MIAMI, FL: Kimberly-Clark's Kleenex brand - and VSA Partners, its Chicago-based agency - were the best-in-show winners at the Association of National Advertisers' (ANA) 2015 Multicultural Excellence Awards.

The "Time for a Change" campaign, which tells the story of how a gesture can connect and uplift us all, took home the top honors at an opening-night ceremony at the ANA's Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference in Miami Beach.

Now in their 15th year, the Multicultural Excellence Awards recognise the client-side marketers - and their agencies - that produce industry-leading multicultural advertising campaigns between June 2014 and June 2015.

This year's competition received 197 entries, and the ANA honored several marketers with grand prizes for industry-leading advertising across ten categories.

The grand prize brands (and their agencies) included:

African-American: Union Bank (Carol H Williams Advertising);
Asian: Allstate Insurance Co. (Leo Burnett);
Digital media, Hispanic and "Significant Results": Toyota Motor Sales USA - Toyota Brand (Conill Advertising); 
LGBT: Wells Fargo (BBDO/SF);
People with Disabilities: Kleenex (VSA Partners);
Print: The Black Rep (Rodgers Townsend DDB);
Radio: Kimberly-Clark Corp. (LatinWorks);
Total market: Tylenol (J. Walter Thompson).

The ANA Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Committee established the awards 15 years ago to help raise awareness and recognition for outstanding work in African-American, Asian, Hispanic, LGBT and People with Disabilities advertising.

A portion of the proceeds collected from the awards' submission fees will help fund scholarships for high-potential multicultural students who plan to pursue careers in advertising and/or marketing.

Data sourced from ANA; additional content by Warc staff