- Special Australia and Uber Eats scoop Grand Effie
- Special wins Effective Agency of the Year
- McDonald’s wins Effective Advertiser of the Year
Special Australia and Uber Eats have won The Grand Effie at this year’s Australian Effie Awards — the country’s premier accolade for advertising effectiveness.
The joint entry, ‘How Uber Eats Embraced “Almost” to Become an “Anything” Delivery Brand,’ was 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.
“In an industry increasingly focused on short-term results, Uber Eats showed the conviction to back long-term brand building,” the jury said. “It evolved its proposition without losing what made it distinctive, and defended its market position while driving significant growth in new categories.”
Overall, 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.
Special Australia also took home Effective Agency of the Year, scooping one gold for Long-Term Effects – Services/Retail for Uber Eats, and three silvers and a gold for Kitchen Warehouse.
McDonald’s won Effective Advertiser of the Year with aggregated scores across multiple winning entries from Weiden + Kennedy, Akcelo and OMD, including Gold for How The Grinch ‘Ruinin it’ Helped Macca’s Reclaim Summer Sales and Family Share — entered in collaboration with Weiden + Kennedy.
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.
The Colin Wilson-Brown Award, which honours the Effie Chair of Judging, was presented to Apparent and GTI Tourism for Vanuatu Tourism Office’s entry ‘How Vanuatu got Aussies to Answer the Call.”
Tony Hale, CEO, Advertising Council Australia, said: “A 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’s winners.”
Gold Effie winners by category:
| Telecommunications, Utilities and Other Services | 303 | Levande Retirement Living | How a Lust for Life (and Tight Khaki Shorts) Doubled Levande Retirement Living’s Pricing Power |
| Telecommunications, Utilities and Other Services | Bear Meets Eagle On Fire | Telstra | How Telstra went from Engineering-Led to Brand-led Growth |
| Challenger Brands | Sunday Gravy | DiDi ANZ | Yes, I took on Goliath, DiDi |
| Media-Led Ideas | Howatson+ Company |
Selleys | “If You Can Take It, It’s Yours”: The Tradie Torture Test that Turbo-Charged Selleys |
| Media-Led Ideas | Special Australia | Kitchen Warehouse | How Kitchen Warehouse Mumnipulated Mother’s Day |
| Short-Term Effects | Wieden+ Kennedy Sydney |
McDonald’s Australia | How The Grinch ‘Ruinin it’ Helped Macca’s Reclaim Summer Sales and Family Share |
| Long-Term Effects – Services/Retail | Special Australia | Uber Eats | How Uber Eats Embraced “Almost” to Become an “Anything” Delivery Brand |
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, Ideally, Analytic Partners,
Ad Standards and UnLtd.
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