Several of Canada’s best agencies earned a place in the spotlight at the 2015 Marketing Awards Gala in Toronto Thursday night, but it was Leo Burnett who took home the most coveted Best of Show award.
The agency’s #LikeAGirl campaign for P&G‘s Always brand, which has recently been racking up international accolades, won three gold Ms in addition to Best of Show. The campaign, led by Leo Burnett Toronto CEO and chief creative officer Judy John (also a 2015 Marketing Awards co-chair), was a collaborative effort with the agency’s Chicago and London/Holler offices. In an impressive sweep, the 13 members of the Marketing Awards jury voted unanimously for the campaign to represent the best of the 2015 entries.
In an essay about the jury’s decision published in the Marketing Awards book, jury member and Havas Worldwide Canada president Helen Pak writes that #LikeAGirl “challenges people to think differently and urges us to redefine a phrase that has long meant something of weakness.” The campaign contains “an undeniably powerful yet simple message that hits a nerve and is a topic of conversation for marketers, educators and, likely, around many dinner tables,” she said.
This year’s gala changed in format from years past. Instead of going category by category, winning agencies were brought to the stage to claim their golden Ms according to a point system (a bronze award counts for one point, a silver counts for three and a gold for five).
With more trophies and points than any other agency (by a long shot) Quebec City’s LG2 was this year’s most awarded group of creatives with 31 awards in total — including 7 golds. Based on the points system, LG2’s client Farnham Ale & Lager brought home Client of the Year honours thanks to the agency’s “A Bit Bitter” campaign, which earned five gold, four silver and two bronze awards.
Other big winners of the evening included Publicis Canada, which took home three gold Ms for its “Watch_Dogs Live” campaign for Ubisoft. Grey and DDB Canada also won three gold awards each. Grey in particular continued its impressive public service work for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, receiving awards for the organization’s Skip Starbucks Saturday online campaign, as well as its targeted ads against grocery chain Kroger’s open-carry gun policies. DDB’s Gold-winning humourous output included an off-kilter R&B love track called “Man Boobs,” meant to get people in the mood even when they’re past their prime, as well as a very funny television spot for Netflix called “Airport.”
You can find a complete list of all of the night’s winners here, including bronze and silver accolades, and see below for photos of all the gold-winning agencies, shot just after the winners came offstage with their hardware.
PHOTOS – 2015 Marketing Awards Gold Winners
Blue Hive Toronto
Gold Win:
- Out-of-Home Point-of-Purchase Campaign, “Stop/Bike/School.” Client: Ford Motor Company
Ogilvy & Mather
Gold Win:
- Design, Annual Reports (Print and/or Digital), “Water Soluble Annual Report.” Client: Long Point Waterfowl
Union
Gold Win:
- Self-Promotion, “How Union Rewards Its Employees.”
Awards Tally: 1 Gold, 1 Silver
Juniper Park
Gold Win:
- Public Service Radio Single, “Not A Game.” Client: YWCA
Awards Tally: 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze
Sid Lee
Gold Wins:
- Out-of-Home Billboard Single, “Sky Swatches.” Client: Réno-Dépôt
- Design, Environmental Graphics, “Notman House.” Client: OSMO Foundation
Awards Tally: 2 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze
Cossette
Gold Wins:
- Public Service Branded Content, “Father’s Day Surprise.” Client: Ronald McDonald House Charities
- Design, Logo/Corporate Identity, “BAnQ.” Client: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec/Dominique Hétu
Awards Tally: 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 4 Bronze
Publicis Canada
Gold Wins:
- Digital, Apps/Mobile, “Watch_Dogs Live.” Client: Ubisoft
- Digital, Games, “Watch_Dogs Live.” Client: Ubisoft
- Integrated Campaign, “Watch_Dogs Live.” Client: Ubisoft
Grey
Gold Wins:
- Digital, Online Campaign, “6 Billion Hours.” Client: Volvo
- Public Service Online, “Skip Starbucks Saturday.” Client: Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
- Public Service Radio Campaign, “Calling All Kroger Stores.” Client: Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
Awards Tally: 3 Gold, 5 Silver, 3 Bronze
DDB Canada
Gold Wins:
- Radio Single, “Man Boobs.” Client: Johnson & Johnson Inc.
- Branded Content, “Snack Time.” Client: Milk West
- Film, Television Single: Over 30 Seconds, “Airport.” Client: Netflix
Awards Tally: 3 Gold, 7 Silver, 3 Bronze
Leo Burnett
Gold Wins – Leo Burnett Toronto:
- Design, Brochures/Print Collateral, “House-Maison.” Client: House-Maison
- Out-of-Home Small-Scale Ambient, “The Most Helpful Measuring Tape in the World.” Client: IKEA
- Collateral/Direct, Collateral Single, “The Most Helpful Measuring Tape in the World.” Client: IKEA
- Out-of-Home Large-Scale Ambient, “Inspiration Boxes.” Client: IKEA
- Collateral/Direct, Collateral Campaign, “Inspiration Boxes.” Client: IKEA
Gold Wins – Leo Burnett Toronto, Chicago, London/Holler:
- Branded Content, “#LikeAGirl.” Client: Procter & Gamble
- Digital, Online Single, “#LikeAGirl.” Client: Procter & Gamble
- Film, Online Single, “#LikeAGirl.” Client: Procter & Gamble
Awards Tally: 8 Gold, 3 Silver, 5 Bronze + BEST OF SHOW for #LikeAGirl
LG2
Gold Wins:
- Out-of-Home, Transit/Posters Campaign, “Make the Poster Appear.” Client: Quebec City Magic Festival
- Film, Television Single: Small Budget, “Chair.” Client: The Capital Transit Network
- Out-of-Home Point-of-Purchase Campaign, “A Bit Bitter.” Client: Farnham Ale & Lager
- Out-of-Home Transit/Posters Campaign, “A Bit Bitter.” Client: Farnham Ale & Lager
- Press, Magazine Campaign, “A Bit Bitter.” Client: Farnham Ale & Lager
- Out-of-Home Transit/Posters Single, “Soccer.” Client: Farnham Ale & Lager
- Press, Magazine Single, “Soccer.” Client: Farnham Ale & Lager
Awards Tally: 7 Gold, 8 Silver, 16 Bronze + CLIENT OF THE YEAR: Farnham Ale & Lager
