WARC Prize for Asian Strategy 2019 – winners announced
BBDO Pakistan, DDB Mudra, McCann Worldgroup China and Mindshare China win Golds for UN Women Pakistan, Stayfree, Amazon and KFC
WARC, the global authority on advertising and media effectiveness, announced the winners of its WARC Prize for Asian Strategy 2019, a search for the best strategic ideas that have driven business results in Asia.
Now in their ninth year, the awards were judged by a highly experienced panel of 25 agency- and client- side experts, who selected 18 winning campaigns for global and local brands, which showcase Asia’s smartest thinking of breakthrough marketing ideas.
Four Golds, six Silvers, eight Bronzes, as well as five Special Awards honouring specific areas of excellence, have been awarded. A Grand Prix was not awarded this year as no single paper met the standard required for this top honour.
India leads with six winning campaigns followed by China with four. Pakistan and Singapore have picked up two awards each; Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Taiwan each won one award.
BBDO Pakistan won Gold for its ‘Bridal Uniform’ campaign, which saw UN Women Pakistan achieve social and political change around the issue of child marriage in Pakistan.
DDB Mudra Group’s Gold was awarded for ‘Project Free Period’ for feminine care brand Stayfree. The agency created a provocative social initiative in India to drive genuine change in the lives of marginalised women.
McCann Worldgroup China’s campaign ‘Everyone is an Amazing Book’ won Gold and the Customer Journey Special Award for Amazon Prime Reading, in its effort to revive the Chinese people’s love of reading and drive purchases from its Prime Reading website.
The fourth Gold and Early Adopter Special Award was won by Mindshare China for fast-food brand KFC’s ‘Colonel KI’, a results-prediction algorithm placed in livestreams to deepen its connection to gamers and e-sports in China.
Commenting on the value of the Prize, jury chair, Frederique Covington, Senior Vice President, Head of Marketing and Cross Border, Asia Pacific, Visa, said: “The biggest advantage of bringing together a collection of papers like this every year is the sheer variety that they offer strategists.”
The winners of the WARC Prize for Asian Strategy 2019 are:
Gold
Bridal Uniform · UN Women Pakistan · BBDO Pakistan · Pakistan
Project Free Period · Stayfree · Johnson & Johnson Pvt Ltd · DDB Mudra Group · India
Everyone is an Amazing Book · Amazon Prime Reading · Amazon China · McCann Worldgroup China · China + Customer Journey Special Award
Colonel KI · KFC · Yum China · Mindshare China · China + Early Adopter Special Award
Silver
The best gift for your child is a retirement plan for yourself · Income · NTUC Income· BBH Asia Pacific · Singapore
Truck Art Childfinder · Berger Paints · BBDO Pakistan · Pakistan + Local Hero Special Award
Break in case of life’s little emergencies · KitKat · Nestlé · McCann Worldgroup Philippines · Philippines
The world’s longest drive-through furniture catalogue · IKEA · McCann Worldgroup India · India
Mother’s Love Express · illume · Wyeth · Ogilvy Taiwan · Taiwan
Anything is better with KFC Golden Egg Crunch · KFC · QSR Stores Sdn Bhd · Ensemble Worldwide, Universal McCann · Malaysia
Bronze
Faces of the City · Coca-Cola · The Coca-Cola Company · McCann-Erickson Guangming Ltd Shanghai · China
St Patrick’s Day · Guinness · Diageo · iris Singapore · Singapore
Blink to Speak · Asha Ek Hope · NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute · TBWA\ India · India
Truck Aasana · Castrol CRB · Castrol · Ogilvy · India + Category Disruptor Special Award
When family planning had a better plan · Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation · McCann Worldgroup India · India
Reinventing the Sneakerdrop · Nike · Mindshare China · China
Bodybuilder · Pond’s Men · Unilever · Ogilvy Singapore · Indonesia + Research Excellence Special Award
Suede Gully · Puma · Puma Sports India Pvt Ltd · DDB Mudra Group · India