Five of world’s 10 smartest campaigns came from APAC: Warc

According to Warc, the report is an annual list of the world’s best campaigns, based on performance in effectiveness and strategy competitions. It is a benchmark for commercial creativity, ranking strategies that drive business performance or change consumer behaviour, the organisation said. 

The world’s most effective campaign title went to ‘Fakka’, created by JWT Cairo for Vodafone. The telco introduced Micro Credit Recharge Cards for low-income Egyptians and developed a new distribution channel by turning the cards into a form of low-denomination currency that could be used by shopkeepers in place of small change.

‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ ranked third and is Asia-Pacific’s top-ranking campaign. In a statement, Tony Harris, CEO of BBDO Guerrero, commented: “Tourism has been called ‘the people’s business’ and the success of ‘It’s More Fun In The Philippines’ has come about because it used the connectivity of Filipinos to spotlight the country on a global stage.”

Overall, the US is the most represented market in the top 100, with 22 entries. Australia is next with 11. China ranks third with nine, and Hong Kong is fifth with five.

To compile the rankings, Warc tracked more than 1700 winners in 75 different competitions. It assigned points based on the awards won, then weighted those points based on the competition’s rigour and prestige in the global industry. Warc has developed a proprietary methodology to weight competitions in consultation with Douglas West, professor of marketing at King’s College London. Eligibility for the list was limited to awards handed out during calendar year 2013, or in early 2014 while being explicitly labelled as awards for 2013.

“The growing number of effectiveness and strategy awards around the world shows how important it is to prove marketing can make a difference,” said Louise Ainsworth, CEO of Warc. “The Warc 100 will rank the best of the best. It will help brands and agencies keep up to date with strategies that have a commercial impact, and to benchmark their own performance against their peers.”

The top 10 campaigns (Title / Brand / Agency / Market) in full are:

1. ‘Fakka’ / Vodafone / JWT / Egypt

2. ‘Small Business Saturday’ / American Express / Digitas, Crispin Porter & Bogusky / US

3. ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ / Philippines Dept of Tourism / BBDO Guerrero / Philippines

4. ‘Thank You, Mom’ / Procter & Gamble / Wieden + Kennedy / US

5. ‘Overstay Checkout’ / Art Series Hotels / Naked Communications / Australia

6. ‘Daily Twist’ / Oreo / FCB, 360i / US

7. ‘Smoking Kid’ / Thai Health Promotion Foundation / Ogilvy & Mather / Thailand

8. ‘Old Parts for New’ / ORBIS International / Ogilvy & Mather / Hong Kong

9. ‘Real Beauty Sketches’ / Dove / Ogilvy & Mather / Brazil

10. ‘Car Creation’ / NRMA Insurance / Whybin\TBWA / Australia

The full list can be found here.