• by Steve McClellan , November 16, 2021

Effie Worldwide has named Nike’s “Dream Crazy” the most effective campaign in the world. The Global Effie Celebration today announced the winners of the first-ever Global Best of the Best Effies and the 2021 Global Multi-Region Effies. 

The new awards program invited all Grand and Gold Effie winners from 2019 and 2020 Effie Awards competitions around the world to compete head to head to determine the most effective marketing efforts of the year. 

The competition created two new tiers of recognition – the first-ever Global Grand Effies and the Iridium Effie, the single most effective marketing effort worldwide, the award bestowed to Nike’s “Dream Crazy," created by Portland, OR-based independent agency Wieden + Kennedy.

“Dream Crazy” also won the Global Grand Effie Award in the retail category. Award organizers said that “by showing how athletes could not only push themselves in sport, but also begin to change the culture around them, Nike captivated today’s youth generation and American culture at large. The campaign provoked an enormous cultural conversation and added over $6 billion in value to Nike stock.”

In the competition, 62 campaigns were selected to contend for the Global Grand Effie in their categories, from which 12 winners emerged following two rounds of judging (see the jury here).

The inaugural Global Grand Effies were awarded to:

• Brand Experience-Services: IKEA Russia & Instinct (BBDO Group) “Apartmenteka,” with ZBRSK
• Commerce & Shopper Marketing: Restaurant Brands International’s Burger King & FCB New York and FCB Red “The Whopper Detour,” with O Positive Films, Zombie Studio, Chemistry Creative & ABMC
• FMCG-Food & Beverage: Nestlé Mexico’s Nescafé & Bombay “Nescafé Tributo”
• FMCG-Other: Procter & Gamble’s Tide & Saatchi & Saatchi New York “It’s a Tide Ad,” with Hearts & Science, Taylor Strategy, MKTG & Marina Maher Communications
• Media, Entertainment & Leisure: The Walt Disney Company Latin America’s National Geographic and Wolf BCPP “Nat Geo Into The Dark. A trip to the eclipse,” with Agencia Opera Chile
• Positive Change: Social Good-Brands: Black & Abroad & FCB/SIX “Go Back to Africa,” with Initiative, Glossy Inc., Grayson Matthews, Rooster Post
• Positive Change: Social Good-Non-Profit: Street Grace & BBDO Atlanta “Gracie”
• Restaurants: KFC Australia & Ogilvy Australia “Michelin Impossible,” with OPR Australia, MediaCom & Infinity Squared
• Retail: Nike & Wieden+Kennedy “Dream Crazy,” with Park Pictures, JOINT Editorial, A52 & Publicis Sapient
• Seasonal/Current Events: Microsoft & McCann New York “Changing the Game” 
• Sustained Success: Aldi UK & Ireland & McCann Manchester “Like Brands’ 2011-2018,” with UM Manchester
• Transportation, Travel & Tourism: Tourism New Zealand, Special Group New Zealand & Special Group Australia’s “Good Morning World” 

In the Global Multi-Region Effie competition, Restaurant Brands International and INGO Stockholm won a Gold Effie in the Restaurants category for Burger King’s ‘Moldy Whopper’; Unilever Singapore, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. and MullenLowe Lintas Group won a Bronze Effie in the Positive Change: Social Good-Brands category for Lifebuoy’s ‘H is for Handwashing’ and Babyshop and FP7 McCann Dubai won a Bronze Effie for ‘Rephrasing “Parenthood”’ in the Retail category.

For more information about this year’s winners and to watch the presentation ceremony on demand, click here.