The preliminary tallies for next month’s 2011 North American Effie Awards are in, with BBDO Worldwide slated to take home a dozen trophies, topping the proceedings as the most effective agency network for the second year in a row.
Saatchi & Saatchi with nine wins followed by Leo Burnett with eight rank as the top winners among individual agencies, while Old Spice, Snickers and Toyota are some of the most effectively marketed brands from this year’s competition.
The North American Effie Awards recognize ideas that work and have been a global symbol of marketing achievement since 1968. Gold, Silver and Bronze Effie winners for both the North American and Global Effie competition will be announced at the 43rd annual North American Effie Awards Gala on June 7 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York.
“The Effie Awards shine a light on great ideas that work that come from small independent agencies to large publicly traded companies,” said Mary Lee Keane, president of Effie Worldwide. “Our winners share the common bond of demonstrating the power of great creative thinking to achieve marketplace success.”
A Global Effie Award will be presented to Ogilvy & Mather USA and Mindshare/Neo, USA for IBM Corporation’s SmarterCities Program. The Global Effie Awards competition recognizes effective global brand building and requires that a single brand idea run across at least four countries in two or more regions worldwide.
Other winner trends include holding companies with the most North American Effie Awards wins: Omnicom (26) and Publicis (23). Old Spice won the most North American Effies of any brand in the competition with four, while Snickers won three North American Effie trophies, in addition to one Global Effie Award. Toyota, U by Kotex, and Walgreens will take home three Effies each.
(For information on the 50-plus Effie North America categories and winners, visit http://www.effie.org.
Media Effies
Meanwhile, highlights of the Effie Media Awards include:
Digitas won two Media Idea Effies on behalf of American Express and Kraft. Effies for Media Idea were also awarded to Syfy (Fallon) and to TVLand for Hot in Cleveland. Media Innovation Effie Award winners included Goodby, Silverstein and Partners and OMD for Frito-Lay’s Doritos, Saatchi & Saatchi LA for Toyota, and Wieden+Kennedy for the Old Spice “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” Responds to the Internet. Starcom USA/LiquidThread won an Effie in the Single Media Company Activation category for Bank of America’s History Channel America: The Story of Us Partnership.
The winners and finalists will have more at stake this year, as The Effie Effectiveness Index will be revealed in June. The index will identify and rank the industry’s most effective holding companies, agencies, advertisers, and brands by analyzing finalist and winner data from Effie competitions all over the globe.
Effie Worldwide stands for effectiveness in marketing communications, spotlighting marketing ideas that work and encouraging thoughtful dialogue about the ever-changing marketing industry. The Effie network works with some of the top research and media organizations worldwide to bring its audience relevant insights into effective marketing strategy. This has taken shape in webinars, white papers, global conferences, winner showcases and more.
The Effie Awards recognize any and all forms of marketing communication that contribute to a brand’s success. Effie celebrates effectiveness worldwide with the Global Effie, the Euro Effie, the Middle East/North Africa Effie and more than 40 national Effie programs.
Director Lu Villaca Joins MADRE
Production company MADRE has added Brazilian director Lu Villaça to its talent roster. With degrees in cinema and performance and a master’s in screenwriting, Villaça brings a multifaceted approach to filmmaking. Villaça’s tastes have been shaped by her childhood training in ballet, studying Greek theatre texts, her passion for music, and her contemplative nature. She honed her cinematic skills early on as an AD and creative assistant before becoming a director. Intent on capturing the drama of everyday life as it plays out, Villaça is tuned in to how the bodies in her frame move through their environments and what elements of the story can be extrapolated from these compositions. Her sharp attention to detail in every aspect, from lighting to the final edit, is designed to connect emotionally with her audience. Villaça has been awarded three Cannes Lions for her film “Next Minute Law,” which promoted awareness of a law in Brazil designed to address the rampant epidemic of sexual violence. “Next Minute Law” also garnered Best Direction at El Ojo and the Ciclope Latino Festival, where Villaça also won Best New Talent. Additionally, she has directed assorted commercial campaigns for brands like Johnnie Walker, Huggies Wipes, Nestlé, Amazon, A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, and a spot for Medley featuring Brazilian Olympic gymnast Rebeca Andrade. Prior to joining MADRE, Villaca had been repped by production house LOBO. Recognized in Brazil as a top music video director, Villaca won Best Female Direction for her work on “Nu” by Assucena and “Lovezinho” by Rachel Reis, which also won Best National Music Video at the MVF Awards. Villaça additionally co-directed the documentary Pagliacci, an homage to circus artist Domingos Montagner... Read More