The winners of the 2021 APAC Effies have been announced in a virtual ceremony.
71 winners were chosen from 123 finalists – 1 Grand Effie, 17 Golds, 29 Silvers and 24 Bronzes. Australia topped the Effies total with 23 (four of them Gold), New Zealand won 19, Japan with eight.
Grey Bangladesh won the Grand Effie (Best in Show) for Project AfroBanking for United Commercial Bank – the world’s first financial service designed to lift unbanked farmers out of poverty by transforming their unsold produce into bank account savings.
Australia’s Gold winners are:
- AnalogFolk, Four Second Reviews for Hyundai
- Leo Burnett, Live Life Unplugged for Bonds
- Ogilvy Sydney, No Home Address for Whitelion
- Ogilvy Sydney, KFC Australia’s Long Term Success for KFC
New Zealand’s Gold Winners are:
- Special Group, Meddle In The New Zealand Election, for Every Vote Counts
- Colenso: Friend-vertising for Skinny (x2)
- Colenso Tally for IAG
- Pitchblack Partners, Rebel Rebel, How Could They Know for Burger King
Ogilvy was Agency Network of the Year (again), with 17 Effies – 3 Gold, 6 Silver and 8 Bronze.
Ogilvy Sydney shared Agency of the Year with Special Group New Zealand, which also won Independent Agency of the Year. Special Group New Zealand won 3 Gold, 4 Silver and 2 Bronze awards. Special Group NZ has also been named Best Creative Agency in the World by Campaign magazine in the UK, NZ Agency of the Year by Campaign Brief Agency 2021, B&T Advertising Agency of the Year, and Campaign Asia Creative Agency of the Year New Zealand.
Procter & Gamble has become Marketer of the Year, with its brands Ariel, Heads & Shoulders and Pantene, contributing points towards the top spot. Pantene shared Brand of the Year with Tourism New Zealand.
2021 Awards Chairman Ashish Bhasin said, “Earning an Effie is a tremendous achievement and testament to the fact that these teams have brought their incredible ideas to life in a way that delivered amazing results for their brands. The Effies are known for its rigorous judging process, and it wasn’t without many passionate debates that the jury managed to arrive at this evening’s results. It is no easy feat to win an Effie, so congratulations to the teams on their well-deserved wins.”
This year’s Special Awards winners are:
| Brand of the Year | Client of the Year | Independent Agency of the Year | Agency of the Year | Agency Network of the Year |
| WINNER (tie) Pantene WINNER (tie) Tourism New Zealand 3rd Place Every Kiwi Vote Counts | WINNER Procter & Gamble 2nd Place Tourism New Zealand 3rd Place Every Kiwi Vote Counts | WINNER Special Group New Zealand 2nd Place The Womb Communications 3rd Place POEM Sydney | WINNER (tie) Ogilvy Sydney WINNER (tie) Special Group New Zealand 3rd Place Colenso BBDO | WINNER Ogilvy 2nd Place Grey Group 3rd Place BBDO Worldwide |
View the full list of winners here. All winners and finalists will be accorded points towards the 2021 Effie Index, which ranks the most effective agencies, marketers and brands globally. The Index will be announced in 2022.
