2026 Winner

White Ribbon set out to make the radicalization of young boys online feel visible, tracing how influence can shift from guidance to control. “My Friend, Max Hate” followed a teenage boy drawn in by a charismatic digital figure, with the story unfolding as a gradual loss of agency. The music mirrored that shift, designed to represent seduction, distortion and betrayal. The score began with classical cues – soft strings and piano – evoking innocence and stability. As the character’s world changed, those elements were pulled apart. Strings stretched into tension, melodies fractured and rhythms became uneven, creating a sense of instability that tracked the emotional descent. Rather than sit behind the film, the music moved with it, shifting in tone and structure as the story darkened. The campaign reached over 3M organic views, generating 60K shares and a 52% engagement rate, alongside 21.5M earned impressions.

Credits

Chief Creative Officer: Joseph Bonnici
Agency Producer: Michelle Pilling
Executive Creative Director: Debbie Chan
Creative Director: David Mueller
Associate Creative Director: Ana Segurajauregui Sanchez
Art Directors: Zoë Gray
Writer: Nate Houseley
Senior Strategist: Pat Martini
Program Director: Oliver Glover
Account Director: Cole Douglas
Senior Account Manager: Samantha Sartor
Account Manager: Kanishka Punjabi
Account Manager: Aaron Short
Executive Producer: Amanda Morrison
Director: Angie Bird
Director of Photography: Mat Barkley
Line Producer: Kailey Shanque
Producer (Offline): Sam McLaren
Editor (Offline): Michelle Czuker
Editor Assist (Offline): Matt Blakely
Producer (Online): Andrew Tavares
Editors (Online): Saba Zahir, David Whiteson
Colourist: Eric Whipp
Shoot/Edit (Social): Marco Libretti
Producer (Audio): Julia Vasiliev
Director (Audio): Jared Kuemper :Marcel Hidalgo, Tyler Young
Engineers: Jared Kuemper, Marcel Hidalgo, Tyler Young

Editorial Company: Rooster Post Production
Editor: Michelle Czukar
Assistant Editor: Matt Blakley
Editorial Executive Producer: Sam McLaren
Production Company: Westside
Producer: Kailey Shanque
Agency: Bensimon Byrne
ECD: Debbie Chan
Creative Director: David Mueller
ACD: Ana Segurajauregui Sanchez
Copywriter: Nate Houseley
Director of Production: Michelle Pilling
Online & Colour Company: Alter Ego
Online Artist: David Whiteson
Executive Producer: Hilda Pereira
Senior Producer: Andrew Tavares
Music & Audio Company: Berkeley Inc.