Coke, Desperadoes, Deliveroo and Freya bread took the top prizes in Kantar’s latest creative effectiveness awards. These are judged with help from the data company’s Link AI and Link + testing platforms, which feeds back consumer responses, alongside members of Kantar’s global creative team.
Kantar has identified four creative trends behind the most successful ads: relatable realities, bizarrely bold, roots reimagined, and trend tapping.
The UK did well in the TV category. Pablo’s winning spot for Deliveroo comes under the “bizarrely bold” heading, thanks to its half-man, half-octopus protagonist who orders takeaway on a date. Second was KitKat’s “Break better” (VML London) and third, VW’s “YourWagen” by adam&eveDDB.
Print/OOH winner Coca-Cola, created by Uncommon Creative Studio, provided the “relatable realities” by finding ways to light up the darkness for people living in places where the winter months bring long nights. Second was Anomaly for Google Pixel 9 and third was Goodyear’s “Feel the drive pulse” (in-house).
The digital/social winners was Desperados “The beer with Latin vibe” (LePub Milan), followed by CeraVe’s “Grandma” (BPCM) and Tourism Australia’s “Taylor’s version” (in house).
“Roots reimagined” is the secret to the TV third place ad, Volkswagen’s YourWagen, which involves VW fans in its storytelling.
Not surprisingly, the “trend tapping” makes its appearance in the social/digital category. Tourism Australia made third place for an ad that embeds the brand in the Taylor Swift conversation, just as she was starting the antipodean leg of her Eras tour.
As well as contributing to judging the TV, print and social entries, Link AI also had its own category, which threw up less mainstream choices. The winner is Freya’s “Variety is good” by DDB NZ, followed by Ogilvy India’s Colgate MaxFresh “Doctor” and third is BPG & VML Türkiye’s “Taxi” for Uber.
Vera Šídlová, Kantar’s global creative thought leadership director, said: “Demands on our time and attention can feel endless. It’s not surprising that marketers can struggle to find the secret ingredient to ads that connect with us on a personal level, make us stop what we’re doing and focus. Our winners show how creativity can truly connect with audiences.”
Effectiveness is in long term decline as marketing delivers ever lower ROIs, while media fragmentation and addressable buying lead to a drop in brand awareness. But ads that work are always going to be the holy grail, and awards like these provide some kind of a benchmark as the industry works to get better at brand building again.
At the IPA’s effectiveness awards last year, chief judge (and CCO of Nationwide) Catherine Kehoe admitted: “Sadly, we appear to be getting less good at doing what we are meant to be doing, and that’s building the strong brands that drive outsized commercial returns.”
