{"id":33256,"date":"2026-10-09T23:40:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T12:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/effies\/?p=33256"},"modified":"2026-10-11T08:40:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T21:40:05","slug":"2026-australian-effie-award-winners-announced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/effies\/news\/2026-australian-effie-award-winners-announced\/","title":{"rendered":"Effies 2026: Special Australia &#038; Uber Eats scoop Grand Effie, McDonald&#8217;s wins Advertiser of The Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><b>Special Australia and Uber Eats scoop Grand Effie <\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Special wins Effective Agency of the Year <\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>McDonald&#8217;s wins Effective Advertiser of the Year<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Special Australia <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and<\/span><b> Uber Eats <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have won The Grand Effie at this year\u2019s Australian Effie Awards <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the country\u2019s premier accolade for advertising effectiveness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The joint entry,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2018<\/span><b>How Uber Eats Embraced \u201cAlmost\u201d to Become an \u201cAnything\u201d Delivery Brand<\/b><b>,\u2019<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0was praised for its strong commercial results across revenue growth, market share and profit ROI. The jury also highlighted the strategic ambition behind expanding Uber Eats beyond takeaway food without sacrificing its established brand equity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn an industry increasingly focused on short-term results, Uber Eats showed the conviction to back long-term brand building,\u201d the jury said. \u201cIt evolved its proposition without losing what made it distinctive, and defended its market position while driving significant growth in new categories.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overall, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">seven Gold Effies were awarded at the gala event in Sydney tonight, along with 25 Silver, 35 Bronze, and six Special Awards, bringing the total number of agencies recognised for outstanding measurable results to 32 and the number of clients to 33.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Special Australia also took home Effective Agency of the Year, scooping one gold for <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Long-Term Effects &#8211; Services\/Retail<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for Uber Eats, and three silvers and a gold for Kitchen Warehouse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">McDonald&#8217;s won Effective Advertiser of the Year with aggregated scores across multiple winning entries from Weiden + Kennedy, Akcelo and OMD, including Gold for <\/span><b>How The Grinch \u2018Ruinin it\u2019 Helped Macca\u2019s Reclaim Summer Sales and Family Share<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 entered in collaboration with Weiden + Kennedy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gold awards went to 303 for its work with Levande; Bear Meets Eagle on Fire for Telstra; Howatson+ Company for Selleys; and Sunday Gravy for DiDi ANZ, which also took home Best New Entrant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Colin Wilson-Brown Award, which honours the Effie Chair of Judging<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, was presented to Apparent and GTI Tourism for Vanuatu Tourism Office\u2019s entry <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018<\/span><b>How Vanuatu got Aussies to Answer the Call.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tony Hale, CEO, Advertising Council Australia, said: \u201cA record number of entries this year tells us something important about where the industry is heading. Agencies and marketers are focusing more on demonstrating the impact of their work and proving the value marketing creates for business. The standard of work recognised tonight demonstrates that creativity is the most powerful accelerant for growth. Congratulations to all this year\u2019s winners.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gold Effie winners by category:<\/span><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Telecommunications, Utilities and Other Services<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">303<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Levande Retirement Living<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How a Lust for Life (and Tight Khaki Shorts) Doubled Levande Retirement Living&#8217;s Pricing Power<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Telecommunications, Utilities and Other Services<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bear Meets Eagle On Fire<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Telstra<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How Telstra went from Engineering-Led to Brand-led Growth<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Challenger Brands<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sunday Gravy<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DiDi ANZ<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, I took on Goliath, DiDi<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Media-Led Ideas<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Howatson+<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Company<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Selleys<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;If You Can Take It, It&#8217;s Yours\u201d: The Tradie Torture Test that Turbo-Charged Selleys<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Media-Led Ideas<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Special Australia<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kitchen Warehouse<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How Kitchen Warehouse Mumnipulated Mother&#8217;s Day<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Short-Term Effects<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wieden+<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kennedy Sydney<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">McDonald&#8217;s Australia<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How The Grinch \u2018Ruinin it\u2019 Helped Macca\u2019s Reclaim Summer Sales and Family Share<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Long-Term Effects &#8211; Services\/Retail<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Special Australia<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Uber Eats<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How Uber Eats Embraced \u201cAlmost\u201d to Become an \u201cAnything\u201d Delivery Brand<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/List_Australian-Effie-Winners-2026-1.pdf\">Full list of winners.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Australian Effie Awards are jointly presented by Advertising Council Australia and the Marketing Association of Australia (MAA) in association with Google. Sponsors and supporters include YouTube, Meta, LinkedIn, Outdoor Media Association,\u00a0 Ideally, Analytic Partners, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ad Standards and UnLtd.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-65693\" src=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Special-Uber-Eats-Grand-Effie-winners.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2084\" height=\"1380\" \/><em><strong>Grand Effie winners Special Australia and Uber Eats<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-65671\" src=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/CV2_1033-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1920\" \/><em><strong>Effective Advertiser of The Year, McDonald&#8217;s<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-65691\" src=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/McDonalds-Effective-Advertiser-of-The-Year.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2098\" height=\"1394\" \/><em><strong>Effective Advertiser of The Year, McDonald&#8217;s<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-65672\" src=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/CV2_0563-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1920\" \/><em><strong>Gold winners 303 and Levande<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-65694\" src=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Gold-winners-Sunday-Gravy.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2090\" height=\"1392\" \/><\/strong><em><strong>Gold winners Sunday Gravy &amp; DiDi<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-65695\" src=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Gold-winners-Bear-Meets-Eagle-on-Fire.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2090\" height=\"1386\" \/><\/strong><strong><em>Gold winners Bear Meets Eagle on Fire and Telstra<\/em><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-65696\" src=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-10-at-3.51.49-pm.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2094\" height=\"1388\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-65697\" src=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-10-at-3.55.22-pm.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2346\" height=\"1546\" \/><em><strong>ACA Chair Michael Rebelo, CEO, Publicis Groupe ANZ<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-65677\" src=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/CV2_0734-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1920\" \/><em><strong>Bronze winners TBWA\\Ausralia<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-65698\" src=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/BMF-Australia.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2092\" height=\"1392\" \/><em><strong>BMF Australia<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-65699\" src=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-10-at-4.07.51-pm.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2378\" height=\"1572\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-65700\" src=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-10-at-4.32.40-pm.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2364\" height=\"1572\" \/><em><strong>ACA CEO Tony Hale<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-65701\" src=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-10-at-4.29.33-pm.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2384\" height=\"1576\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-65704\" src=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-11-at-8.28.24-am.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2092\" height=\"1394\" \/><em><strong>MAA Chair Jenni Dill<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-65702\" src=\"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-10-at-3.55.50-pm.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2376\" height=\"1570\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":33268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[81],"class_list":["post-33256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-medimage"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/effies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/effies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/effies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/effies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/effies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33256"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/effies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33276,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/effies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33256\/revisions\/33276"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/effies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/effies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/effies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advertisingcouncil.org.au\/effies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}