Listen to the article

• 

AdForum launches its latest Business Creative Report: a ranking of the world’s most awarded ads.

Now in its sixth year, AdForum’s Business Creative Report is a unique ranking of the world’s most awarded campaigns by industry sector. This year’s report was launched in partnership with Kantar Media.

The report covers nine categories: Automotive, Entertainment & Leisure, Finance, Food & Beverages, Health & Beauty, Luxury, Retail, Technology and Transport & Tourism.

Rigorously compiled from the results of the leading awards shows around the world, it allows advertisers and agencies to measure their creative impact against their peers in the same industry.

This year’s report is based on the results of more than 40 awards shows, both local and global namely Cannes Lions, the Epica Awards, D&AD, the Clios, the One Show, the LIA, Eurobest, Adfest, Dubai Lynx, New York Festivals, the FAB Awards, the World Luxury Award, Andy Awards. It also includes a number of new local and specialist prizes, including Best !n (Spain), CCB (Belgium), the Webby awards (to be precise, its Advertising, Media & PR category) and Clio Entertainment.

One of the report’s major findings was that – in this digital era – the world’s most awarded campaign overall last year was a print campaign: “Better With Pepsi” by Alma. Although social media helped spread its fame, it owed its visual flair to the skills of an origami artist.

Alvar Suñol, co-president and chief creative officer at Alma, commented: “Our journey with ‘Better With Pepsi’ has garnered a phenomenal reception and we’re truly honored by this recognition of its impact...I hope it's especially seen as an example of the beauty that lives in print, and how advertising in its simplest forms are still unforgettable mediums for storytelling. As an idea led by an insightful cultural tension, detail and genuine craft, ‘Better With Pepsi’ is a true reminder of why many of us, including myself, fell in love with advertising in the first place.”

MEA Focus

The report for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) was drawn from awards shows including Dubai Lynx or Loeries results among others. 

The star of the show in the MEA region was clearly MINI with its striking “MINImalism” campaign by Serviceplan Dubai, which was in pole position in the Automotive category. 

It is worth mentioning that Serviceplan Middle East picked up its first Cannes Gold Lion for its "MINImalism" creative campaign for MINI at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2022. ‘MINImalism’ was also the most awarded campaign for Serviceplan Group at Cannes, winning one Gold in the Outdoor category, and two Bronze in Industry Craft. The campaign was created for MINI Middle East and AGMC, the official importer of MINI vehicles in Dubai, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates.

Another stand-out campaign was Essity’s Tena with “Despair No More” from Impact BBDO, which had a purposeful dimension as it set out to empower women. Tena and Impact BBDO bravely tackled the subject of incontinence.

"Despair no More" is a campaign that was highly celebrated last year. Among the many awards it bagged last year, one worth mentioning is the four Grand Prix scooped at Dubai Lynx 2022: the Social & Influencer Grand Prix, The Healthcare Lynx Grand Prix, the Media Grand Prix and the Glass Lynx: The Award for Change Grand Prix.

Catalin Dobre Jury President for Social & Influencer Lynx award said back then: "We fell in love with “Despair No More” because it starts from a deep cultural tension and it uses social to grab people into a debate that delivers a cultural shift and opens people’s minds. We really admired Tena’s courage to challenge prejudice, to empower women and to drive change in the region.”

Anna Chitty, CEO, Starcom and 2022 Jury President of the Media Jury said: “We selected a very deserving Grand Prix winner, one that stood out for its bravery, with a deep connection to a cultural insight, using the power of excellent media craft to shape culture, change language and society at large. It was an excellent entry and a unanimous decision.” 

Another celebrated campaign in this report is Porsche’s "Create2Extremes" by Keko Dubai. The campaign is ranked #4 as the most awarded campaigns in luxury, which allows the agency to secure the 5th position in most awarded agencies in luxury. 

Interestingly, South Africa dominated the Food & Beverages category, led by Carling Black Label and Ogilvy with “Bride Armour”.

Elsewhere, a wide spread of brands won the praise of awards juries last year, suggesting that creativity is thriving across a broad range of industries.