A Super Bowl campaign for P&G-owned laundry brand Tide tops the WARC Effective 100, a ranking of effective marketing campaigns around the world announced today; Unilever is the top-ranked advertiser and McDonald’s the top-ranked brand.
The WARC Effective 100 is an annual ranking of the world’s most awarded campaigns and companies for marketing effectiveness. It is an independent benchmark for excellence in effectiveness, produced by combining the results of the industry’s most important global and regional award shows for effectiveness throughout 2019. The awards tracked are determined by the WARC Rankings Advisory Board and a worldwide industry survey.
The most effective campaign of 2019 is It’s A Tide Ad, by Saatchi & Saatchi New York / Hearts & Science New York / MKTG New York for laundry detergent brand Tide. Tide became the most loved brand of the Super Bowl and grew consumer loyalty in the US by hijacking other popular ads with the message that if there are clean clothes, it’s got to be a Tide ad. Within two weeks, sales of Tide products increased by 35% and within a year, sales increased to over $75m.
Andrea Diquez, Chief Executive Officer, Saatchi & Saatchi New York, paid tribute to “an extraordinary partnership with a very brave client, an amazing and highly diverse agency team and a group of partners that helped us push boundaries and make this idea even bigger than we could have ever imagined.”
“It changed the way other brands behave in the Super Bowl, blurred the boundaries between media, entertainment and marketing and engaged the audience in a compelling and unprecedented way. In the end, this is just more great proof that powerful ideas drive business results.”
In second place is Oyster Kanji Dictation for Hiroshima Tourism by I&S BBDO Tokyo / BBDO J West Hiroshima. The campaign increased oyster consumption by launching a workbook that educated citizens about the food. In third is National Safety Council’s Prescribed to Death, a campaign by Energy BBDO Chicago / PHD Chicago to raise awareness of prescription opioid overdose in the US.
Top 10 world’s most awarded campaigns for effectiveness
There are three agency rankings in the Effective 100: creative, media and digital/specialist. Ranked #1 creative agency is FP7 McCann Dubai, which climbed 13 places to first place after working on six of the top 100 campaigns. AMV BBDO London is up from 11th place last year to second. And CHE Proximity climbs from 9th to third.
Top 10 world’s most awarded creative agencies for effectiveness
Correction: The creative agency table has been updated, as of 17 March 2020, showing McCann New Delhi correctly in 4th.
In 21st place last year, Hearts & Science New York takes the top media agency spot this year through work with Procter & Gamble and AT&T, also contributing to the #1 campaign, It’s A Tide Ad. Two new entrants to the top 50 since last year take second and third place: Mindshare Mumbai and PHD Chicago.
Top 10 world’s most awarded media agencies for effectiveness
Dentsu Aegis Network’s MKTG New York is in top position in the digital/specialist agency ranking, having worked on top placed campaign, It’s A Tide Ad. MRM/McCann Shanghai takes second place and Ayzenberg Los Angeles third. All three agencies are in the rankings for the first time.
Top 10 world’s most awarded digital/specialist agencies for effectiveness
McCann Worldgroup holds its position at the top of the networks ranking for effectiveness for a second year in a row, significantly ahead on points of BBDO Worldwide in second place. Ogilvy is in third place.
Top 10 world’s most awarded networks for effectiveness
Suzanne Powers, Global Chief Strategy Officer, McCann Worldgroup, said: “Our mission of helping brands earn a meaningful role in people’s lives is not just mantra to us. It’s a methodology and approach that helps our teams around the world create amazingly impactful work. This top ranking recognizes that focus, and, of course, the great clients with whom we have the honor of working with every day to drive those results.”
Top 10 world’s most awarded holding companies for effectiveness
The top nine places in the holding companies ranking remain unchanged from last year: WPP remains in top place for a second year. Omnicom Group follows in second place and Interpublic Group is in third.
Top 10 world’s most awarded brands for effectiveness
Regularly top of the table, last year’s top two brands for effectiveness switched places with McDonald’s coming out on top, ahead of Coca-Cola. IKEA is in third. Despite McDonald’s having only one campaign in the top 100, The McDelivery Pin, a further 30 campaigns from around the world earned points for the fast food retailer.
Colin Mitchell – Senior Vice President, Global Marketing , McDonald’s, says: “Effectiveness is what we strive for day in and day out. In an industry often fixated by the short-term, this gives a sense of the long-term value of what our marketers do.”
Top 10 world’s most awarded advertisers for creativity
For a third consecutive year, Unilever is the top advertiser in the Effective 100 Rankings by a significant margin over The Coca-Cola Company in 2nd place. Unilever’s Lifebuoy is ranked 11th in the brands’ table and a further 32 brands collected points contributing to its first place ranking.
Top 10 world’s most awarded countries for effectiveness
USA retains the top country spot, but for the first time since the Effective 100 ranking began in 2014, the UK has dropped from second into third place, with India moving up to take its place. The UAE is the biggest mover in the top 10, rising from 29th last year to 5th this year. 71 different countries registered points.
Sourced from WARC
