Category: Media & Marketing

Ranked #1: Campaign: Undercover Avatar | Agency: MediaCom New York | Network: Mindshare | Holding Company: WPP | Brand: L’Enfant Bleu | Advertiser: Unilever | Country: USA

WARC Rankings – Media 100, the ultimate independent global benchmark for media excellence, is now released featuring the most awarded campaigns and companies in the world. The top ten most highly ranked campaigns and companies in the 2022 WARC Media 100 are:

Compiled by WARC, the international marketing insights company, the Media 100 (www.warc.com/rankings/media-100) is produced by combining the results of the industry’s most important global and regional media award shows tracked throughout 2021. The awards tracked are determined by a worldwide industry survey and in consultation with the WARC Rankings Advisory Board (www.warc.com/rankings/about).

#1 Campaign: Undercover Avatar for L’Enfant Bleu by Havas Sports & Entertainment Paris
French child welfare association L’Enfant Bleu harnessed the power of Fortnite, the hugely popular video game, by creating an undercover in-game avatar enabling children to confide their concerns about abuse during lockdown. The impact of the campaign resulted in the French government working on solutions to turn video games into new ways to identify abused children.

In second place is Dogvertising for Pedigree by MediaCom Zagreb and Go2Digital Zagreb. The campaign delivered personalised advertising by DOOH technology based on dog detection. In third is Media That ‘Eats’ Pollution for Volkswagen by PHD London. To launch VW’s first fully-electric vehicle, the ID.3, they painted OOH ads using a unique air purifying paint.

#1 Media Agency: MediaCom New York
With five highly placed campaigns in the top 100 for Ally, Uber, Walgreens and Duracell, MediaCom New York has stormed up the rankings to claim global pole position. Mindshare Shanghai is in second place with eight campaigns ranked. PHD London rises to third place, up from 40th, with two campaigns, including Media That ‘Eats’ Pollution ranked #3.

Sasha Savic, CEO, MediaCom US, said: “Topping the WARC Media 100 is a defining moment for MediaCom U.S., and we could not be more honored for the recognition.

Delivering transformative campaigns is all down to our amazing people working with some of the most ambitious marketers in the world. I am most proud that the #1 ranking comes from wins across our breadth of expertise, whether data creativity, content partnerships, gaming, or social impact. My sincerest thanks to every person at MediaCom in the U.S., our clients, and our partners. This one is all yours.”

#1 Media Network: Mindshare
For a second consecutive year, taking top place is Mindshare, with seven agencies in the top 50 contributing to its tally of points. Hot on its heels and closing the points gap is MediaCom in second place and PHD Worldwide is in third, up from fourth.

Adam Gerhart, Global CEO, Mindshare, said: “The WARC 100 isn’t just about a single awards show or one campaign – it’s a celebration of being the best of the best and we’re delighted to be recognised as the most creative media network in the world for the third year running! We couldn’t do it without the unwavering energy of our teams and the liberating collaboration of our partners and clients, so thank you to everyone for helping us to continue to create media experiences that have an impact and change the world.”

#1 Holding Company: WPP
No change for the top three networks for the past five years, with WPP retaining its pole position, Omnicom Group in second place and Interpublic Group in third.

#1 Brand: L’Enfant Bleu
Newcomer to the WARC Rankings, French child welfare association L’Enfant Bleu is top brand with its outstanding and impactful campaign Undercover Avatar. Pedigree is in second place following a three year absence from the top 50. Online US bank Ally enters the the top 50 brands for the first time in third position.

Pauline Grison, Communications Director, L’Enfant Bleu, said: “L’Enfant Bleu is very proud to be #1 brand and #1 campaign in the WARC Media 100 Rankings with “Undercover Avatar”! More than a communication campaign, this device allowed us to come into contact with hundreds of children in danger in less than a month. After this period, we were much more visible in the media, and had a 200% increase in calls from witnesses of child abuse. This honour is therefore really symbolic for all these children.”

#1 Advertiser: Unilever
Multinational consumer goods company Unilever retains its number one spot for the third consecutive year. Brewing giant AB InBev, moves up one place to second. The Government of New Zealand, which has steadily climbed the Media 100 Rankings over the past couple of years, is now in third place.

Conny Braams, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer, Unilever, said: “It’s excellent to see Unilever featured in the top three of both the WARC Media 100 and Creative 100 Rankings. Retaining the number one spot in media excellence for the third year in a row is testament to the world-leading expertise of our Global Media team and agency partners, who seamlessly navigate a dynamic media landscape to build brands and drive conversion at the same time.”

#1 Country: USA
No change in the top three from last year, with USA retaining its #1 ranking, followed by the UK in second place and China in third.

Summing up, David Tiltman, SVP, Content, WARC, said: “The WARC Media 100 shows the growing influence of gaming on the media landscape. More clients are showing an understanding of the nuances of gaming beyond simple product placement or ads in games. Top campaign L’Enfant Bleu created an avatar within video game Fortnite that allowed children at risk of abuse to talk in confidence without their parents’ knowledge, and Ally Bank created a virtual island within the Animal Crossing game and created its own ‘turnip exchange’ to demonstrate its ‘smarter way to bank’ credentials to Millennials.”

The WARC Media 100 has been compiled by applying a rigorous, unbiased and transparent methodology (www.warc.com/rankings/media-100/methodology).

The WARC Media 100 Ranking can be viewed in full here (www.warc.com/rankings/media-100). It includes the world’s top 100 awarded campaigns for media, top 50 media agencies, agency networks, brands, advertisers, countries and top holding companies. The campaigns, case studies, credits and subsequent insights reports are available to WARC Rankings subscribers. The WARC Creative 100 has been announced and can be viewed here (www.warc.com/rankings/creative-100). The WARC Effective 100 will be revealed on 17 March.


About WARC – The global authority on marketing effectiveness
WARC is an Ascential company. Ascential delivers specialist information, analytics and ecommerce optimisation platforms to the world’s leading consumer brands and their ecosystems. Our world-class businesses improve performance and solve problems for our customers by delivering immediately actionable information combined with visionary longer-term thinking across Digital Commerce, Product Design and Marketing. We also serve customers across Retail & Financial Services. With more than 2,000 employees across five continents, we combine local expertise with a global footprint for clients in over 120 countries. Ascential is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

For over 30 years WARC has been powering the marketing segment by providing rigorous and unbiased evidence, expertise and guidance to make marketers more effective. WARC services include 96,000+ case studies, best practice guides, research papers, special reports, advertising trend data, news & opinion articles, as well as webinars, awards, events and advisory services. WARC operates out of London, New York, Singapore and Shanghai, servicing a community of over 75,000 marketers in more than 1,200 companies in 100+ markets and collaborates with 50+ industry partners.

About WARC Rankings – Media 100
The WARC Media 100 is a ranking of the world’s most awarded campaigns and companies for media. It compiles the results of award shows that ran the year prior to its publication (e.g. the 2021 rankings reflect the results of award shows that ran in 2020).

The Media 100 has run since 1999 (formerly part of the Gunn Report) and sits alongside two other rankings: the WARC Creative 100 (formerly the Gunn Report), and the WARC Effective 100 (formerly the WARC 100) which has ranked effectiveness since 2014.

To compile the WARC Media 100, WARC tracks different advertising competitions around the world — all of them require entrants to show the impact of media on the campaign. Campaigns (and the brands and agencies behind them) are awarded points based on the prizes they win in those competitions.

The WARC Media 100 methodology follows the approach of the WARC Effective 100 methodology, which was developed in consultation with an independent third party: Douglas West, professor of marketing and programme director at King’s College, London.

In order of overall show weighting, following shows are included in this year’s rankings:
Global:
Cannes Lions (media categories), Festival of Media, Effies (media categories), M&M Awards, WARC Media Awards, Adweek Media Plan of the Year, Internationalist Awards, I-COM Data Creativity Awards, MMA Smarties, World Media Awards, D&AD (media categories)

Regional:

APAC: Spikes Asia (media categories), Tangrams, Festival of Media APAC, MMA Smarties APAC, Effie APAC plus local markets (media categories)

Europe: Eurobest (media categories), IAB Mixx Awards Europe, MMA Smarties Europe, EACA Euro Effie plus local markets (media categories), Campaign Media Awards

Middle East & Africa: Festival of Media MENA, Dubai Lynx (media categories), Loeries (media categories), MMA Smarties MENA, Effie MENA plus local markets (media categories)

LATAM: Festival of Media LATAM, El Ojo de Iberoamerica (media categories), MMA Smarties LATAM, Effie LATAM plus local markets (media categories)

North America: Festival of Media North America, MMA Smarties North America, Effie North America plus local markets (media categories)

Contact:

Amanda Benfell
Head of PR & Press
amanda.benfell@warc.com

Ranked #1: Campaign: #wombstories | Agency: Publicis Milan | Network: Ogilvy | Holding Company: Omnicom Group | Brand: Burger King | Advertiser: AB InBev | Country: USA

WARC Rankings – Creative 100, the ultimate independent global benchmark for marketing celebrating creative excellence, is now released featuring the most awarded campaigns and companies in the world. The top ten most highly ranked campaigns and companies in the 2022 WARC Creative 100 are:

Compiled by WARC, the international marketing insights company, the Creative 100 (www.warc.com/rankings/creative-100) Ranking is produced by combining the results of the industry’s most important global and regional creative award shows tracked throughout 2021. The awards tracked are determined by a worldwide industry survey and in consultation with the WARC Rankings Advisory Board (www.warc.com/rankings/about).

#1 Campaign: #wombstories for Bodyform/Libresse/Libra by AMV BBDO London
The most creatively celebrated campaign of 2021, #wombstories for feminine hygiene brand Bodyform/Libresse/Libra, used the power of storytelling to embrace the complexity and reality of womanhood. Whilst heartbreaking, the campaign by AMV BBDO London, is designed to tackle taboos and make women proud of their bodies.

Nicholas Hulley and Nadja Lossgott, Chief Creative Officers, AMV BBDO, said: “Wombstories has been our most profound and complex undertaking – both emotionally and technically. Daring to listen and dive into the darker side of people’s experiences with their wombs and wrestling an octopus of a campaign with so many arms that all had to live up to our ambition of creativity and empathy. But complexity is worth it, to leave millions of people feeling understood and, in many cases, reach out to each other to finally share their womb stories.”

In second place is True Name for Mastercard by McCann New York. The campaign demonstrated its support for the LGBTQIA+ community in the USA by launching the first payment product where people could feature their chosen name on their card. Third, is Donation Dollar, a campaign for Royal Australian Mint by Saatchi & Saatchi Melbourne, whereby a donation coin was created to support charities.

#1 Creative Agency: Publicis Milan
Up from third place last year, crowning agency Publicis Milan has four campaigns in the top 100: for Diesel (x2), Heineken and Barilla. AMV BBDO London follows closely behind with two campaigns, one for Macmillan Cancer support as well as the highest ranked #wombstories. Africa Sao Paulo is in third place with four campaigns for House of Lapland, SporTV, Folha de SP and Associacao Brasileira de Psiquiatria.

Bruno Bertelli, Global Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Worldwide, said: “Being ranked number 1 Agency of the Year in the WARC Creative 100 Ranking is testament to hard work, a proven model of data and creativity and the bravery of our people and clients. We continue to push each other to go further and be better and it is paying off. Congratulations to everyone at Publicis Italy.

#1 Creative Network: Ogilvy
Retaining its top spot for a second consecutive year is Ogilvy, with four agencies in the top 50 contributing points to its total, including DAVID Miami and DAVID Madrid both ranked in the top five. Publicis Worldwide and DDB Worldwide follow in second and third place respectively.

Liz Taylor, Global Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy, said: “It’s thrilling to be named the most creative network in the world by WARC. Earning this designation for the second consecutive year speaks to the hard work and dedication of our teams across the globe who continuously deliver unforgettable ideas that have an impact for our clients. This accomplishment is also a testament to the borderless creativity that unites our network across geographies, capabilities, and cultures. I want to thank everyone at Ogilvy for their contributions, and our brave and valued clients for their partnership, collaboration, and trust.”

#1 Holding Company: Omnicom Group
Omnicom Group moves up one place to take pole position. WPP drops to second place and Interpublic Group remains in third.

#1 Brand: Burger King
Fast-food chain Burger King is top creative brand for the fourth consecutive year, with six campaigns ranked in the top Creative 100 for four markets – Mexico, Spain, UK and USA. Bodyform/Libresse/Libra follows in second place, and Mastercard is in third, up from #25 last year.

#1 Advertiser: AB InBev
Brewing giant AB InBev, which has steadily climbed the Creative 100 Rankings over the past few years, takes top spot this year. Restaurant Brands International drops to second, and Unilever climbs to third place up from seventh last year.

Pedro Earp, Chief Marketing Officer, AB InBev, said: “We are humbled to be ranked number one in creativity. Our journey over the last five years has embedded creativity into our core resulting in significant business growth. This transformation has defined AB InBev by its creative excellence, strategic boldness and accelerated innovation. While our work is not over, today, we raise a glass to our people and our partners who have made it their mission to create a future of more cheers.”

#1 Country: USA
USA retains its place as the most creatively awarded market in the world by far. The UK remains second, and France moves up to claim third place.

Summing up, David Tiltman, SVP, Content, WARC, said: “The top campaigns from the Creative 100 Ranking show how marketers are increasingly trying to highlight untold stories. Many give a voice to sections of society that may not have been properly represented in the past – for example, #wombstories and The Bread Exam focus on women’s health and the conversations around it. We’ve also seen campaigns addressing the LGBTQIA+ community’s need for individual recognition, amplifying the voices of Black youth, and showing the danger that Mexican journalists face daily. All explored important issues that have historically been ignored.”

The WARC Creative 100 has been compiled by applying a rigorous, unbiased and transparent methodology (www.warc.com/rankings/creative-100/methodology).

The WARC Creative 100 Ranking can be viewed in full here (www.warc.com/rankings/creative-100). It includes the world’s top 100 awarded campaigns for creativity, top 50 creative agencies, agency networks, brands, advertisers, countries and top holding companies. The campaigns, case studies, credits and subsequent insights reports are available to WARC Rankings subscribers.

About WARC – The global authority on marketing effectiveness
WARC is an Ascential company. Ascential delivers specialist information, analytics and ecommerce optimisation platforms to the world’s leading consumer brands and their ecosystems. Our world-class businesses improve performance and solve problems for our customers by delivering immediately actionable information combined with visionary longer-term thinking across Digital Commerce, Product Design and Marketing. We also serve customers across Retail & Financial Services. With more than 2,000 employees across five continents, we combine local expertise with a global footprint for clients in over 120 countries. Ascential is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

For over 30 years WARC has been powering the marketing segment by providing rigorous and unbiased evidence, expertise and guidance to make marketers more effective. WARC services include 96,000+ case studies, best practice guides, research papers, special reports, advertising trend data, news & opinion articles, as well as webinars, awards, events and advisory services. WARC operates out of London, New York, Singapore and Shanghai, servicing a community of over 75,000 marketers in more than 1,200 companies in 100+ markets and collaborates with 50+ industry partners.

About WARC Rankings – Creative 100
The WARC Creative 100 is a ranking of the world’s most awarded campaigns and companies for creativity. It compiles the results of award shows that ran the year prior to its publication (e.g. the 2022 rankings reflect the results of award shows that ran in 2021). The Creative 100 (formerly the Gunn Report) has run since 1999 and sits alongside the WARC Media 100 and the WARC Effective 100.

To compile the WARC Creative 100, WARC tracks different creative advertising competitions around the world. Campaigns and the brands and agencies behind them are awarded points based on the prizes they win in those competitions.

The WARC Creative 100 methodology follows the approach of the WARC Effective 100 methodology, which was developed in consultation with an independent third party: Douglas West, professor of marketing and programme director at King’s College, London.

In order of overall show weighting, the following shows are included in this year’s rankings:

Global:
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
D&AD
The One Show
Clio Awards
London International Awards (LIA)

Regional:
APAC: Spikes Asia, Adfest
Europe: Eurobest, Golden Drum
Middle East & Africa: Dubai Lynx, Loeries
LATAM: El Ojo de Iberoamerica

Contact:

Amanda Benfell
Head of PR & Press
amanda.benfell@warc.com