International marketing data and analytics company, Kantar today announced the most effective creative ads in the country. Out of 1,350 creative pieces of work from India, the company shortlisted 209 contenders before it identified a total of five winners this year. Ogilvy emerged the biggest winner, picking up three out of the five awards, while FCB India and Godrej Lightbox (the in-house creative lab for Godrej Consumer Products). Globally, Kantar tested 12,000 pieces of advertising in 2024.
The brands honoured include two of Hindustan Unilever – Horlicks and Taj Mahal Tea. Godrej’s GoodKnight, ENO 3 in 1 and Danone’s Protinex were the other three winners. The winning ads were identified using LINK, Kantar’s widely used proprietary solution that evaluates the effectiveness of digital and TV ads. The winners were chosen for their ability to use engaging storytelling and drive real business results.
This is the fifth edition of Kantar’s Effectiveness Awards, which incidentally also saw the fewest winners since its inaugural 2021 edition. Soumya Mohanty, managing director and chief client officer, South Asia, insights division at Kantar explains, “We didn’t find many creative pieces of work that really met all the parameters for creative effectiveness this year. If you look at the work that is being awarded this year, most of them are simple ideas that are effective. They’re not necessarily standout creative work. They have packaged their messaging in a culturally effective way and have won because they made an actual business impact.”
Mohanty also adds that the growing thrust on performance marketing is also affecting creative work. “More than a big or outlandish idea, brands need to leverage cultural insights to ensure effective advertising. Advertising tends to go wrong when it seeks something edgy in the chase for eyeballs,” she says. She underscores the importance of culture in creating impactful advertising, noting that culture is akin to Indian comfort food like dal and advertising should leverage it well to craft meaningful campaigns.
Interestingly, out of the five winners, only one is a digital campaign and the rest are TV even though advertisers are upping their digital advertising spends. Mohanty laments that brands are not testing digital advertising enough. “The number of TV campaigns winning this year does not reflect the way brands are spending. It is likely that advertisers are testing their TV campaigns more because there is a greater cost in TV advertising compared with digital. It is unfortunate that digital advertising is not being tested as much. Marketers ultimately need to realise that digital campaigns also have an impact on a consumer’s impression of their brand,” Mohanty remarks.
She identifies the key takeaways for agencies and brands from this year’s winners. “Have a simple moment of truth, which is where your brand consumption happens. Be attentive to what part of the funnel you’re trying to operate in. Be culturally appropriate, and of course, test more and test widely. Testing can help you tweak or adjust your advertising to drive better impact,” she sums up.