Write a short summary of what happens in the radio or audio execution or campaign.

This radio ad is part of a campaign for the Missing Persons Advocacy Network (MPAN) called Missed Birthdays. The campaign saw family members of missing persons record or write heartfelt messages to their loved ones, which were then distributed/run on the missing person’s actual birthday. Featured in this spot are the words of Stephenie Fielding, the sister of Rigby Fielding who went missing in 2015. The message is a heartfelt and personal message from a sister to her missing brother on his birthday.

Translation. Provide a full English translation of any audio.

Missed Birthdays – Rigby Fielding 30” Stephenie: Happy birthday Rig. It’s been a tough year without you. We’ll all be together to celebrate your birthday. Guaranteed there’ll be plenty of laughs and tears. I’m sorry we haven’t found you yet. I just wish I knew where to look. We love you. We miss you. And we’ll never stop looking for you. Happy birthday Rig. VO: When someone goes missing, their loved ones experience a unique type of grief called ambiguous loss. Help the Missing Persons Advocacy Network support them at missedbirthdays.com.au

Cultural / Context information for the jury

When a person goes missing, the search puts the focus on them. Yet with over 100 Australians reported missing every day, this traditional approach of providing a photo and some basic information doesn’t always receive the necessary public interest, or convey the emotion behind each case. MPAN needed a way to get the public to better connect with missing persons cases. By doing so, MPAN could raise more effective awareness for missing persons, as well as funds to train a new generation of ambiguous loss specialists. This led to Missed Birthdays - a missing persons campaign unlike any other – one that looked at those left behind on the most important day of the year.

Please outline the innovative elements of the work

Crucial to the campaign was planning media on and around each birthday so that the executions could potentially reach the missing person, and also have maximum emotional connection and impact with our audience. Rigby’s Missed Birthday message ran nationally, including his home state where he went missing. Since going to air, Stephenie was contacted by a local detective who took it upon himself to re-look at the case having heard the Missed Birthday message.