WARC names 2023’s biggest creative awards winners
If anyone doubted that purpose has taken over adland – or at least the portion of itself that awards prizes – the 2023 WARC Creative Rankings underline the point. with Leo Burnett Chicago’s ‘Change the Ref’ for The Lost Class topping the campaign rankings.
Next came The Unfiltered History Tour for Vice from Dentsu Creative Bangalore and then Pinatex from Dole Sunshine Company/Ananas Anam from L&C New York.
They may be great causes but are they great ads? ‘Change the Ref’ maybe.
Publicis Milan was top creative agency for the second year in a row with four campaigns for Heineken and one for Bottega Veneta in the top 100. New York’s Area 23 was second with four campaigns in the top 100 and BETC Paris third with three campaigns in the top 50.
WPP’s Ogilvy was top network while WPP was top holding company (they do enter a lot) while Burger King was most creative brand, AB InBev most creative advertiser with Corona, Michelob Ultra and Budweiser. The US was top-scoring country.
Head of WARC Creative Amy Rodgers says: “Across the top 10 campaigns there is a strong theme of promoting societal concerns through creativity. From women’s issues such as Data Tienda which drew attention to women gaining access to credit and financial services, and The Bread Exam supporting women’s health, while Beyond the Surface and Reverse Selfie both centred on body image.
“Other societal issues covered included The Lost Class on U.S. gun violence, Piñatex on environmentalism and The Elections Edition on political corruption.”
Network winner Ogilvy CCO Liz Taylor says: “It fills us with immense pride to see Ogilvy named the most creative network in the world by WARC for the third consecutive year. Our teams earned this recognition by doing work that had an impact on our clients’ brands and businesses, but also for impacting policies that have helped create a more equitable and just world.”
The UK doesn’t seem to have troubled the scorers unduly although Ogilvy UK was the sixth best-placed agency. The UK came second to the US in country totals but a long way behind with about half the points.