According to the Grand Effie winner's entry, "In 2015, Burger King was
outspent, under-armed and overwhelmed in the incredibly competitive fast
food category. Our idea began with an open letter in the New York
Times; a peace offering to our biggest rival. Immediately the McWhopper
idea took on a life of its own, making headlines across the country.
While the campaign twisted its way through popular culture, we continued
to stoke the flames with iconic billboard placements, social
influencers and a carefully crafted media kit disguised as a
website. Although the offer was declined, the campaign was an
overwhelming success - shifting all brand measures, selling a truckload
of Burgers. Oh, and we helped World Peace, too. We publicly offered our
biggest rival an olive branch, suggesting the ultimate burger mash-up:
The McWhopper."
Says Vineet Mehra, EVP and CMO, Ancestry and
member of the 2017 Grand Effie jury and Effie Worldwide's board of
directors: "This year's Grand Effie winner proved once again that when
agencies and clients exhibit shared courage to support a bold,
insightful idea, the results can indeed be both creatively outstanding
and indisputably effective - even against the greatest odds."
The
North American Grand Effie winner was debated hours before the Effie
Awards ceremony by the Grand Effie Jury. Grand Effie Finalists (the top
scoring Gold Effie Award winners) included The McWhopper Proposal along
with:
- Be the Match/space150 for Be the Guy.
- Seventh Generation/72andSunny for How Seventh Generation turned the environment into a personal matter for millennial moms.
- SimplyGo Mini/Ogilvy & Mather for Breathless Choir - The triumph of the WHY over the WHAT, with contributing agencies Carat London and FleishmanHillard
- Lockheed Martin/McCann New York for Lockheed Martin Field Trip to Mars, with contributing agencies Momentum Worldwide, Universal McCann and Weber Shandwick
- Donate Life America/The Martin Agency for Even An Asshole Can Save A Life
- Office Depot OfficeMax/McCann New York for The Co-Worker Collection, with contributing agencies Merkle and AGAIN Interactive
Says
Daryl Lee, global CEO, Universal McCann, chairman of the Effie
Worldwide board of directors: "An Effie Award is highly sought after for
good reason because it's not just about recognizing great work, it's
also about if the work delivered tangible, business results that we can
celebrate. The competition is fierce to win an Effie at any level. The
winners this year once again represent the best of the industry. Take a
look at the winners who are highest in the rankings, those who have
sustained campaign success for years and have risen to the top of their
categories to learn from the best."
The Effie Index identifies
and ranks the marketing communications industry's most effective
agencies, marketers and brands by analyzing finalist and winner data
from worldwide Effie Awards competitions. The North American rankings
reflect finalist and winning work from the 2017 North American Effie
Awards competition and will be factored into the 2018 Global Effie
Index.
The Most Effective Marketers in North America: Unilever/PepsiCo (tie), Mars, IBM
The Most Effective Agency Networks in North America: Ogilvy & Mather, McCann Worldgroup and BBDO
The Most Effective Independent Agencies in North America: Droga5, Periscope and VaynerMedia
The Most Effective Brands in North America: IBM, Extra Gum/JetBlue (tie) and Pepsi.
The Most Effective Agency Offices in North America: McCann New York, Ogilvy New York, Leo Burnett (Chicago)
Most Effective Holding Companies in North America: IPG, WPP and Omnicom
Sustained
Success winners (products or service communications efforts that have
experienced sustained success for 3 or more years) were recognized
during the gala including: Share Some Soul (Kia Motors and David &
Goliath), Give Extra, Get Extra (Extra Gum & Energy BBDO), Hello, my
name is Watson. (IBM & Ogilvy & Mather), Small Business
Saturday (American Express & DigitasLBi), You Above All (JetBlue
Airways & MullenLowe U.S./MullenLowe MediaHub), A Movement for
Michigan (Pure Michigan & McCann Detroit), Tips from Former Smokers™
(U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention & Arnold
Worldwide).
North American winning and finalist case studies are
rigorously examined, debated and evaluated by seasoned industry leaders
over at least two rounds of judging.
The complete list of Gold,
Silver and Bronze winners for the North American Effie Awards, as well
as the opportunity to read the winning case studies, is available on
www.effie.org, and the winners list can be downloaded
here.