202​3 ​Finalists

Case Summary

AT AN AGE TO FOCUS ON YOUR BOOKS, WERE YOU EVER TESTED ON YOUR LOOKS?  Nearly 80% of Indian women faced beauty-based judgement as adolescents in school. Too tall, too short, too thin, too fat, too dark – they were made to feel less than adequate; their self-esteem diminishing with every taunt and piece of ‘well-meaning ‘advice. ‘Stop the Beauty Test’ was a movement against this beauty test to fulfil Dove’s purpose of making beauty a source of confidence for women. The campaign elevated Dove’s stature in India.

Case Summary

To build the in-home drinking occasion and bring 2022’s FIFA World Cup to Chinese youth who are still under Covid restrictions, Harbin Beer developed The Harbin Beer Bench, a special multipack packaging solution that can help urban youth in China to invite friends to their small homes, gathering and watching games. The bench was launched with a social campaign to create a unique experience and engagement with consumers, and helped the brand to find a distinguish angle to increase its exposure during the FIFA season.

Case Summary

HOW DOES A BRAND KEEP ITSELF TOP-OF-MIND TO DRIVE REPEAT CONSUMPTION EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR’S BIGGEST SEASONAL FESTIVAL? For Coke in China’s sales-critical 2022 LNY, the answer was to move beyond one-off ad exposure, and instead create a gamified ritual to make it easier for multiple generations to keep engaging throughout seasonal reunions. The ‘Coke LNY Family Games’ helped keep Coke on families’ minds, and tables - increasing repeat engagement from 6% to 45%, P7D consumption frequency by 3.8%, for a 1.6% uplift in seasonal sales.

Case Summary

Bangladesh has always held a high place in the world rankings when it comes to child marriage. Considering the girl child as a burden on the limited earnings of the poor parents has been the main reason behind this. The Child Marriage Prevention Loan by IPDC addresses this very age-old mindset by turning the burdens into assets. The disadvantaged parents get the opportunity to set up their own businesses if they sign a contract and pledge to not marry their underaged daughter off and keep investing on the girls' education.

Case Summary

In Thailand, the snack market is saturated with brands competing for its place in consumers’ minds. How can Voiz stay relevant with its limited budget and its old platform message “Too Good to Share?” With “The Eyes” – a series of fun short films showing a pair of eyes that pop out to reveal how Voiz is so good that you don’t want to share it – Voiz was able to drive awareness and engagement among young consumers with its humorous storyline, fun tone, and extra twisted execution.

Case Summary

Singapore’s falling birth rates made armed forces recruitment more critical than ever. But recruitment campaigns in the category bear an uncanny resemblance to Hollywood action films, speaking to the “child” in teenage males who enjoys the action and adrenaline rush. So, here’s the truth bomb: The youths of today see these campaigns as pure government propaganda. This case documents how the Navy tapped into a powerful insight that created a highly successful campaign embracing the real, the everyday and the toughness of a Navy career at the centre of communication.

Case Summary

True or false: the placenta protects a developing baby from alcohol? Research says that although many believe it to be true, the reality is quite the opposite. And it was this tension that ‘One Drink’ put to use. By juxtaposing this long-held belief with a confronting life-sized glass baby, we got people to reconsider what they knew about alcohol and pregnancy. And modelling suggests we’ve made a dent in the leading preventable cause of non-genetic, developmental disability in Australia - potentially preventing 43 cases of FASD as a result.

Case Summary

In its 7th year Ariel #ShareTheLoad was faced with a challenge to beat its own previous benchmarks and competition to grow equity and sales. Plugging into radical impatience for gender equality among women, this year the brand called out double standard of men. If they can share the load with other men, why not with their wives? In doing so See Equal #ShareTheLoad proved that purpose-led-brands can win market by increasing sales by 9% and hearts with an emotional equity boost by 49%, both consistently!

Case Summary

For the first time ever, 5G technology was used to re-create a past event of such scale. We not only recreated the biggest moment in the history of Indian cricket which the nation was deprived of but also made people experience the entire inning from every angle as if they are present in the stadium. With this campaign, we were able to provide the nation with a missing piece of its history and give Airtel its leadership position in 5G parameters back.

Case Summary

At-risk youth was one of the most problematic plights in the not-for-profit category. They were seen as delinquents underserving of support. And so, it was a plight the community had completely disengaged with. In reality, at-risk youth were survivors and the ultimate personification of an ‘underdog fighter’, a trope all Aussies inherently rally behind. Using an equally invisible aspect of our streets, public payphones, Whitelion staged the loudest CALL for help. Literally. The result? Direct engagement at scale, increased donations, and a change in the national conversation around at-risk youth.

Case Summary

KFC’s Left-Handed Menu was designed to surprise new and existing customers with mouth-watering, scarce and, quite frankly, absurd menu items. The retail calendar in the QSR category in Australia is wildly cluttered with offers that it’s hard to stand-out. More often than not, KFC is drowned out. So, to achieve that all-important marketing objective of attention, KFC decided to have fun and not take itself - or its retail menu - too seriously. The result? The attention, acquisition, retention and, above all, sales, that every brand in the category wants.

Case Summary

In the toughest Australian labour market in fifty years, McDonald’s Australia launched a textbook example of recruitment advertising for young Australians. Informed by staff research and employment psychology principles, the ‘Mates make it Maccas’ campaign smashed targets, beating the application objectives by 250%. This reversed the 2022 crew number downwards trend line and enabled the 1,032 restaurants to meet consumer demand.

Case Summary

The Off Season was developed to address Tourism Tasmania’s most difficult problem – attracting visitors in winter – the coldest, darkest time of the year. Australia is culturally hardwired to worship summer, so in winter we hibernate, waiting for it to be over. The Off Season positions Tasmanian winter as an opportunity to wake up the senses rather than switch off. Our campaign saw dramatic results – with visitors, spend levels and perceptions growing YOY.

Case Summary

Revitalizing Brand Dancow in Indonesia - Breaking your own formula.  Dancow had been slowly losing ground on a category that it had built.  Players were growing using the same playbook that Dancow had built over 90 years in Indonesia. This case shows how Dancow shifted category codes and country norms and connected with its consumers, delivering growth of 12%.

Case Summary

For Macca’s biggest deals campaign of the year, we knew we could out-shout the competition around “Great Value”. But how do you get people who actively skip and block ads to care about basic retail offers? Aussies love getting a great deal, but if it looks or smells like an ad, they tune it out. To sneak through their defences, we hid 30 of our best deals in the most distracting videos online. The result: a retail campaign Aussies couldn’t help but watch, driving 23.6% growth in YoY app sales.

Case Summary

“SmallBiz-washing” (yes, it’s a thing). Like “Greenwashing” deceives consumers that a firm’s products help green the planet, Smallbiz-washing campaigns are designed to bolster a firm’s reputation, without making any real difference to small-business owners. During COVID, brands spent millions on small business marketing but 40% of Thai small businesses were still at risk of closure. Since survival of these food vendors, bakeries, and shops were critical to Grab’s own prosperity, we went beyond usual surveys and listened to real SME heartaches to understand precisely what support they really needed.

Case Summary

In 2022, record-high fuel prices and inflation sparked tensions between Grab and the drivers Grab relied on. With fuel prices 50% higher, every driver needed to work much harder to make the same income. The solution? We turned our offline transport drivers into online affiliate marketers for GrabFood - thus killing multiple birds with a single idea - providing an additional income source for drivers and new source of growth for GrabFood

Case Summary

Malaysia’s Home Internet category is a sea of sameness. Undifferentiated packages are driven by deep discounting. Goliaths dominate, capitalising on top-of-mind awareness to drive category leadership. A true David, Time with its single digit market share and 10X smaller budgets countered this with a powerful cultural insight of ‘strong connections’, elevating its product truth of a 100% Fibre network. This bold counter-category approach led to highs in awareness, consideration and sales, cementing Time as Malaysia’s fastest growing telco with a staggering 27% Q4 revenue growth (outpacing 10.1% category growth).

Case Summary

Any gamer will agree : burger, fries and sundaes in video games, despite being unbranded, look just like McDonald’s. Staking its claim on ALL GAMING FOOD, McDonald’s collaborated with the country’s biggest gaming influencers to invite gamers to screengrab virtual grub, brand them #ThisIsMcDonalds and redeem corresponding McDelivery coupons IRL. While other brands negotiated with one publisher at a time, this cross-gaming hunt effectively tagged McDonald’s grub in over 350 different gaming titles, boosting not only brand engagement but also McDelivery sales.

Case Summary

Re:Re:Re:Samsung iTest
Team,
I’m writing because I’ve heard many of you are increasingly frustrated with what’s happening in New Zealand, where a service was launched that’s now seen millions of our loyal Apple customers test-drive Samsung.
Please know I share your frustrations and assure you we are doing everything in our power to shut this “iTest” down. My legs are getting sore from all the stand-ups we’ve had.
Thank you for all you continue to do to get Apple products into our customers’ hands.
Tim
-Sent from my Galaxy S23

Case Summary

Post Covid, Tourism Fiji launched an influencer-led campaign that leveraged the trust and love of an unassuming national icon to attract New Zealanders back to their shores. They set out to reassure nervous travellers that Fiji was a safe space by enlisting the head of New Zealand’s Covid Response. In the months after the campaign, we saw a significant increase in visitors to Fiji from New Zealand, well above the average growth of visitors from other countries.

Case Summary

Our campaign made Oreo the most loved FMCG brand in India. To grow household penetration amid dipping sales growth, Oreo dived into the mass hysteria surrounding the Cricket World Cup in 2022 and made a cricket crazy nation, believe that relaunching Oreo could help win the World Cup. Led by Dhoni, erstwhile Indian caption, we launched an online press conference. We also transformed the cookie with iconic Dhoni moments. Other cricketers joined in. Fans responded at an epic scale – some even laminated Oreo cookies to keep for life.

Case Summary

KFC Australia created a fine-dining degustation experience with 11 courses, using the food we sell in restaurant every single day. We knew that giving our food such a cheeky, fancy and over-the-top treatment - then targeting food critics, influencers and foodie-publications - would ensure the campaign amassed a huge amount of PR coverage, which successfully lifted KFC’s food quality perceptions.

Case Summary

For 30 years James Hardie attempted to disrupt the residential building and construction sector with ‘fibre cement’, an alternative product to traditional brick materials. All to no avail. It was only after we broke the unspoken rules of the category itself that we achieved our original purpose. Transforming a B2B brand that formerly addressed a male dominated builder audience, into a B2C brand that empowers female homeowners - the true visionaries and decision-drivers when it comes to building a home.

Case Summary

Bangladesh has always held a high place in the world rankings when it comes to child marriage. Considering the girl child as a burden on the limited earnings of the poor parents has been the main reason behind this. The Child Marriage Prevention Loan by IPDC addresses this very age-old mindset by turning the burdens into assets. The disadvantaged parents get the opportunity to set up their own businesses if they sign a contract and pledge to not marry their underaged daughter off and keep investing on the girls' education.

Case Summary

Re:Re:Re:Samsung iTest
Team,
I’m writing because I’ve heard many of you are increasingly frustrated with what’s happening in New Zealand, where a service was launched that’s now seen millions of our loyal Apple customers test-drive Samsung.
Please know I share your frustrations and assure you we are doing everything in our power to shut this “iTest” down. My legs are getting sore from all the stand-ups we’ve had.
Thank you for all you continue to do to get Apple products into our customers’ hands.
Tim
-Sent from my Galaxy S23

Case Summary

Bajaj Pulsar N160 - latest addition to the line of Pulsar motorcycles - was a sub-optimal late entrant in a cc category that had shifted the buying demographic - thanks to Pulsar's archrival. Pulsar had to retain its formidable distinction of 'thrill' but present it to the younger audience on a media and in a language that would get them to consider the new N160. The clutter-breaking (Un)Censored Ad gave the new Pulsar N160 the attention and drove consideration.

Case Summary

In 2022, record-high fuel prices and inflation sparked tensions between Grab and the drivers Grab relied on. With fuel prices 50% higher, every driver needed to work much harder to make the same income. The solution? We turned our offline transport drivers into online affiliate marketers for GrabFood - thus killing multiple birds with a single idea - providing an additional income source for drivers and new source of growth for GrabFood

Case Summary

In 2022, record-high fuel prices and inflation sparked tensions between Grab and the drivers Grab relied on. With fuel prices 50% higher, every driver needed to work much harder to make the same income. The solution? We turned our offline transport drivers into online affiliate marketers for GrabFood - thus killing multiple birds with a single idea - providing an additional income source for drivers and new source of growth for GrabFood

Case Summary

McDonald’s has been a vociferous supporter of the DEI agenda – but it’s not restricted to communication alone. Because inclusivity for the disabled isn’t just about infrastructural or access-oriented inclusion, its inclusion into the simple pleasures of life – like enjoying your favourite western fast food. And just like a burger is enjoyed with both hands, the onus of inclusivity lies with both - the abled & disabled. In 2021, McDonald’s co-opted the abled to spread awareness for the disabled by including them in the conversation on disability.

Case Summary

Humans are the worst. Especially when it comes to online dating. Unwanted slides into your DMs, being ghosted, unsolicited pics; you name it we have to put up with it. So, to launch our Tinder-esk cat adoption platform MyHooman, rather than telling people to adopt a furry friend, we told them to ‘Give up on humans’. By celebrating the disappointment of dating apps we helped people find their perfect match - and have seen a massive 76% uplift in return. And there’s not a liar or catfish in sight.

Case Summary

Down Syndrome International (DSI) wanted to drive awareness and relevance with young people globally, and change the social landscape to make it inclusive. They realised that even though the youth spent a significant chunk of their time in the digital realm, there was very little visibility of people with disabilities or Down Syndrome there. The solution was Kami - the world's first virtual influencer with Down Syndrome. As the catalyst for a more inclusive metaverse, Kami created many new conversations, and tremendous visibility for an under-represented group online.

Case Summary

The Off Season was developed to address Tourism Tasmania’s most difficult problem – attracting visitors in winter – the coldest, darkest time of the year. Australia is culturally hardwired to worship summer, so in winter we hibernate, waiting for it to be over. The Off Season positions Tasmanian winter as an opportunity to wake up the senses rather than switch off. Our campaign saw dramatic results – with visitors, spend levels and perceptions growing YOY.

Case Summary

How does a food delivery platform launch its subscription program against a dominant player with a two-year headstart, an omnipresent marketing push, and a 98% bigger budget, in a year when food deliveries are dropping? You take an endearing Filipino habit, and tie it to your brand. With just two online videos, GrabFood increased subscriptions by 200%, ballooned its share of voice to 80%, and grew its market share by more than 100%. Talk about grabbing a crisis and turning it into an opportunity.

Case Summary

Post-pandemic, APAC investors understood that their traditional approach to wealth is not enough and are looking for new ways to future-proof their wealth. However, HSBC Singapore is seen as a traditional bank that’s losing its relevance in this new world of wealth. Enters The HSBC Futureverse – a dynamic video generator that can generate 6 Million possible futures and show how HSBC is at the forefront of all of it. The campaign successfully demonstrated HSBC’s future-looking view on wealth and started to close the perception gap of HSBC in Singapore.

Case Summary

Oreo faced an unexpected challenge of aging excessive stocks when anticipating a high demand at the start of the year due to possible new pandemic wave. With Stay Playful spirit at heart, we found an opportunity to turn gloomy stocks stacked at retailer’s stores into joyful cookies stacked at consumer’s homes with a modest budget. Just by adding a value exchange twist into a simple stacking challenge, the campaign saw thousands of consumers joyfully stacking non-stop, stocks cleared up, sell out uplift +17.7%, penetration +1% and a Guinness Record at the end.

Case Summary

Beer dominates alcohol consumption in Vietnam, comprising 90% of the market. Heineken, an iconic brand, struggled to connect with the youth, due to its expensive and outdated image. Young Vietnamese moved towards international and premium local brands for unique experiences, or affordable utilitarian brands, for basic beer. Enter, Heineken Sleek - a new, slimmer can, without a change in product, or price. How would we convince young people it's for them? We combined beer, music, and technology, and offered more value and experiences through the packaging, than the product itself.

Case Summary

Every-year, 23 million girls drop out of school - a seismic problem MISSING from public eye. With Whisper's purpose of empowering girls and 3 decades of work through its school program, we spotlighted everything missing till now through "KEEP GIRLS IN SCHOOL". We spotlighted the MISSING GIRLS from India’s schools; their MISSING FUTURES - for dropping out of school means dropping out of a promising future; exposed the MISSING CHAPTER on biology of periods in schoolbooks. Through nationwide petitions, the key state governments are committed to add it in schoolbooks.

Case Summary

Despite being the 8th entrant, we are now the no. 1 music streaming app in India. How? 1. Play the leader 2. Own the biggest category codes 3. Borrow from culture, become culture 3 simple rules for iconic work, year on year: 2019: ‘There’s a playlist for that’: 1153 outdoor messages offering help with everyday frictions 2020: Pitted Boomer vs GenZ to answer the generational divide through music 2021: Used biggest genre and grease, Bollywood, to unite filmy lovers 2022: An IPL campaign on the everyday chaos, made better with music

Case Summary

State has been insuring New Zealanders for 115 years. But Kiwis saw us as old and boring. We’d lost over 34,000 customers in four years . Clearly, people didn’t want to engage with good ol’ insurance. They were too busy. Rather than feel hurt, we decided to change. An everything-but-the-logo rebrand. A change of tone and a change of attitude. And then actions to prove it. Insurance for too busy lives was just what Kiwis needed. It turned the ship around and chartered a course back to relevance and growth.

Case Summary

THIS IS HOW SPRITE LAUNCHED ITS FIRST-EVER GLOBAL PLATFORM, DEVELOPED IN CHINA, BY EVOLVING ITS ASSOCIATION WITH ‘COOLING DOWN’ TO GROW RECRUITMENT AND REVENUE BEYOND SUMMER. For decades Sprite China positioned its lemon-lime edge as the ultimate way to beat summer heat creating a seasonal demand spike which tapered off, leading to seasonally skewed recruitment, and flattening revenues. Sprite reframed its benefit of ‘Cooling Down’ from physical heat to mental heat with its first-ever global platform, created in China - ‘Heat Happens’, to become relevant year-round, growing recruitment and revenues.