The One Show
The One Show is the world's most prestigious award show in advertising and design. For over 50 years, the Gold Pencil has been regarded as one of the top prizes in the creative industry. The One Show has a rich legacy of honoring some of the most groundbreaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity.
Learn more about The One Show 2026
Category
Experiential Radio & Audio
Annual ID
OS25_RA026M
Background
Who is the father of rock? Names like Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash probably crossed your mind. But the father of Rock is actually a mother: Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Years before them, Rosetta was already cranking up the distortion on her guitar, shredding solos, and presenting her rock’n’roll on stage. Though she was recognized as a major influence on many of the men said to be the inventors of rock, including Johnny Cash himself, who name-checked her in his induction speech at the Hall of Fame, Rosetta Tharpe never received the recognition she deserved. Her story was practically erased, and is virtually unknown to the general public. This injustice must be corrected. Our goal is to set the record straight and show the world the true importance of this incredible woman in the history of rock and music.
Creative Idea
There’s no better way to prove that rock has a mother than to look at its DNA. That's why we created the first musical DNA test. A new, interactive way to tell a story to your audience through data.
We created an algorithm that analyzes songs and cross-references the data with elements that became hallmarks of Rosetta Tharpe’s work throughout her career. The result shows the Mother of Rock’s influence on each song, expressed as a percentage. The algorithm can be consulted through a web app, available for desktop and mobile devices.
Billboard has been talking about Rosetta for at least 80 years in the pages of its magazines. But this time, the brand used digital media to tell her story, reaching many famous Brazilian rock stars and their fans, who shared their discoveries on social media.
We created an algorithm that analyzes songs and cross-references the data with elements that became hallmarks of Rosetta Tharpe’s work throughout her career. The result shows the Mother of Rock’s influence on each song, expressed as a percentage. The algorithm can be consulted through a web app, available for desktop and mobile devices.
Billboard has been talking about Rosetta for at least 80 years in the pages of its magazines. But this time, the brand used digital media to tell her story, reaching many famous Brazilian rock stars and their fans, who shared their discoveries on social media.
Insights & Strategy
The strategy used was to understand how the public consumes music, and the research showed us the way. A survey carried out by IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) showed that 75% of people listen to music on their cell phones. From then on, we focused our efforts on offering an experience with a straightforward, immersive, and shareable approach. After all, music fans are only too happy to showcase the songs they love on their social media.
Execution
We analyzed Rosetta Tharpe's recordings throughout her career and dissected all her songs, gathering data to create parameters that represented her innovations and the unique hallmarks of her style. Those parameters were the starting point for the creation of our web app.
Then we took that data and created an algorithm that identifies songs, analyzes them, and cross-references their data against Rosetta's. That allowed us to identify the degree of influence the Mother of Rock had on a given song. And voilà: we had a DNA test for music.
We wanted to find the most affordable way to deliver this experience to music fans. So we put it in your hands. Literally. We put our algorithm into a user-friendly web app, available for mobile, desktop and other digital devices.
Then we took that data and created an algorithm that identifies songs, analyzes them, and cross-references their data against Rosetta's. That allowed us to identify the degree of influence the Mother of Rock had on a given song. And voilà: we had a DNA test for music.
We wanted to find the most affordable way to deliver this experience to music fans. So we put it in your hands. Literally. We put our algorithm into a user-friendly web app, available for mobile, desktop and other digital devices.
Results
We had an 89.52% engagement rate on the web app, showing that we delivered Sister Rosetta Tharpe's story in an interactive way that captured people's attention. Test results were shared on users' social media, including by major Brazilian artists, making searches for Sister Rosetta Tharpe shoot up 93x during the week of the launch. But our web app went beyond borders, recording musical DNA tests taken in dozens of countries, generating a result of 181% more interactions than Billboard’s benchmark.
2025 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit
Credits
Agency
AlmapBBDO / Sao Paulo
Digital Agency
20DASH / Sao Paulo
Production Company
Acaca / Sao Paulo
Music / Sound Production Company
Punch Audio / São Paulo
Art Director
Victor Laars
Chief Creative Officer
Pernil .
Luiz Sanches
Copywriter
Rafael Reis
Creative Director
Eduardo Vares
Executive Creative Director
Pedro Corbett
Motion Designer
Ricardo Chapira
Victor Laars
Producer
Cristiano Pinheiro
Agency Producer
Aline Silva
Marcia Granja
Account Team
Julia Newman
Marilia Alves
Account Team - Punch
Alessandra Pais
Gabriela Takan
Approval
Fátima Pissarra
Carlos Scappini
Camila Zanetin
Marcello Azevedo
Marcos Buaiz
Raquel Kury
Camila Zana
Débora Miranda
Chief Executive Officer
Filipe Bartholomeu
Head of Creative Technology
Lilian Cavallini
Head of Production
Diego Villas Boas
Head Of Service
Lili D. Aragoni
Mixing / Finishing
Gustavo Guanaes
Ian Sierra
Rodrigo Tuchê
Motion Designer - Case
Arthur Siqueira
Bruno Jorri
Production Coordinator
Cristiane Oliveira
Karina Coviello
Project Manager
Juliana Sousa
public relations
AlmapBBDO / Sao Paulo
Giusti Creative PR
Mynd .
Special Projects
Marilia Alves
Special Projects Coordinator
Julia Newman
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