Nairobi-based Ogilvy Africa also ranked the most creative agency in Africa outside of SA
NAIROBI — MARCH 10, 2023 — The World Advertising Research Center (WARC) has named Ogilvy the most creative agency network in the world for the third consecutive year, a first for the industry.
Earlier in the week, WARC released the results of its annual Creative 100 ranking of the most creative agencies, networks, and campaigns in the world.
The WARC Creative 100 is the definitive benchmark for creative success based on results from the most prestigious global and regional industry competitions.
Liz Taylor, Ogilvy’s Global Chief Creative Officer, said: “It fills us with immense pride to see Ogilvy named the most creative network in the world by WARC for the third consecutive year. Our teams earned this recognition by doing work that had an impact on our clients’ brands and businesses, while also impacting policies that have created a more equitable and just world. Our sincerest thanks to every person who works at Ogilvy for their passion and ingenuity, and to our brave clients for their partnership, trust, and shared belief that creativity is the ultimate differentiator.”
Nairobi-based brand communications company, Ogilvy Africa, was also named among the Top 10 creative powerhouses In Africa. Ranked 9th In the continent by WARC, Ogilvy Africa Is the highest-ranked agency outside SA.
Commenting on the recognition, Vikas Mehta, Ogilvy Africa CEO, said: “We are delighted to see 6 of the top 10 agencies in Africa being WPP companies, three of which are Ogilvy offices. Seeing our Nairobi agency feature amongst the top 10 on a list otherwise dominated by South Africa, is really heartening to see. It’s a humble start and we hope to see more of Africa on these rankings going forward.”
Over the last 12 months, Ogilvy Africa’s creativity was awarded at several international awards Including Loeries, London International Awards, D & AD and the region’s first ever Gold Lion at the Cannes Lions Festival. “Ogilvy Africa won more global awards in the last 12 months, than in our entire existence as a company. These rankings are a direct outcome of that,” added Vikas.
Ten of the Top 100 most-awarded campaigns of the year were Ogilvy-created campaigns, including: “Reverse Selfie” for Dove from Ogilvy’s global Unilever team, “Shah Rukh Khan-My-Ad” for Cadbury by Ogilvy India, “Even More Confusing Times” for Burger King by DAVID Madrid, “Morning After Island” for Grupo Estratégico PAE, “Toxic Influence” for Dove by Ogilvy’s global Unilever team, “Burger Glitch” for Burger King by DAVID São Paulo, “Staraoke” for Amazon Prime Video by Ogilvy Milan, “Home Sweet Home” for the Tourism Authority of Thailand by Ogilvy Bangkok, “The Impossible Combo” for Burger King by DAVID São Paulo, and “Life, Scripted” for the Chicago International Film Festival by Ogilvy Chicago. Ogilvy London, DAVID Madrid, Ogilvy Mumbai, Ogilvy Bangkok, and DAVID São Paulo ranked in the Top 50 individual creative agencies, contributing to the network’s overall success.
The WARC Creative 100 is a ranking of the world’s most awarded campaigns and companies for creativity. It tracks the results of creative award shows around the world, and acts as a benchmark for creative excellence, allowing marketers to compare their performance with that of their peers. The 2023 WARC Creative 100 was compiled from global industry competitions including Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, Clio Awards, and London International Awards, along with regional competitions such as Spikes Asia, Adfest, Eurobest, Golden Drum, Dubai Lynx, Loeries, and El Ojo de Iberoamérica.
This recognition from WARC caps off an impressive year for Ogilvy’s global creative network. Fast Company recently named Ogilvy to its prestigious list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Throughout 2022, Ogilvy was repeatedly recognized by industry leaders for producing work centered on big ideas that upended the status quo, altered the conversation, and drove business results.
Ogilvy returned to the coveted position of Network of the Year at the 2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and received the same honor from The One Show and London International Awards (LIAs). Additionally, Ogilvy was named Network of the Year for 2022 by Campaign Magazine.
About Ogilvy
Ogilvy inspires brands and people to impact the world. We have been creating iconic, culture-changing, value-driving ideas for clients since David Ogilvy founded the company in 1948. We continue building on that rich legacy through our borderless creativity—operating, innovating, and creating at the intersection of talent and capabilities. Our experts in Advertising, Experience, Public Relations, Health, and Consulting work fluidly across 131 offices in 93 countries to bring forth world-class creative solutions for our clients. Ogilvy is a WPP company (NYSE: WPP). For more information, visit Ogilvy.com, and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
About Ogilvy Africa
Ogilvy Africa is the largest network agency on the continent catering to 39 countries with a team of ~900 people across Central, East and West Africa. Headquartered in Nairobi – Kenya, Ogilvy Africa manages a portfolio of over 100 brands for clients such as Airtel, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Distell, Equity Bank, Exxon Mobil, Kenya Airways, Mondelez, NCBA, Philips, PWC, SAB Miller, Sanlam, Total, UNICEF and Unilever amongst others.
It offers services across the full spectrum of marketing domains including Communication (Advertising, branding, and content), Consumer Experience (Technology & e-Commerce), Growth Consulting (incl. Digital Transformation), PR & Influence (PR&I), and Media; all under one unified setup.
The agency has also created proprietary marketing products in areas such as real-time marketing, social intelligence, virtual experiences, influencer management, e-commerce enablement, and content hubs. Its unique operating model, One Ogilvy, allows clients and brands to cut the complexity of agency structures and create seamless omnichannel experiences for their consumers, across touchpoints. Fuelled by the holy trinity of content, data, and technology; Ogilvy Africa strives to be the best-practice agency model, for Developing & Emerging markets.
With 20+ years in Africa, Ogilvy Africa has won the highest number of regional and global awards, including several firsts such as D&AD, Cannes Lions, LIA’s, Loeries, Clio Awards, Dubai Lynx Festival, and SABRE Awards (Global and Africa); to name a few.
