The OAAA OBIE Awards is an awards program managed by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America recognizing exceptional creative in the Out-of-home advertising (OOH) industry. The name OBIE is derived from the ancient Egyptian obelisk meaning, a tall stone structure used to publicize laws and treaties thousands of years ago. Many historians consider the obelisk as the first true form of advertising.
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Eligibility
For an advertisement to be eligible for the OBIE Awards, the advertiser (or its agency) must have made payment for the unit space directly to an out of home media company owning or operating the structure, the only exception being public service advertisements. The advertisement must have been posted within the previous calendar year. Identical advertisements posted during the eligible calendar year but entered in any previous OBIE Awards cycle are not eligible.
Current categories
Judging
Each year, a panel of seven judges meets to judge that year's OBIE Awards. The judges are selected from the top executives at advertising agencies and OOH media companies across the country. The OBIE jury gathers to evaluate all the entries in a day-long process that eventually yields Gold OBIE winners, Silver OBIE winners, and OBIE Finalists.
Ceremonies
Hall of Fame
The OBIE Hall of Fame Award was established in 1992 to reward brands that have exemplified long-standing distinction in using the OOH medium. The award is voted on by the OAAA membership each year. The first recipient of the OBIE Hall of Fame Award was the US Army. Past winners include Apple, Budweiser, Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola and Mini Cooper.