Ariel's #ShareTheLoad tops Warc 100 for the second year in a row

P&G India’s agenda-setting Dads #ShareTheLoad campaign for the Ariel Matic brand has topped the WARC 100 for the second year in a row, an annual ranking of the world’s best marketing campaigns and companies according to their business impact.

The top-ranked campaign, 'Dads #ShareTheLoad' by BBDO India for Ariel Matic, Procter & Gamble's premium laundry detergent brand, built on its previous 'Share the Load' campaign by persuading dads to do more laundry in order to promote gender equality.

Ariel Matic generated a 42% increase in unaided brand awareness, $12.3 million in earned media coverage, and conversations on social media and sales growth exceeding previous campaigns.

Now in its fifth year, the WARC 100 tracks the performance of campaigns, brands and agencies in more than 70 of the most important global, regional and national marketing effectiveness and strategy competitions held around the world.

BBDO Worldwide remained the most awarded network for the fifth year in a row, having retained this rank since WARC 100 began in 2014. Its agencies contributed to four of the top 10 campaigns and 19 of the top 100.

Australia's Clemenger BBDO Melbourne topped the creative agencies for effectiveness table for the first time having produced two top 10 campaigns: 'Meet Graham' and 'Hungerithm'. New Zealand's Colenso BBDO followed in second place with work for Burger King and DB Export contributing to their score.

Andrew Robertson, President and Chief Executive, BBDO Worldwide, said, "Smarter thinking unleashes the power of creativity to make greater impact. That's why leading the WARC 100 is so meaningful."

For the second time Omnicom Group was the most awarded holding company, having previously held top position in 2014. Omnicom Group owns four of the top 10 agency networks.

John Wren, President and CEO, Omnicom Group, said, "Producing great work that drives results for our clients is why we come to work every day. It is especially gratifying to see Omnicom recognized by WARC as having five of the top ten individually ranked agencies, three of the top five networks, and being the top-ranked holding company. I could not be prouder of our teams."

Starcom Chicago has returned to the top of the media agencies for effectiveness ranking with almost triple the points of the second-placed agency.

Eight of the top digital/specialist agencies for effectiveness are from the US, with Chicago-based agencies making up the top three. DigitasLBi Chicago took poll position. 

At the brand level, Burger King beat Ariel to the top spot. Burger King improved its ranking by 30 places to reach the top brand for effectiveness, with the 'McWhopper Proposal' campaign in the top 10 and 'Backyard Burger King' in the top 100.

Unilever overtook P&G to emerge as top advertiser, returning to the top spot it occupied in both the 2014 and 2015 rankings. Unilever has four campaigns in the top 100 - Lifebuoy's '#HelpAChildReach5', Knorr's 'Love At First Taste', 'The Vaseline Healing Project' and 'The radicalisation of Persil' - with a further 50 campaigns across all competitions contributing to its tally.

Keith Weed, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Unilever, said, "It's a great honour to be recognised by WARC as Most Effective Advertiser again. I'm hugely proud of our marketers, working hard to drive campaigns with purpose that cut through to consumers and make a real impact."

USA retained its place as the top country in the world with 36 of the top 100 campaigns, compared to 12 from the UK and 12 from Australia. India held fourth rank.

Three themes have emerged from the world's top effectiveness campaigns:

1. Purpose is effective when brands have a credible role. Three purpose-driven campaigns appear in the top 10. 'Dads #ShareTheLoad' for Ariel, Whirlpool's 'Care Counts' and 'Imagine the Possibilities' for Barbie are all examples of the commercial success that can be driven when a brand's purpose is intrinsically linked to its product.
2. Strategies with PR baked in are becoming the norm. Three campaigns in the top ten used a PR-led strategy to drive brand awareness and increase sales: 'Meet Graham' for Australia's Transport Accident Commission, Burger King's 'The McWhopper Proposal' and 'Van Gogh BnB' for the Art Institute of Chicago.
3. New takes on long-term ideas. Several of the highly effective initiatives ranked, such as 'Dads #ShareTheLoad', 'Hungerithm' for Snickers, the John Lewis Christmas campaigns and Always' 'Girl Emojis', show how blockbuster ideas can be intelligently followed up with brands investing in long-term strategies rather than quick wins for immediate gain.

The most highly ranked campaigns and companies in WARC 100 are:

Top 10 world's top effectiveness campaigns

Top 5 creative agencies for effectiveness

Top 5 media agencies for effectiveness

Top 5 digital/specialist agencies for effectiveness

Top 5 agency networks for effectiveness

Top 5 holding companies for effectiveness

Top 5 brands for effectiveness

Top 5 advertisers for effectiveness

Top 5 countries for effectiveness

The WARC 100 is now part of Gunn Report, which recently published Gunn 100, a ranking of campaigns and companies based on creativity.

Commenting on WARC 100, Emma Wilkie, Managing Director, Gunn Report, said: "This year's WARC 100 once again confirms that creative approaches to marketing translates into marketplace success, with nearly all the top 10 campaigns also recognised in Gunn 100. Long-term strategies continue to be an important element to long-term success but we're also seeing a significant number of purpose-led and PR-led campaigns doing particularly well in achieving commercial objectives."

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