FCB and BMO went home with the Best of the Best award at this year’s Canadian Marketing Association Awards. The prize, which was awarded at the annual gala Friday night, was given to the team’s “BMO Gamer’s Branch,” which focused on driving consideration among gamers.
FCB claimed seven Gold awards among agencies on the night, picking up four for work with BMO, two for work with Sobeys’ grocery delivery service Voilà, and one with the Canadian Down Syndrome Society.
Rethink picked up six Gold awards, not only for work with Heinz Ketchup, but also fellow Kraft Heinz brand Philadelphia and La Maison grise de Montréal.
Meanwhile, Zulu Alpha Kilo won three of its five Gold awards for work with Pizza Pizza for its “Fixed-Rate Pizza” work and the larger “Everyone Deserves Pizza” platform. Alongside that work, ZAK claimed Gold awards for work with HomeEquity Bank and the Royal Canadian Legion, as well as Subaru. Founder Zak Mroueh was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement award.
For Dentsu, the lion’s share of the awards were won for its work on “F*cking Old,” a campaign for condom brand Jems that aimed to spark conversation between young people and their elders about safe sex. The campaign also claimed the Top Cause honours at the show, while the agency took home its fifth Gold award for work with SkipTheDishes.
Nearly 30 Canadian agencies were recognized with Gold awards, including Angry Butterfly, Citizen Relations, Edelman Canada, Intercept, No Fixed Address, and many others.
Eva Salem, the VP of marketing and brand for the Canadian Tire Corporation, was recognized with the Marketer of the Year award, while Ashley Faccenda, associate marketing manager for Kruger Products, was recognized with the inaugural Achievement in Marketing prize, which honours a young Canadian marketer.