Ogilvy Melbourne crowned 2024 APAC Effies Agency of the Year plus the Grand Effie for Football Australia ‘Til it’s Done’ campaign

Effie Asia Pacific announced the most effective marketing campaigns of 2024 at their Awards Gala, held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Singapore. 88 Winners beat out the competition to clinch metal – 1 Grand Effie, 15 Gold, 29 Silver and 43 Bronze.

Til It’s Done by Ogilvy Melbourne dominated the competition across several categories, emerging with 3 Golds, 1 Silver, and the coveted Grand Effie. Their work with Football Australia drummed up support for the national football team The Matildas amidst languishing interest through conveying their grit and tenacity towards making their mark at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and also claimed them the title Agency of the Year for the first time.

Silver Effies were awarded to Howatson + Company for Modibodi ‘I’m Dying Inside’, Ogilvy Sydney for KFC ‘Kentucky Fried Couture’ and The Monkeys Sydney for MLA ‘Un Australia’.

Two Bronze Effies went to The Monkeys Sydney for MLA ‘Un Australia’ and to BMF for Aldo ‘Shop Aldi First’. Bronze Effies were awarded to Special Sydney for Uber Eats ‘Get Almost Almost Anything’, TBWA\Melbourne for SEEK ‘The Seekret’ and Ogilvy Sydney for KFC ‘Fried Night Footy’.

Says Sally Kissane, CEO, Ogilvy Network ANZ: “While it’s an incredible achievement to win a coveted Effie, and in particular the most elusive of all – a Grand Effie – we’re also celebrating the industry recognition that great creativity is effectiveness. ‘Til It’s Done’ shook up the sports category, changed behaviours and solved a human problem by using empowering messages that we knew would stick. That’s what creativity can do.

“And we’re not just proud of the team that developed this culture-shifting work, but the partnership with our client Football Australia. The fact that they also walked away with two awards – the first time a sports brand and marketer has won at APAC Effies – also speaks volumes about the power of collaboration.”

Says Paul Arena, head of strategy, Ogilvy Melbourne: “As a die-hard football fan and dad of a mini-Matilda to be, getting to work on this campaign was a dream come true. We always expected matches at the first FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia would be well attended. The real challenge was to leverage that opportunity for lasting change. Seeing the Matildas go from half empty stadiums to 13 consecutive, sell -out home matches after the World Cup was pretty special. The ultimate knock-on effect of unlocking hundreds of millions of dollars in additional government funding for women’s sport being the cherry on the icing of the whole football-themed cake. Being able to say we played a small part in making it easier for girls to play football, for either fun or fame, has been the highlight of my career.”

Ogilvy held on to the top honour Agency Network of the Year for the sixth year running with 6 Golds, 7 Silvers, and 14 Bronzes coming out from Australia, China, India, Thailand, Singapore, and South Korea.

The Womb Communications was crowned Independent Agency of the Year, the second time the India-based agency has come out on top. Runner up was Special Auckland.

Football Australia and The Matildas walked away with Marketer of the Year and Brand of the Year for their success in the Til It’s Done campaign, which also marks the first time that a sports-based brand and marketer has made its appearance in the special awards.

Winners emerged across 10 territories, with India leading the winner’s table with 34 Effies, followed by Australia with 15 Effies, and New Zealand close behind at 13 Effies.

Gold Effies from Asia include:
Ogilvy Gurgaon ‘Joke in a Bottle’ for Coca-Cola
Ogilvy Mumbai ‘My Birthday Song’ for Mondelēz India
The Womb India ‘Can A Cookie Teach You How To Live?’ for Britannia Industries
Leo Burnett Mumbai ‘Drove 1.4bn Visits In A Nation of 1.4Bn’ for Flipkart Internet
Leo Burnett Mumbai ‘Helping Farmers Fight Climate Change’ for PepsiCo India
McCann New Delhi ‘An Envelope for Women’s Financial Fate’ for Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
McCann New Delhi ‘An Envelope for Women’s Financial Fate’ for Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
Grab Creative ‘Find Me Here – Benches’ for Grab
Grab Creative ‘Find Me Here – Benches’ for Grab
Grab Creative ‘Find Me Here – Benches’ for Grab
Ogilvy Bangkok ‘Not Very Sweet’ for Dutch Mill

2024 Awards Chairperson, Tze Kiat Tan, said: “The APAC Effie Awards provide a platform not only for recognizing outstanding work but also for inspiring our industry to strive for excellence as marketers. Winning an Effie is proof that you have delivered results and made an impact in our highly competitive and diverse landscape. Congratulations to our winners on this remarkable achievement and for setting a new standard for marketers in our region.”

The Special Awards are given out based on the total calculation of points accumulated by each winner and finalist. This year’s Special Awards winners are:

The full list of winners can be accessed here. All winners and finalists will be accorded points towards the 2024 Effie Index, which ranks the most effective agencies, marketers, and brands globally. The index will be announced in 2025.