SYDNEY: A campaign by The Monkeys agency for Meat & Livestock Australia has won the Grand Effie at the 2016 Australian Effie Awards.

At an event in Sydney, a total of six golds, 13 silvers and 20 bronzes were awarded to 27 agencies representing 23 clients.

Operation Boomerang, an Australia Day-themed lamb commercial, picked up three of those golds as well as the Grand Effie.

It also attracted a degree of controversy earlier this year with the Advertising Standards Bureau fielding more than 600 complaints relating to violence, treatment of vegans and use of the Aboriginal word boomerang, before eventually clearing it.

In the opinion of the judges, Operation Boomerang demonstrated a very compelling and clear business case, with a high degree of difficulty; they added that the strategy was bold, disruptive, and extremely effective.

The Monkeys was also behind another gold-winning campaign – ‘The power of knowledge: How an 80-year-old reclaimed thought leadership' for supplements business Blackmores.

And with a total of four golds, it was not surprising that The Monkeys was also named Effective Agency of the Year.

The remaining golds went to AFFINITY for ‘Diving into data for Narellan Pools', a campaign for swimming pool maker Narellan Pools, and to Whybin\TBWA Group Melbourne for ‘Owning the First Job Trigger' for ANZ Bank.

Officeworks, a supplier of office and stationery products, won the Effective Advertiser of the Year award. The jury said the Officeworks marketing team not only had a very impressive case history and set of results, but a great argument for the science and art of marketing over simple merchandising.

The team was praised for its consistent approach and focus on effectiveness; a long term commitment to agency partners; and processes that gave everyone the best chance of success, internally and externally.

The full list of winners will be published on Warc shortly.

Data sourced from Australian Effie Awards, Guardian; additional content by Warc staff