WARC Rankings 2023: Media 100 revealed | WARC | The Feed

WARC Rankings 2023: Media 100 revealed

Cadbury is the number one brand for media excellence in this year’s WARC Media 100, in which Unilever tops the advertiser rankings, and EssenceMediacom leads the networks with its New York office the standout agency.

The WARC Media 100, an independent global benchmark celebrating advertising media excellence, is produced by combining the results of the industry’s most important global and regional creative award shows of 2022. “This year, the top campaigns aimed to inform and educate through strong media strategies,” says Amy Rodgers, head of WARC Creative. 

#1 Campaign for media: Break of Silence for INLesco by PHD San José

The most celebrated campaign for media of 2022 is ‘Break of Silence’ for INLesco, a sign-language school in Costa Rica. The country’s first silent TV commercial break, interpreted in sign language, was aired to raise awareness of the challenges facing the deaf community and drive change across the country. 

In second place is ‘Beyond the Surface – Liquid Billboard’, the world’s first swimmable billboard created by Havas Dubai for adidas, to encourage women in Dubai to feel comfortable swimming in public. Ranked third is ‘Versus’ for skincare brand SK-II for which EssenceMediacom Singapore / Grey Tokyo created an animated series in which each episode addressed social issues such as cyber trolling and beauty rules. 

#1 Agency for media: EssenceMediacom, New York 

Taking the top spot, EssenceMediacom New York has three campaigns ranked in the top 100, including campaigns for Ally and Walgreens, which took fourth and seventh place respectively. 

Joining the global Media 100 for the first time, Havas Dubai’s highly successful Liquid Billboard campaign for adidas pushed the agency straight into second place. PHD San José climbs to third, up from 25th last year. 

#1 Network for media: EssenceMediacom

Following a highly successful year, the newly merged media agency tops the network table with six agencies ranked in the top 50, four of which are in the top 10, including EssenceMediacom New York in the top spot. Overall, the network has 14 campaigns in the top 100.

PHD Worldwide moves up one place to claim second position with six agencies in the top 50 and nine campaigns in the top 100. IPG Mediabrands is in third, up from fourth last year, also with six agencies and 10 campaigns ranked.

#1 Holding Company for media: WPP

The top seven holding companies are the same as last year, with the top three remaining unchanged for the sixth year in a row. WPP sits comfortably at the top of the ranking, with four networks ranked in the top 10. Omnicom Group is in second place and Interpublic Group in third.

#1 Brand for media: Cadbury 

Cadbury, ranked 45th last year, takes top place for media excellence. The chocolate brand has four campaigns in the top 100 for the India and UK markets.

New to the global Media 100 ranking, SK-II comes in second with two campaigns listed, including its multi award-winning Versus campaign ranked third. Sportswear brand adidas has moved up to third place, from sixth last year.

#1 Advertiser for media: Unilever

Unilever tops the advertisers table for the fourth year in a row, with 15 brands contributing to its overall tally; two – Dove and Lifebuoy – were in the top 50. 

In second place, Mondelēz International has achieved its highest ever ranking in the Media 100, up from 20th last year. In third place is Anheuser-Busch InBev with four brands earning points: Corona, Vickys, Brahma and Carling Black Label.

#1 Country for creativity: USA

USA remains in first place for the sixth year in a row, with 14 campaigns in the top 100 having run in the country. Two made the top 10 – Fintropolis by Ally and Vaccine Readiness Model by Walgreens. 

The UK sits in second place for a third year. India moves up from fifth place to claim third. Germany has achieved its highest ever ranking, rising from 11th to fifth, and the United Arab Emirates is the most improved country, rising from 16th to sixth, its highest ranking in five years. 

The WARC Media 100 can be viewed in full here. It includes the world’s top 100 awarded campaigns for media, top 50 agencies, agency networks, brands, advertisers, countries and top holding companies. The campaigns, case studies, credits and subsequent insights reports are available to WARC Creative subscribers.

The WARC Creative 100, revealed recently, can be viewed here. The WARC Effective 100 will be announced on 21 March.