Warc unveils world's 100 smartest marketing campaigns rankings

'Fakka' campaign for Vodafone by JWT Cairo tops poll. The US was the most represented market in the top 100

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | July 10, 2014

An Egyptian campaign for Vodafone has topped a new ranking of the world's smartest marketing campaigns. The Warc 100 ( www.warc.com/warc100), launched by marketing intelligence service Warc, is an annual list of the world's best campaigns, based on performance in effectiveness and strategy competitions.

'Fakka', a Vodafone initiative through agency JWT Cairo, has emerged as the leading campaign in the Warc 100's first year. Vodafone introduced Micro Credit Recharge Cards for low-income Egyptians, and developed a new distribution channel by turning the cards into a form of low-denomination currency that could be used by shopkeepers in place of small change.

The US was the most represented market in the top 100, with 22 of the entries developed there. Australia came next, with 11 entries.

To compile the rankings, Warc tracked more than 1,700 winners in 75 different competitions. It assigned points based on the awards won (for example, Gold, Silver or Bronze), then weighted those points based on the competition's rigour and prestige in the global industry. Warc has developed a proprietary methodology to weight competitions in consultation with Professor Douglas West, Professor of Marketing at King's College London.

Warc 100 is a benchmark for commercial creativity, ranking strategies that drive business performance or change consumer behaviour. It has been developed to reflect the growing importance of strategic thinking and measurement rigour in marketing. It will showcase the best work, and will help raise awareness of the leading cases.

“The growing number of effectiveness and strategy awards around the world shows how important it is to prove marketing can make a difference,” said Louise Ainsworth, CEO of Warc. “The Warc 100 will rank the best of the best. It will help brands and agencies keep up to date with strategies that have a commercial impact, and to benchmark their own performance against their peers.”

Warc will reveal further data from the Warc 100, including the world's top agencies and brands, later in the summer.

The top 10 campaigns (Title / Brand / Agency / Market) are:

1. 'Fakka' / Vodafone / JWT / Egypt
2. 'Small Business Saturday' / American Express / Digitas, Crispin Porter & Bogusky / US
3. 'It's More Fun in the Philippines' / Philippines Dept of Tourism / BBDO Guerrero / Philippines
4. 'Thank You, Mom' / Procter & Gamble / Wieden + Kennedy / US
5. 'Overstay Checkout' / Art Series Hotels / Naked Communications / Australia
6. 'Daily Twist' / Oreo / FCB, 360i / US
7. 'Smoking Kid' / Thai Health Promotion Foundation / Ogilvy & Mather / Thailand
8. 'Old Parts for New' / ORBIS International / Ogilvy & Mather / Hong Kong
9. 'Real Beauty Sketches' / Dove / Ogilvy & Mather / Brazil
10. 'Car Creation' / NRMA Insurance / Whybin\TBWA / Australia