Colenso BBDO named Most Effective Agency of the Year at 2021 Effie Awards; Saatchi & Saatchi wins Grand Effie for Toyota ‘An Unbreakable Bond’
After an incredibly challenging year for the advertising industry, The Commercial Communication Council was able to recognise and celebrate the country’s most effective marketing campaigns tonight via a virtual 2021 Effie Aotearoa Awards in association with TVNZ. The Effie programme is held in over 50 countries and has been run in New Zealand by the Comms Council with TVNZ as the major sponsor for two decades.
Says Jonathan Symons, TVNZ marketing director and one of this year’s Executive Judges: “TVNZ is a long-term supporter and sponsor of the Comms Council’s Awards and it’s always fantastic to be part of the EFFIES where it all comes together in terms of impactful campaigns. It was a pleasure this year to be part of the executive judging team where we get to see the best of the best. It’s a challenging job to pull out the metal winners, with this year no exception, and all finalists have delivered something special. This year’s gold winners and of course the Grand Effie have something to be very proud of.”
2021 was also the third year that results were tallied up on the Effies Leader Board in which points are given from the show to individual marketers who inspire great work from their agencies and fought within their organisations. Each marketer scores 2 points for a Finalist result, 4 points for a Bronze, 6 for Silver, 8 for Gold, and 12 for the Grand Effie. The Most Effective Marketer for 2021 was awarded to Ben Wheeler from 2degrees for work on multiple campaigns across the three-year period.
Of the 13 Golds awarded tonight, four were taken out by Clemenger BBDO Wellington and OMD Wellington for their work with the New Zealand Government for “Unite Against Covid-19” and their work with the New Zealand Human Rights Commission “Voice of Racism”. New Zealand Human Rights Commission also took out Most Effective Client of the Year for 2021. Clemenger BBDO Wellington also won the Hardest Challenge award for New Zealand Government’s Unite Against COVID-19.
DDB Aotearoa took home two Golds for its work on AA Insurance for the campaign “Live a little freer” and its work with Mango Communications for Lion’s “Tiny Pub”. EightyOne, FCB New Zealand and TBWA New Zealand also each took home a Gold Effie.
There were two standout wins for the 2021 Aotearoa Effie’s, Colenso BBDO took home two Golds for IAG “Tally”, and its campaign for Skinny “Friend-vertsing”, it also took home the coveted, Most Effective Agency of the Year Award. But, the Grand Effie and two Gold Effies in Consumer Durables and Best Strategic thinking went to Saatchi & Saatchi and Toyota for “An Unbreakable Bond”.
Says David McIndoe, chief strategy officer for Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand: “This is the work we love to make at Saatchi & Saatchi; inspired by, and now forever part of New Zealand culture. Last night it was proven unquestionably effective. We want to thank the Effie’s and the Comms Council for the ultimate recognition and of course our clients for their partnership and trust that enabled us to create these campaigns.”
Says Simon Lendrum, this year’s Convenor of Judges: “The Effie Awards remain the gold standard of marketing effectiveness recognition. To claim ownership of our success in business we must be able to illuminate the path that led to it. This year’s winners do just that, demonstrating how great creative strategy delivers outsized results for businesses, brands, and public service organisations throughout New Zealand. Most of this year’s entries were delivered against a backdrop of lockdown, working from home, uncertainties surrounding consumer behaviour and supply chain solidity, and despite all of that achieved great results and tangible returns on investment. Proof, once again, of the power of creative effectiveness.”
The Commercial Communications Council congratulates all the finalists and winners at the 2021 Effie Awards in association with TVNZ. For a full list of winners and finalists, along with the video of this year’s virtual show, hosted by TVNZ’s Taskmaster contestant, Laura Daniels, please head to the Comms Council website.
The 2021 Effie Awards were proudly presented by the Commercial Communications Council (Comms Council) in association with TVNZ, its Commercial Partner. Comms Council also thanks Commercial Partner oOh!media and sponsors: Nielsen, NZME, The Radio Bureau, Facebook, Google, Cartology, and Neuro-Insight.
7 Comments
…a deserving winner. A genuinely great ad that celebrated everything it set out to do – the vehicle, its drivers, community, New Zealand and our sense of humour. It hit every objective and shifted some serious units (admittedly at a time when everyone was buying a vehicle but lets not quibble…).
It’s a shame that the UAC work didn’t take the prize – it was the biggest winner on the night – but then there is something about that work that the industry struggles with. Everyone knows it was a genuinely immense effort and in honesty saw the agencies and client delivering everything they needed to do in a hugely effective system of communications, at pace. But still…not good enough.
It was great to see so many of the higher metal winners offering shared credits. Effie’s rarely belong to one agency. Having worked across many disciplines it’s amazing how little we all understand of what each other does and how little we want to credit agency partners for their work. They say success has many fathers but not when there’s an Effie involved!
And the agency of the year points system..? Not sure that works.
Ford Rangers still outsold Hilux’s so….
Ford give away a lot of margin. Toyota command a higher price and resale price.
By your thinking only market leaders would only win effies
Congrats Colenso and Ang. x
@thegrandeffie with respect to any women who worked on these campaigns I’d reword to ‘they say success has many parents’.
But, they don’t say that.
@but agreed ‘they’ (aka JFK) didn’t say that, his comment was coined in a different time, when women equalled home makers not the people you go to work with, the team that together with you pushes stuff into new territory. The world moves, meaning shifts, language changes. JFK was known in many different ways. Some good, some bad. But he was a wordsmith, a phrase maker, a person who flexed language. So, if he lived today I doubt the old fox, would quibble over this point. Language, and its well known phrases from different eras, can and should always flex to let the people we all work with in- not locked out.