Awards are comibng thick and fast now and the 2026 Grand Effie for the most effective marketing work in the US has gone to Uber Eats and Special US for ‘Football is for Food.’ Partners included PHD, O Positive, Exile and Pariah.
The citation says: Uber Eats transformed football fandom (NFL version) into a powerful growth platform for the brand – reframing one of America’s biggest cultural passions through the lens of food delivery. Through sharp strategic positioning, entertainment partnerships, and culturally resonant creative, the campaign succeeded in driving both business results and brand impact at scale.
The other Grand Effie contenders were:
*Colossal Biosciences for “The First Dire Wolf Howl in over 10,000 Years,”
*Kenvue and BBDO New York for “Neutrogena Remembers,” with OneVue and Alison Brod Marketing + Communications
*Novartis and Merkley + Partners for “Your Attention Please,” with Ketchum, The Marketing Arm, Publicis Groupe, and Moxie Pictures
*Pantene, Procter & Gamble, and Grey New York for “Unexpired Pantene,” with Marina Maher Communications and VML
*Pringles, Kellanova, and FCB New York for “Call of the Mustaches,” with Weber Shandwick, Starcom Media
*Momentum MJZ and Tubi and Mischief @ No Fixed Address for “How Tubi Broke Category Conventions To Break Through In Streaming,” with VaynerMedia.
Effie also ranked agencies, networks, holding companies, brands and marketers.
*Most Effective Agencies: 1) Mischief @ No Fixed Address; 2) McCann; 3) VML
*Most Effective Independent Agencies: 1) Mischief @ No Fixed Address; 2) Special Group; 3) Alison Brod Marketing + Communications
*Most Effective Agency Networks: 1) McCann Worldgroup; 2) VML; 3) BBDO Worldwide
*Most Effective Holding Companies: 1) Omnicom 2) Interpublic (IPG); 3) WPP
*Most Effective Brands: 1) Uber Eats; 2) Chili’s; 3) Last Prisoner Project
Most Effective Marketers: 1) Kraft Heinz Company 2) Uber; 3) Brinker International
