DDB Group Aotearoa crowned Agency of the Year at The Caples Awards 2024

DDB Group Aotearoa has been crowned Agency of the Year at the global Caples Awards. This is the agency’s fourth ‘Agency of the Year’ award for 2024.

 

DDB Aotearoa’s Correct the Internet campaign for Team Heroine picked up a gold in the not for profit category, a silver for its creative use of data and a silver for public relations.

For its Volkswagen Greenprint campaign, the team scored a gold for its integration, silver for innovation and two bronzes for direct mail and copywriting.

Says Gary Steele, chief creative officer, DDB Group Aotearoa: “Winning these awards confirms what we know; that DDB Aotearoa continues to produce world class campaigns and I am very proud of all the teams’ successes, even the little-known ones. We can only hope that this award sweep is a sign of things to come, with major awards shows, like Cannes, just around the corner.

“We were thrilled with the results, but we couldn’t have done it without our clients, who have made this award-winning work possible.”

The Caples Awards is run by creative people for creative people and after four years of being free to enter introduced entry fees this year.

As a result, even though the fees are the lowest of any global show, entries were significantly down. Anecdotally, it seems to be the same story for many regional shows with agencies spending less on competitions and entering fewer campaigns into fewer shows.

The Caples exists thanks principally to the sponsorship of WPP, whose mission is “to harness the power of creativity and technology to build better futures for their clients and communities.”

The winning work at this year’s Caples Awards certainly reflects that confluence of creative thinking and tech. The Best in Show, for instance, “WoMen’s Football” from Marcel, Paris, for telco Orange France, with its perfect blending of men’s football with women players is an idea that could not have been affordably produced ten years ago.

Similarly, Cheil Spain’s “Impulse” for Samsung Galaxy Watches, winner of two Golds, is a pure-play tech idea designed to improve the lives of people who stammer.

Making lives better is the undercurrent of this year’s show.

Environmental issues are addressed by DDB New Zealand in its Gold-winning “Greenprint” work for Volkswagen, helping Kiwis electrify their diesel-powered Kombis.

CHEP Network also won Gold with “Doctor’s Certificate”, a campaign to encourage school children to demonstrate against the Australian government’s apparent indifference to climate change.

Other sponsors include 42Courses.com, the online training portal for advertising and marketing professionals, and Rocket Media, responsible for the website and online voting system. Many judges have declared it to be the easiest, most intuitive judging platform they have used.

Media Partner to The Caples is Branding in Asia, continuing a relationship with The Caples Awards that has lasted six years and which reflects the significance and intelligence of APAC creativity.

Judges from the region in 2024 included:

Andy Fergusson, CCO at Leo Burnett, Australia
Dave King, co-founder and Creative Director at Wolfking, Australia
Firrdaus Yusoff, Creative Head of Forsman+Bodenfors, Singapore
Hugh Gurney, Creative Director at The Monkeys, Australia
Jordan Sky, Chief Creative Officer at Saatchi & Saatchi, New Zealand
Kestrel Lee, Creative Lead at Dentsu, China
Livio Grossi, ECD at Dentsu Redder, Vietnam
Lenna Boland, Creative Director at Leo Burnett, Australia
Raymund Sison, co-founder and CCO at Propel, Manila
Rebecca Morriss, Creative Director at DDB, Australia

60 jurors from 24 countries chose to award 17 Golds, 23 Silvers and 30 Bronzes in total.

Some of the comments from jurors include:

“Thanks everyone for the laughs and the great debates.”

“It was a delight to participate and meet so many interesting and talented individuals to discuss ideas with.”

“I was surprised to find how enjoyable it can be to change your mind.”

“It was a great experience.”

For most, the judging process is a pleasure for two reasons.

One, the jury is free to give as many or as few awards as they choose, free from sponsor pressure or the need to achieve targets.

Two, because The Caples may be unique in having a series of two-hour jury debates spread over three consecutive days in which they are free to change their scores upwards or downwards. And they do, in response to local knowledge and to arguments put forward by their peers.

All The Caples Awards winners can be viewed at https://caples.org/winners

In recognition of the increasing importance of in-house agencies in the creative mix, the 2024 jury was led by David Harris, chief creative officer at 368 Deloitte, Deloitte’s in-house communications specialists.

Sips and Bites, Pepsico’s in-house creative unit, won Gold with “Doritos Silent”, a noise-cancelling plug-in that allows gamers to scrunch crisps noiselessly.

Sir John Hegarty

As President of the jury, David Harris has two awards within his personal gift. The Andi Emerson Award is named after the formidable lady who founded The Caples Awards in 1978. It is given in recognition of any person whom the President feels has made an outstanding contribution to creativity in advertising.

The 2024 honoree is Sir John Hegarty. Few can deny that the co-founder of BBH is one of the towering figures of the advertising industry.

Says Harris: “I love the fact that even now, when he could be taking it easy, he is still curious and hungry, helping start-ups and pushing the importance of creativity within business in his blog.”

Harris’s full citation can be read at caples.org/

The Courageous Client Award

The Caples Awards pioneered the idea of honouring the clients who make it possible for their agencies to do their best work. This year, David Harris is honouring Rifah Qadri, Head of Marketing & Corporate Communications at easypaisa, Pakistan.

Working with Impact BBDO, she commissioned “Audio Nikahnama”, a service easypaisa offers young brides in Pakistan to help them understand the financial and other implications of their marriage contracts.

One juror said: “If easypaisa, the #1 payment app in Pakistan, was willing to not just poke the monster of gender inequality straight in the eye but democratise the distribution of tools for any woman with a phone to do the same, that’s bold.”

Award winners:

Agency of the Year
DDB Group Aotearoa

Andi Emerson Award
Sir John Hegarty, Co-Founder at The Garage, Soho, former Co-Founder and CCO of Bartle Bogle Hegarty.

Courageous Client Award
Rifah Qadri, Head of Marketing & Corporate Communications, easypaisa

Best in Show
Marcel, Paris, Orange Telecom “WoMen’s Football”

Best Art Direction/Design

Gold
McCann, London, Plant Drop “Smart Plants”

Silver
VML, London NHS Blood & Transplant “Waiting to Live”

Bronze
MullenLowe, MENA Organon “Mis(s)diagnosed”

Best Copy/Writing

Bronze
DDB, Aotearoa, Volkswagen “Greenprint”

Best Use of AI

Gold
Cheil, Spain, Samsung Galaxy Watch “Impulse”

Bronze
MullenLowe, MENA, Aurora50 “Fixing the bAIs”
Sips & Bites, London, Pepsico Doritos “Doritos Silent”

Ambient/Guerilla/Out of Home

Silver
CHEP, Australia, School Strikes 4 Climate “Doctor’s Certificate”
MRM, Santiago, Chile, NotCo “We Didn’t Write This Campaign”
St. Luke’s, London, Butterkist “Microwave”

Bronze
DDB, Aotearoa, Volkswagen “Greenprint”

Audio

Gold
Impact BBDO, Dubai, easypaisa “Audio Nikahnama”

Silver
Sips & Bites, London, Pepsico Doritos “Doritos Silent”

Bronze
FamousGrey, Brussels, Coca-Cola/Schweppes The Social Sound

B2B

Bronze
MullenLowe, MENA, Organon “Mis(s)diagnosed”

Branded Content

Gold
Marcel, Paris, Orange Telecom “WoMen’s Football”

Bronze
Leo Burnett, Australia, Diageo/Johnnie Walker “In Her Boots”

Creative Use of Data

Gold
McCann, London, Plant Drop “Smart Plants”

Silver
Cheil, Spain, Samsung Galaxy Watch “Impulse”
DDB, Aotearoa, Team Heroine “Correct the Internet”

Bronze
FamousGREY, Brussels, Veolia Belux “Pulse of Nature”

Digital Ad Spaces

Gold
Cheil, Spain, Samsung TV “The Art of the Hack”

Bronze
CHEP, Australia, Samsung Electronics “Reverse Auction”
FamousGREY, Brussels, Proximus “The TMF Generation”

Direct Mail

Bronze
DDB, Aotearoa, Volkswagen “Greenprint”
MullenLowe, MENA, Organon “Mis(s)diagnosed”

Gaming

Gold
Sips & Bites, London, Pepsico Doritos “Doritos Silent”

Bronze
This is Tommy, London, Netflix “Save Veldt”

Innovation

Gold
Cheil, Spain, Samsung Galaxy Watch “Impulse”

Silver
DDB, Aotearoa Volkswagen “Greenprint”

Bronze
Sips & Bites, London Pepsico Doritos “Doritos Silent”

VML, India Unipads “Blood Fertilizer”

Integrated

Gold
DDB, Aotearoa Volkswagen “Greenprint”

Silver
CHEP, Australia, School Strikes 4 Climate “Doctor’s Certificate”
DDB, Aotearoa, Team Heroine “Correct the Internet”

Bronze
Innocean, Australia, Kia Australia “Kia’s Getting a Ute”
Special Group, Auckland, Every Kiwi Vote Counts “Australia Decides”

Mobile

Gold
Cheil, Spain, Samsung Galaxy Watch “Impulse”

Silver
Impact BBDO, Dubai, easypaisa “Audio Nikahnama”

New Product/Service Launch

Silver
Cheil, Spain, Samsung TV “The Art of the Hack”
Innocean, Australia, Kia Australia “Kia’s Getting a Ute”

Not for Profit

Gold
DDB, Aotearoa, Team Heroine “Correct the Internet”

Silver
CHEP, Australia, School Strikes 4 Climate “Doctor’s Certificate”
VML, London, NHS Blood & Transplant “Waiting to Live”

Bronze
Impact BBDO, Dubai, easypaisa “Audio Nikahnama”

PR

Gold
Marcel, Paris, Orange Telecom “WoMen’s Football”
CHEP, Australia, School Strikes 4 Climate “Doctor’s Certificate”

Silver
DDB, Aotearoa, Team Heroine “Correct the Internet”
MRM, Santiago, Chile, NotCo “We Didn’t Write This Campaign”

Bronze
Blanco, Tel Aviv, emocratech  “Dark Day for Democracy”
Innocean, Australia, White Ribbon  “The Daily Issue”
MullenLowe, MENA, Aurora50 “Fixing the bAIs”
Special Group, Auckland, Every Kiwi Vote Counts  “Australia Decides”

Print

Gold
MRM, Santiago, Chile, NotCo  “We Didn’t Write This Campaign”

Bronze
Blanco, Tel Aviv, Democratech “Dark Day for Democracy”
Innocean, Australia, White Ribbon  “The Daily Issue”
Rapp, London, Back Up “Spinal Stories”

Radical New Strategy

Silver
Cheil, Spain, Samsung TV “The Art of the Hack”
VML, India, Unipads “Blood Fertilizer”

Bronze
Cheil, Spain, Samsung Galaxy Watch “Impulse”

Social and Influencer

Silver
DDB, Aotearoa, Team Heroine “Correct the Internet”
Leo Burnett, Australia, Diageo/Bundaberg “The Wedding That Fans Built”

Bronze
FamousGREY, Brussels, Proximus “The TMF Generation”
Innocean, Australia, Kia Australia “Kia’s Getting a Ute”

TV and Video Advertising

Gold
Marcel, Paris, Orange Telecom “WoMen’s Football”

Bronze
Innocean, Australia, Kia Australia “Kia’s Getting a Ute”