BBDO takes top honours at inaugural APAC Effies

BBDO emerged victorious at the inaugural APAC Effies, picking up the gong for ‘Agency Network of the Year’, with seven of its offices taking home prestigious/significant gongs including Colenso BBDO/Proximity New Zealand being named ‘Agency of the Year’. This comes in the wake of BBDO most recently being named the ‘Most Awarded Creative Agency of the Year’ by The Gunn Report for an unprecedented eighth consecutive year.
The Asia-Pacific Effie Awards presented a total of 56 awards – 12 Golds, 26 Silvers and 18 Bronzes – and saw some 170 guests attend the prestigious event which was held at the Conrad Centennial Singapore.
The seven BBDO agencies won 15 Effies which included two Golds, seven Silvers and six Bronzes, after owning 25% of the shortlist – 24 of the total 99 finalists.
Agency of the Year Colenso BBDO/Proximity New Zealand won four Effies for four clients – Amnesty International, Bank of New Zealand, Mountain Dew (PepsiCo) and Tip Top (Fonterra) – after being named finalists for six awards.
Clemenger BBDO, Sydney was a close second, scoring a hat-trick with three Effies, all for their Hungry Jack’s ‘Shake & Win’ app. I&S BBDO, Japan – the most awarded agency at the 2013 APPIES – and BBDO, Hong Kong both won a Gold each for work for Snickers.
Three BBDO agencies in China also emerged winners including BBDO, Shanghai; Proximity, Shanghai; and BBDO, Guangzhou.
Other clients that the BBDO agencies won awards for were Wrigley and Gillette.
Andy Wilson, Head of Strategy for BBDO Asia, said of the win: “We are delighted with the fantastic team effort from across the full breadth of the network. Congratulations to all the winning teams and clients for creating great work that worked.”
The Effie Awards is recognised throughout the industry as the global standard of marketing effectiveness excellence. Organised by the Confederation of the Asian Advertising Agency Associations (CAAAA) and Tenasia Group, the APAC Effie Awards honours the region’s most outstanding marketing communication work that have proven results in meeting strategic objectives.
APAC Effie, which received 300 entries this year, aims to champion practices of marketing effectiveness excellence in the Asia Pacific region, and provides the growing industry with a regional platform where the best campaigns are celebrated.
This year’s jury was led by Judging and Awards Chairman Connie Chan, as well as Ajay Kakar, CMO of Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group; Ben Lightfoot, CEO, McCann Worldgroup Singapore; Nicky Lim, Regional Director, ASEAN, Geometry Global; and Pully Chau, an advertising and Effie veteran.
Santosh Menon, MD of BBDO Lanka, the only Sri Lankan BBDO agency, said: “BBDO is the most awarded creative agency in the world. And it is now clear that creative is effective. In fact, for work to be effective it must be creative. We are delighted that our agency has excelled at the Effies.”
A long-time holder of Network of the Year at the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards, BBDO is the most awarded network for effectiveness and creativity both in APAC and worldwide.