Grey Canada has become the first Canadian agency to win a Grand Effie, taking the prize at last night’s North American Effie Awards gala.
The award, which recognizes creative advertising that contributes to a brand’s business results, was given to the “Groceries Not Guns” campaign for Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America. The campaign took the fight to ban the open carry of firearms directly to one of the largest holdouts, grocery chain Kroger.
The integrated campaign included videos and print ads highlighting how things like skateboards and outside food are banned from Kroger but machine guns are not; radio ads that recorded calls complaining about the policy directly to Kroger; and an online petition that counted exactly how much money Kroger was losing from those who had pledged to boycott the chain.
Among the results that secured the Grand Effie was the creation of 15,763 no-carry zones since the campaign’s launch. “Groceries Not Guns” earned 350 million unique impressions and generated 360,000 petition signatures. More than 16,000 calls were made to Kroger to complain about its gun policy and 213,000 new members joined the organization.
The campaign has won Grey numerous awards, including a Yellow Pencil at D&AD, four Pencils at the One Show, four Golds at ADCC and the Grand Prix at this year’s CASSIES, which awards creative effectiveness within the Canadian market. It also earned nine Lions, including four Gold, at Cannes last year.
The other Canadian shops to win at last night’s show were Leo Burnett Toronto, Juniper Park\TBWA, Ogilvy & Mather and Tribal Worldwide Canada. The full list of winning campaigns is listed below.
Last night’s gala also saw the release of the regional Effies Index, ranking North American agency offices based on their winning and shortlisted campaigns at this year’s show. Leo Burnett Toronto tied for 21st (alongside Droga5, DigitasLBi, Mindshare Chicago, Saatchi & Saatchi New York and TBWA\Media Arts Lab), while Grey and Juniper Park tied for 36th.
Grey Canada: 1 Grand Effie, 1 Gold
Grand Effie
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, “Groceries Not Guns”
Gold
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, “Groceries Not Guns”: Goodworks (Non-profit)
Leo Burnett Toronto: 2 Silver
Silver
Always, “#LikeAGirl – Unstoppable”: Personal Care
Ontario Women’s Directorate, “#WhoWillYouHelp”: Government, Institutional & Recruitment
Juniper Park\TBWA: 1 Silver
Silver
YWCA, “#NotOkay”: Single Impact Engagement (Services)
Ogilvy & Mather Toronto: 1 Silver
Silver
Nabob (Kraft Heinz Canada), “Respect the Bean”: Packaged Food
Tribal Worldwide Canada: 1 Bronze
Bronze
McDonald’s Canada, “Salad Society”: Restaurants
