India tops Warc Asia-Pacific Awards 2024

India emerged at the top with 11 awards at the Warc 2024 Asia-Pacific Awards, with Leo Burnett Mumbai and McCann Gurugram taking the lead with four and three awards, respectively, each winning two golds. 

The Warc Awards, in their fourth year and in association with Lions, highlight the smartest and most effective strategies in the region.

Overall, 33 awards were distributed across 10 markets for 12 categories. Australia secured second place with seven awards, and New Zealand followed with four.

Summary by category and country

Brand Purpose

• Gold: McCann Worldgroup, Gurugram for "An envelope that sealed the tate of women" (Ujjivan Small Finance Bank)
• Silver: TBWA/India Mumbai for "Lead school"
• Bronze: Ogilvy, Mumbai for Dove's "Journey from good to loved"

Business-to-Business

• Bronze: McCann Worldgroup, Gurugram for "Making money talk" (Paytm)

Channel Integration

• Bronze: Mindshare Mumbai for "Reviving the lost colours of West Bengal" (Sunlight)

Channel Pioneer

• Silver: Ogilvy Mumbai for "Doing nothing makes you unmissable" (Cadbury 5 Star)

Cultural Impact

• Gold: Leo Burnett Mumbai for "Changing the education system to keep girls in school" (Whisper)
• Silver: Leo Burnett Mumbai for "Can a cookie help India win the World Cup?" (Oreo)

Use of Data

• Gold: Leo Burnett Mumbai for "Democratising technology to help farmers fight climate change" (Lay’s)

Instant Impact

• Silver: Leo Burnett Mumbai for "Spotify becomes the undisputed leader in IPL"

Long-term Growth

• Gold: McCann Gurugram for "Brewing coffee culture in tea-drinking India" (Nescafé)

Strategic Thinking

• Bronze: Ogilvy Mumbai and Wavemaker Mumbai for "The mush detector" (Cadbury 5 Star)

Use of Data

• Gold: Leo Burnett Mumbai for "Democratising technology to help farmers fight climate change" (Lay’s)

Jury chair, Sindhuja Rai, CEO of Wavemaker, APAC shared of the judging process and entries seen, “Something which was seen as innovative a few years back is now business as usual, showing a maturity within the market. There were cases that showed really strong, inspiring, and clever use of technology, but being anchored and rooted in the heart of the brand and the business, rather than being a novelty.”

Fellow jury chair Bhaskar Choudhuri, chief marketing officer of Lenovo, APAC added, “The overwhelming majority of the issues that the case studies were trying to solve were not marketing or advertising problems, but business problems related to brand growth, market share, or category stagnation.”

Gold winners will advance to compete at a global level for the WARC Grands Prix, with results announced on June 13 during the Effectiveness Show Part I. Part II will feature interviews and insights from the Grand Prix winners. The judging process involved the Creative Effectiveness and B2B Effectiveness ladders to ensure consistent and global benchmarking of effectiveness.