Ogilvy Sydney and Special Group NZ share Agency of the Year honours at Asia-Pacific Effie Awards: Grey Bangladesh takes out Best of Show award
Ogilvy Sydney and Special Group NZ have shared Agency of the Year honours at the Asia-Pacific Effie Awards, announced on the weekend. Australia led the country tally with 23 Effies, including four Gold: White Lion and KFC, both from Ogilvy Sydney, Hyundai from AnalogFolk Sydney and Bonds from Leo Burnett, Sydney.
The Asia Pacific Effie Awards honours the region’s most outstanding marketing and communication work with proven results that meet strategic objectives, and is designed to champion marketing effectiveness.
Overall, Australia led the country tally with 23 Effies, followed by New Zealand with 19 Effies and Japan with 8 Effies.
Special Group NZ was awarded Independent Agency of the Year, with POEM Sydney placed 3rd.
123 finalists across 14 territories vied for the top honours this year and 71 winners have emerged with metals – 1 Grand Effie, 17 Golds, 29 Silvers and 24 Bronzes.
Grey Advertising won the first Gold Effie for Bangladesh and alongside its clients United Commercial Bank and ACI Logistics, they also clinched this coveted Grand Effie Best-in-Show award for Project AgroBanking – the world’s first financial service designed to lift unbanked farmers out of poverty by transforming their unsold produce into bank account savings.
Ogilvy continues its winning streak, taking home the Agency Network of the Year award once again with 17 wins consisting of 3 Golds, 6 Silvers and 8 Bronzes. Of those, the Sydney office won 2 Gold, 3 Silver and 5 Bronze.
Procter & Gamble was crowned Marketer of the Year, with their brands Ariel, Heads & Shoulders and Pantene contributing points towards the top spot. Pantene also won Brand of the Year, sharing the top honour with Tourism New Zealand.
Other highlights were Grey Group Tokyo has won a Gold Effie and 3 Silver Effies for their Procter & Gamble ‘More Freedom In Job-Hunting Hair’ campaign. Ogilvy Pakistan’s Cannes Grand Prix winning ‘Naming The Invisible Pakistanis’ for Telenor Pakistan was also awarded a Gold Effie.
Says 2021 Awards Chairman Ashish Bhasin: “Earning an Effie is a tremendous achievement and testament to the fact that these teams have brought their incredible ideas to life in a way that delivered amazing results for their brands. The Effies are known for its rigorous judging process, and it wasn’t without many passionate debates that the jury managed to arrive at this evening’s results. It is no easy feat to win an Effie, so congratulations to the teams on their well-deserved wins.”
Says Ryan O’Connell, Chief Strategy Officer, Ogilvy Sydney: “We’re incredibly proud to be recognised as Asia Pacific’s most effective agency at the APAC Effies, for the second year in a row. Winning ten awards across four of our clients is just a monumental effort, and honesty mind-blowing.
“Winning the APAC Network of the Year for a third year in a row is also a testament to Ogilvy’s strength across the region, and we’re excited we could help contribute to that accolade as well.
“We are particularly proud of KFC Australia’s Gold Effie for Sustained Success, recognising the impact of our long-term partnership with KFC, and our commitment to building a vibrant brand in Australian culture that drives genuine business impact.
“We’re also ecstatic with the results for a campaign close to our heart: four Effies – including a Gold – for Whitelion’s “No Home Address”. This work helped Whitelion to get homeless youths off the street, so it’s a truly a campaign that created impact that matters.
“Lastly, we’re also pumped that some lovely cultural campaigns for iconic brands – Milo and Huggies – took home two Effies each.
“And congratulations to Special Group NZ for their incredible performance; we’re proud to share Agency of the Year honours with a great agency, doing great work.”