Grey Bangladesh’s Project AgroBanking campaign wins Grand Effie + two golds at APAC Effie Awards
Grey Group Bangladesh has won the Grand Effie for APAC at the Asia Pacific Effie Awards. Grey won for their highly awarded United Commercial Bank / ACI Logistics ‘Project AgroBanking’ campaign. The campaign also won 2 Gold Effies and a Silver Effie.
The Asia Pacific Effie Awards honours the region’s most outstanding marketing and communication work with proven results that meet strategic objectives, and is designed to champion marketing effectiveness.
123 finalists across 14 territories vied for the top honours this year and 71 winners have emerged with metals – 1 Grand Effie, 17 Golds, 29 Silvers and 24 Bronzes.
Grey Group Bangladesh won the first Gold Effie for Bangladesh and alongside its clients United Commercial Bank and ACI Logistics, they also clinched this coveted Best-in-Show award for Project AgroBanking – the world’s first financial service designed to lift unbanked farmers out of poverty by transforming their unsold produce into bank account savings.
Ogilvy was announced Agency Network of the Year, followed by second placed Grey Group and BBDO third. Ogilvy won with a total of 17 wins consisting of 3 Golds, 6 Silvers and 8 Bronzes.
Ogilvy Sydney and Special Group NZ shared Agency of the Year honours at the awards.
Australia led the country tally with 23 Effies, including four Gold. Overall, Australia led the country tally with 23 Effies, followed by New Zealand with 19 Effies and Japan with 8 Effies.
Special Group NZ was awarded Independent Agency of the Year. Runner up was The Womb Communications India.
Procter & Gamble was crowned Marketer of the Year, with their brands Ariel, Heads & Shoulders and Pantene contributing points towards the top spot. Pantene also won Brand of the Year, sharing the top honour with Tourism New Zealand.
Grey Group Tokyo has won a Gold Effie and 3 Silver Effies for their Procter & Gamble ‘More Freedom In Job-Hunting Hair’ campaign.
Ogilvy Pakistan’s Cannes Grand Prix winning ‘Naming The Invisible Pakistanis’ for Telenor Pakistan was awarded a Gold Effie.
The Womb Communications India picked up 2 Gold Effies in the Healthcare category. The first for their Nobel Hygiene ‘India! Periods Are Red, Not Blue’ campaign and the second for Nobel Hygiene’s ‘It’s Okay To Pee In Your Pants’.
Bitop Das Gupta, AVP & Strategic Planning Lead, GREY Bangladesh, said: “Winning the Grand Effie is like a dream come true. The ongoing pandemic has created the longing for a fairer, more resilient and evenly distributed economy. The practice of democratizing innovation is becoming very crucial for all of mankind to build back better from this crisis. We are particularly happy to set an example, especially from the Global South, as the world calls us. The Grand Effie Award simply reaffirms the importance of such works across the world.”
Benoit Wiesser, Ogilvy’s Chief Strategy Officer, Asia commented on their Network of the Year performance winning 3 Golds, 6 Silvers, and 8 Bronze Effies: “It’s been a difficult year for most, yet we continue to see our teams produce work with impact that truly highlights the passion for their craft. I’m incredibly proud of the resilience shown and to see our clients recognized by our industry peers.”
2021 Awards Chairman, Ashish Bhasin, said: “Earning an Effie is a tremendous achievement and testament to the fact that these teams have brought their incredible ideas to life in a way that delivered amazing results for their brands. The Effies are known for its rigorous judging process, and it wasn’t without many passionate debates that the jury managed to arrive at this evening’s results. It is no easy feat to win an Effie, so congratulations to the teams on their well-deserved wins.”
Nirvik Singh, Global COO, President International Grey Group, said: “The teams have put in their all to make an impact on so many important issues such as lifting farmers out of poverty or to start a social movement for change. It’s famously effective work that aims to make a real difference in peoples’ lives. I’m really proud of them all – it’s been an outstanding performance.”
Ogilvy Mumbai and McCann Gurgaon picked up 1 Silver and 1 Bronze Effie.
Ogilvy Karachi, Ogilvy Kuala Lumpur, Ogilvy Mumbai, Starcom Worldwide Taiwan and Wunderman Thompson Bangkok all scored 1 Silver Effie each.
Wunderman Thompson Tokyo picked up 2 Bronze Effie’s, while BBDO Tokyo, GIGIL Philippines, Grey Group Hong Kong, The Leo Group Mumbai, McCann Tokyo, MediaCom Vietnam, Ogilvy Manila and Ogilvy Shanghai all scored 1 Bronze.