If brands want to be applauded across the globe for their campaigns, it is not enough simply to be entertaining, it is also important to demonstrate that they care about society. The most recent Gunn Report for Media, which analyses the most important global, regional and national media creative award contests spanning 42 markets, demonstrates how campaigns such as '#LikeAGirl' gain international recognition because they move hearts and minds.

Amanda Benfell, director of communications at the Gunn Report says: “In the last few years we’ve seen that the work that has had made it into the Gunn Report, that is the ideas that have won multiple creative awards, are brand communications that are emotionally engaging and have the ‘fame’ factor (social effects). Think of the John Lewis ads of recent years – ‘Bare & Hare’, ‘Monty’s Christmas’ (ranked #1 most awarded commercial in the world in The Gunn Report 2015), the tongue-in-cheek Harvey Nichols ads, Cadbury’s ‘Gorilla’, the wonderful Guinness and Old Spice ads. With social media now intrinsically part of our lives, consumers have become powerful brand advocates.”

These days, it is important for campaigns to show that brands really care, adds Benfell: “What we’ve seen in the latest Gunn Report, is that in addition to emotional engagement and fame, the communications that make the cut are those that put the brand in the service of a social cause or purpose. Brands that seek to do good in the world by tackling issues such as gender equality, health, prejudices, waste, violence, best practices. This year ‘#LikeAGirl’ for Always swept the awards board and ranked #1 across all Gunn Report media. Its achievements are staggering: 85million views in 150 countries, P&G named Most Effective Marketer in North America, a UN award for the impact on female empowerment and 50% purchase increase. Other award-winning examples include the ‘Inglorious Fruit & Vegetables’ campaign for French supermarket chain Intermarché, which tackles food waste by promoting the ugly fruit and veg that would normally be discarded (it ranked equal #3 in All Gunns Blazing category in The Gunn Report 2015); Samsung’s ‘Safety Truck’ which sees a truck in Argentina with a built-in front camera which screens the images of the road ahead onto the back of the truck, so that drivers can overtake at the safest possible moment (ranked equal #2 most awarded Out of Home); or Vodafone’s ‘Between Us Red Light App’ which allows Turkish women to call for help during domestic violence just by shaking their phones (24% of all women with smartphones in Turkey have download the app).

Benfell concludes: “More and more agencies are helping brands use the power of creativity to be inventive, change cultural behaviour and matter to society. And long may it live!”

Highlights from the 2015 Gunn Report for Media

Most Awarded Media Agency Networks in the World 2015

1. OMD
2. Starcom MediaVest
3. Mindshare
4. PHD
5. Mediacom

Most Awarded Advertisers in Media in the World 2015

1. Coca-Cola
2. Samsung
3. McDonald's
4. Vodafone
5. Ikea
6. Heineken

Most Awarded Countries in Media 2015

1. USA
2. United Kingdom
3. India
4. Australia
5. Hong Kong

Outstanding Campaigns in Media 2015

• Always, '#LikeAGirl', Starcom MediaVest Group, Chicago
• Johnnie Walker, 'Keep The Flame Alive', Starcom MediaVest Group, Beirut
• Newcastle Brown Ale, 'Band Of Brands', Starcom MediaVest Group, New York
• No Somos Delito (We Are Not Crime), 'Holograms For Freedom', DDB Spain, Madrid
• OPSM, 'Penny The Pirate', OMD Australia, Sydney
• Oreo, 'The Oreo Eclipse', PHD, London
• Vodafone, Red Light Application 'Between Us', Mindshare Turkey, Istanbul
• ZDK Exit Deutschland, 'Nazis Against Nazis - Germany's Most Involuntary Charity Walk', GGH Lowe / Grabarz & Partner, Hamburg 

Background

The Gunn Report identifies the most awarded and applauded work in the world each year and its creators. It combines the winning lists of 45 of the world’s most important awards – global, regional and national – to establish the annual worldwide league tables for the global advertising industry. An unprecedented resource for people working in marketing communications, The Gunn Report brings together 17-years’-worth of information, data and intelligence through its databank tables, commentaries, uniquely searchable and viewable ad libraries and proprietary research studies and signature features. The Gunn Report is available by online subscription and as a book with a showreel.