The 2021 Epica Awards Grands Prix are spread across Turkey, Belgium, the UK, Colombia and Denmark. Riff Raff Films UK’s Festive for Burberry and &Co./NoA Denmark’s Helmet Has Always Been A Good Idea for Danish Road Safety Council shared Film Grands Prix.
Grands Prix were awarded to:
- Film: Riff Raff Films, UK – Festive for Burberry
- Film: &Co./NoA, Denmark – Helmet Has Always Been A Good Idea for Danish Road Safety Council
Mie Schaffalitzky, account director at &Co./NoA, stated, “It feels amazing that a truly local film can travel beyond borders and get this kind of international recognition. We’re really proud that it has managed to raise a few smiles while getting an important message across. The whole team is really excited and honoured to get this Grand Prix from a jury of journalists who follow the business closely and judge with an outside perspective of the work.”
- Print: Leo Burnett UK – Lights On for McDonald’s
Chaka Sobhani, global chief creative officer, Leo Burnett Worldwide, commented, “We’re over the moon to receive the Grand Prix from Epica for ‘Lights On’. It means so much to receive the recognition, especially from such an esteemed jury of the industry’s most informed and brilliant journalists. A big thank you also to our incredible clients McDonald’s for their wonderful and continued partnership and trust.”
- PR: BBDO Belgium – The Breakaway for Decathlon.
The PR project for Decathlon gave prison inmates the chance to form an e-cycling team and race with people outside the walls via a virtual cycling platform. The event attracted wide media coverage and the Minister of Justice decided to expand the project to all prisons as a boost to prisoners’ mental health.
- Alternative: Wunderman Thompson UK, The Homeless Bank Account for HSBC
The campaign enabled homeless people to open bank accounts, making it easier for them to receive benefits, find a home and reintegrate into society, by using the address of the charity Shelter. Mike Watson, creative director, Wunderman Thompson, commented, “We’re proud to have played our part alongside our friends at HSBC UK in helping to break the cycle of financial exclusion for those who are homeless. To have leading journalists from over 50 countries recognise the campaign for its impact verifies our belief that creativity can do anything – even overcoming some of the biggest barriers in society.”
- Responsibility: VMLY&R Istanbul – The Rainbow Hack for Change.org etc.
In this campaign, several NGOs joined forces to sneak the banned rainbow flag into billboard spaces, thus defying authorities and offering a message of support. Brand team director, Dilâra Ergün, commented on behalf of the agency, “It’s an honour to receive this Grand Prix from a jury of great journalists. Rainbow Hack is a project of courage. We want to thank Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Change.org, the Association for Monitoring Equal Rights, Purple Roof Women’s Shelter and Support to Life Foundation for coming together for this cause and daring to make it real. We keep believing in rainbows and the power of being together.”
- Digital: Wunderman Thompson Belgium – .comdom for Telenet
Wunderman Thompson Belgium’s .comdom app protects the intimate images used in “sexting” from wider diffusion. The agency commented, “What a great honour to win an Epica Grand Prix! The fact that the journalists on the jury write about all the big campaigns on a daily basis and still reward a Belgian one as the best of the best really means the world to us.”
- Design: Wunderman Thompson Colombia – Waterlight for Edina Energy
Commenting on all the winners, Jury president Claire Beale, founder of The Creative Salon, stated, “The work we’ve seen here is evidence of the amazing resilience of creative departments around the world. I can’t even imagine how people managed to produce work of such quality in times when remote working has been the norm, when entire countries have been shut down. I’ve been so excited and surprised by the calibre of the work. Everybody who made it to the shortlist deserves our absolute applause. If this is what is produced in a crisis, once things do return to normal I think we’re going to see our industry go from strength to strength creatively.”
Network of the Year was McCann Worldgroup. Bill Kolb, chairman and chief executive officer, McCann Worldgroup, stated, “As we pursue our mission to help brands earn a meaningful role in people’s lives by being the leader in the business of creativity, being recognized as Network of the Year by the very journalists who we work with every day is one of the most important forms of recognition we can receive. This recognition would not have been possible without the hard work from our teams around the world and the trust our clients invest in us to build their brands and businesses.”
Agency of the Year was &Co./NoA Denmark. Thomas Hoffman, owner and creative director, stated, “Winning Agency of the Year and the Film Grand Prix is of course absolutely amazing for everyone at &Co./NoA. Right now, it is probably too much to fully comprehend. Hopefully it will sink in so we can learn to appreciate the full extent of the recognition and honour. It is especially humbling to receive these awards from one of the most clever and demanding juries there is: the advertising journalists. We are truly grateful to all of them for this recognition.”
This year the Epica Awards received 3184 entries from 64 countries, a dramatic increase on the difficult year before (1980 entries) and close to the 2019 level. The highest number of entries came from the United States (206) followed by Germany (200).
France was top in the country rankings with 40 awarded projects including 11 Golds, followed by Canada with 39 awarded projects including 7 Golds. Completing the top five were the UK with 36 wins, the US and Russia with 28 wins each. Find full details of all the winners on the Epica website.
