren Awards, now in their sixth year, are run by Commercial Radio Australia and are designed to recognise the best radio advertising in the country. The awards promote the importance of creativity as a way to make radio advertising more effective. Entries for round one of the 2010 Siren Awards are now open.