Congratulations to FCB Chicago! The agency has been named the first-ever winner of the Alan Page Award for Writing at the Cresta Awards, a new honor dedicated to recognizing excellence in advertising copy and storytelling.
The award-winning project, ‘The Last Barf Bag,’ was created for Dramamine, the motion-sickness prevention brand, and spotlights the quirky, niche world of barf bag collectors—a hobby that is quickly becoming obsolete.
While the campaign already earned four Gold trophies in the 2024 Cresta Awards, this latest honor acknowledges the depth, creativity, and craftsmanship of its writing. At the heart of the campaign is a 13-minute documentary, which captures the peculiar yet passionate community of airline nausea bag collectors.
Page, an award-winning creative director and copywriter who passed away in 2023, was a champion of great writing in advertising. In his memory, Cresta CEO Lewis Blackwell and Page’s family established the Alan Page Award to celebrate outstanding storytelling and copywriting in the industry.
For FCB Chicago, the documentary-style approach marked a new creative direction, departing from traditional 30-second ads. Executive Creative Director Monique Kaplan emphasized the power of strong writing in advertising, “Writing is so important in advertising—it can take work from good to incredible. But at times, it can feel like a dying craft. Everything is ‘idea first,’ which I fully support, but when you pair an incredible idea with writing that turns it into magic, it’s gold. There’s nothing better.” Watch below:
From Concept to Documentary
The inspiration for the project came from a series of unexpected discoveries. The agency’s research revealed that both the barf bag and Dramamine were invented in 1949, creating a perfect parallel to build a story around.
Taylor Walker, Account Lead on Dramamine, described the organic nature of the writing process, explaining how the script evolved after filming, “We started with a loose narrative, but when we captured something magical during filming, we adapted. The script was rewritten based on what we saw in real time. It was a four-month endeavor, with hundreds of pages of transcripts shaping the campaign’s voice.”
Although the film’s humorous, deadpan tone may resemble a mockumentary, Walker and Kaplan stressed that everything in the documentary is real—real collectors, real passion, and a real slice of an unusual subculture.
The success of ‘The Last Barf Bag’ has motivated the FCB Chicago team to explore longer-form storytelling in future campaigns. “Yeah, we’ve got the bug! It’s raised the bar, and now we’re asking, ‘Is it as good as Dramamine?’” Kaplan joked.
Cresta CEO Lewis Blackwell praised the campaign’s seamless storytelling, stating: “The writing is immense yet almost invisible—it creates a framework for a story to unfold naturally, shaping it into a perfect construction that says so much while appearing effortless.”
A Prestigious New Award in Advertising
The Alan Page Award for Writing was announced later than the other Cresta honors, as a diverse jury panel took time to select a unanimous winner. The result? A campaign that perfectly blends humor, authenticity, and masterful storytelling.
The Cresta Awards 2025 is now open for entries from February 11 to July 20, inviting the next wave of creative storytelling in advertising.
ALSO READ:
FCB Chicago dominates ONE Screen Short Film Festival with multiple wins
