McCann Worldgroup and McDonald's top Effective 100

McCann Worldgroup is the top network in the WARC Effective 100 rankings for 2021, with Ingage Istanbul emerging as the leading digital/specialist agency, while McDonald’s is the most effective brand. 

The 2021 WARC Rankings – Creative 100, Media 100, Effective 100 – were postponed from Q1 until now because of the disruption to the awards industry caused by COVID-19. Many award shows paused in 2020 and resumed in 2021 to judge two-years of work. 

The top three spots in the different categories within the Effective 100, along with scores and movement from the last ranking, are listed below.

Campaigns

1. I’m Drinking It For You · DB Export · Colenso BBDO Auckland / Carat Auckland / Red Star Auckland · 51.7 points 
2. Can’t Touch This · Cheetos · Goodby Silverstein & Partners San Francisco · 50 points
3. Michelin Impossible · KFC · Ogilvy Sydney · 47.2 points

Brands

1. McDonald’s · 209.8 points · no change #1
2. KFC · 163.3 points · up from #4
3. Coca-Cola · 135.9 points · down from #2

Advertisers

1. Unilever · Netherlands / UK · 240 points · no change #1
2. McDonald’s · US · 209.8 points · up from #6
3. The Coca Cola Company · 166.3 points · down from #2

Creative agencies

1. FP7 McCann Dubai · McCann Worldgroup · 95.8 points · no change #1
2. Colenso BBDO Auckland · BBDO Worldwide · 92.9 points · new entry
3. BMF Sydney · Enero Group · 92.1 points · new entry

Digital / specialist agencies

1. Ingage Istanbul · Group M · 46.6 points · up from #46
2. AFFINITY Sydney · 39.5 points · new entry
3. Tribal Worldwide Bogotá · DDB Worldwide · 35.7 points · new entry

Media agencies

1. Carat London · Dentsu International · 61.3 points · new entry
2. Mindshare Istanbul · Mindshare Worldwide · 56.8 points · up from #4
3. Carat Auckland · Dentsu International · 51.6 points · up from #35

Networks

1. McCann Worldgroup · Interpublic Group · 694.1 points · no change #1
2. BBDO Worldgroup · Omnicom Group · 683.3 points · no change #2
3. Dentsu International · Dentsu · 569.7 points · up from #5

Holding companies

1. WPP · 1897 points · no change #1
2. Omnicom Group · 1749.7 points · no change #2
3. Interpublic Group · 1358.7 points · no change #3

Countries

1. USA · 1171.1 points · no change #1
2. China · 699.4 points · up from #4
3. India · 629.6 points · down from #2

Suzanne Powers, global president & CSO, McCann Worldgroup, said: “The WARC honour as the #1 most Effective network for 2021 is a testament to our teams’ unwavering dedication to using the power of creativity to drive impact for our clients’ brands across all of our regions.”

Full rankings are listed here. WARC Rankings subscribers can also view all the ranked creative, credits and case study summaries, in addition to further data by category and region.

These annual league tables are produced by combining the winners’ lists from the industry’s most important global and regional awards shows – as determined by the WARC Rankings Advisory Board and a worldwide industry survey – and by applying a rigorous proprietary three-step methodology.