The WARC has published its Effective 100 from the results of global and regional effectiveness award shows throughout 2019.
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. The campaign hijacked other popular ads at the Super Bowl 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, commented, “TideAd embodies everything we strive to achieve as an agency. 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.”
The #2 campaign 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. National Safety Council’s Prescribed to Death is by Energy BBDO Chicago / PHD Chicago to raise awareness of prescription opioid overdose in the US is #3.
The #1 ranked 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 #2. CHE Proximity climbed from 9th to #3.
The #1 digital/specialist agency is Dentsu Aegis Network’s MKTG New York, which worked on the #1 campaign, It’s A Tide Ad. MRM/McCann Shanghai is #2 and Ayzenberg Los Angeles #3. All three agencies are in the rankings for the first time.
The #1 network is McCann Worldgroup for a second year in a row, significantly ahead on points of #2, BBDO Worldwide. Ogilvy is #3.
The top nine places in the holding companies ranking remain unchanged from last year, with WPP remaining at #1 for a second year. Omnicom Group is #2 and Interpublic Group is #3.
Last year’s top two brands for effectiveness switched places – McDonald’s is #1, and Coca-Cola #2. IKEA is #3. McDonald’s only had one campaign, The McDelivery Pin, in the Top 100, but 30 other campaigns from around the world accumulated its points.
Unilever is #1 advertiser for the third year in a row, significantly ahead of #2, The Coca-Cola Company. Unilever’s Lifebuoy is ranked 11th in the brands’ table and a further 32 brands collected points contributing to its first place ranking.
The US retains the top spot in the country table, but for the first time since the Effective 100 ranking began in 2014, the UK has dropped from #2 to #3, with India moving up to take its place. The UAE is the biggest mover in the top 10, rising from #29 last year to #5 this year. 71 different countries registered points.
Amy Rodgers, managing editor, research & rankings, WARC, commented, “In this year’s Effective 100 we see that there is no single route to effectiveness. While the top campaign, Procter & Gamble’s It’s a Tide Ad was a big TV idea during Super Bowl, CALM’s Project 84, ranked #7, was a real-world stunt to generate earned media; and Lifebuoy, ranked #6, used data-driven services to save lives in rural India.
“Other approaches in the top 10 include behavioural change ideas, new product development, and corporate repositioning.”
The award shows tracked for the WARC Effective 100 are:
Global: Effies, Cannes Lions (creative effectiveness & creative strategy categories), IPA Effectiveness Awards, WARC Awards, Jay Chiat Awards, APG Creative Strategy Awards, AME Awards, ARF David Ogilvy Awards.
Regional:
- APAC: Effie APAC (plus local market Effies), Tangrams (effectiveness categories), WARC Prize for Asian StrategyEurope:
- EACA Euro Effies (plus local market Effies), Premios Eficacia (Portugal & Spain)
- Middle East & Africa: Effie MENA (plus local market Effies), WARC Prize for MENA Strategy, Loeries (effectiveness categories)
- Latam: Effie LATAM (plus local market Effies)
North America: Effie North America (plus local market Effies)
View the full WARC Effective 100 Rankings include the world’s top 100 awarded campaigns for effectiveness, top 50 creative, media, digital/specialist agencies, as well as agency networks, brands, advertisers, countries and top holding companies here.
The campaigns’ case studies, credits and subsequent analysis reports are available to WARC subscribers.
