The WARC Awards for Effectiveness 2024, in association with Lions, have been announced. And India leads with two Grands Prix, both awarded to Leo Burnett Mumbai. The awards honour the best marketing campaigns from across the globe that deliver strategic brilliance and effective impact to drive commercial success. Six Grands Prix have been awarded following a rigorous judging process and much deliberation by a super jury made up of all 12 regional jury chairs representing Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Latin America and North America.
Selected from 22 regional gold-winning entries, the Grands Prix showcase the best work of how marketers are driving growth across different sectors and audiences and for local and global brands. Agenices from Australia, Brazil, Spain and Sweden each win one metal. Only our own Leo Burnett has bagged two metals.
Said Susan Irving, Chief Marketing Officer, Kruger Products, Canada, and Chair of the Global Grand Prix jury: “It was my privilege to lead such a disciplined, accountable jury that held work to the highest standards. Our decisions were guided by the data and the Creative Effectiveness Ladder and we were rigorous in seeking only to recognise those campaigns that unquestionably connected their objectives to strong results and demonstrated long-lasting impact for brands and society. Anyone awarded a Grand Prix by this jury is a true Grand Prix winner, the best of the best, and I congratulate them all.”
Added John Bizzell, Awards Lead, WARC: “The six Grand Prix winners that our super jury lasered in on from the hundreds of entries judged this year are superb additions to WARC’s library of effectiveness and really set the bar for the quality of work brands and agencies need to create to compete for these awards. I’m excited to share them with the world and see what they inspire in the future.”
The two Grand Prix for Leo Burnett are:
Cultural Impact Grand Prix: ‘Changing the education system to keep girls in school’ for Whisper by Leo Burnett, Mumbai, India
Feminine hygiene brand Whisper helped girls remain in school in India with an educational lobbying campaign that broke the taboos around menstruation. Society’s silence surrounding periods had resulted in their omission from school science books. Following the campaign, the Indian government has committed to adding in the missing chapter.
Commenting on the campaign, Kevin Mercer, Director, Brand Strategy, Expedia Group – UK, said: “This campaign demonstrated a simplicity in its strategic thinking. Rather than directly advertise feminine hygiene products, it filled a gap in education about menstruation for young women and girls that the jury found incredibly smart. There was real care and craft in how Whisper and Leo Burnett got it to market, which made it a clear Grand Prix winner. A lot of things are happening around the world, like book bans and removing access to education and knowledge, and this is the sort of campaign that sets us up for a better future.”
Use of Data Grand Prix: ‘Democratising technology to help farmers fight climate change’ for Lay’s by Leo Burnett, Mumbai, India
To grow preference and penetration in India, potato chip manufacturer Lay’s created a data-driven initiative to protect its supply chain by helping farmers identify and respond to weather hazards to prevent crop loss. As a result, potato yields increased by 25%, boosting farmers’ income by $55/acre; preference grew 10bps and penetration grew by 8bps.
Said Sindhuja Rai, CEO, Wavemaker – Singapore: “The Lay’s campaign is a powerful concept – leveraging their data has driven immediate value for farmers in their supply chain, but the potential if this technology were cascaded across the globe is immense. They Defined the objectives clearly and over-delivered on almost all KPIs. That, and the greater good this could do for humanity, made this a clear Grand Prix winner.”
The Grands Prix winners were first revealed on Thursday via The Effectiveness Show part one. The Effectiveness Show part two will include interviews and insights from the Grand Prix winners, and will be available on June 27.