BMF has been named Effective Agency of the Year at the 2024 Australian Effie Awards, scooping three golds, two silvers and one bronze for ALDI Australia; as well as one silver for Tourism Tasmania. Effective Advertiser of the Year went to ALDI, who also won the Grand Effie and three golds for BMF’s ‘Shop ALDI First: How encouraging supermarket polygamy helped a nation save in a cost-of-living crisis’.

The judges were impressed with how ALDI repositioned a perceived weakness into a strength by turning known truths into trustworthy positioning, commenting: “This is a compelling lesson in how to stand out from competitors. It’s not only a great idea but a great execution of that idea. The case presented a clear demonstration of a strong ROI that delivered outcomes exceeding the KPIs.”

Says Christina Aventi, chief strategy officer, BMF: “At BMF, effectiveness is something we live and breathe. It’s about understanding the role creativity can play in having an outsized, multiplier effect on results, particularly as many of our clients are outspent by competitors. We are thrilled for the team to have won the Grand Effie for Shop ALDI First (their second Grand Effie in just four years). Equally, we are stoked for our other clients Tourism Tasmania who won, Afterpay who were highly commended, and Tennis Australia who were proud finalists. Effectiveness is equal opportunity at BMF – we just want to keep applying that rigour so each one of our clients can also experience the pure bliss of a golden Effie confetti shower… and importantly, the results that unlock that.”

Says Stephen McArdle, CEO at BMF: “This recognition at the Effies reinforces our belief in, and the power of, Long Ideas to creativity transform brands. We are proud of our team’s dedication to delivering campaigns that not only inspire but also achieve significant results for our clients. But we couldn’t have done it without the brilliant team of BMFers and trusting clients. Here’s to you.”

The judges also awarded two golds and one silver to 303 Mullenlowe’s case “One Campaign. Six Years of Market Redefining Insurance Growth – Solved’ for Budget Direct, saying that “Budget Direct completely reframed its brand to capture a broader consumer base and delivered a textbook case for investing in brand codes, brand building and advertising over the long term, driving incredible results”.

Says Joanna Gray, CEO, 303 MullenLowe Sydney: “Having won an Effie for Budget Direct at the start of our relationship, in that instance for ‘Most Original Thinking’, it was lovely to be back with two Golds. And Silver as well as Bronze for our behaviour change work with Cancer Institute NSW, made for a wonderful night. We often talk about creating unfair advantage for our clients at 303 MullenLowe and we’re always pleased to successfully demonstrate it. All on the strength of enduring relationships with our amazing client partners, and a collective ambition to drive brand consistency and long-term effects. To all our 303ers who put their heart and soul into making work that works incredibly hard, thank you.”

Says Jody Elston, chief strategy officer, 303 MullenLowe Sydney: “Effectiveness is everything to us at 303 MullenLowe. We are so proud to see our long-standing client Budget Direct recognized with two Gold Effies for six years of unparallelled growth, as well as Cancer Institute NSW for driving significant behaviour change for Skin Protection. Two very different campaigns but both committed to emotional intensity, long-term platforms and distinctive assets – the building blocks of effectiveness. A big congrats to our wonderful clients and agency teams – effectiveness is definitely a team sport!”

Special Australia picked up a gold for Uber Eats ‘Get Almost Almost Anything’, which the judges deemed a fantastic evolution of a long-term campaign strategy. Special was also awarded silver for The Dylan Alcott Foundation ‘Shift 20 Initiative – The Big Shift: Transforming an entire industry to normalise disability in advertising’.

The Colin Wilson-Brown Award, introduced last year to honour Effie Chairman Colin Wilson-Brown for a lifetime of achievement and dedication to effectiveness, was presented to The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song for its Meat and Livestock entry ‘How the unofficial state of the nation saw Australian Lamb leap to new heights’, which also picked up a silver. The Monkeys also scored four silvers and a bronze for Meat and Livestock Australia ‘How uniting generations saw Australian Lamb enjoy results for the ages’, a silver and a bronze for Telstra ‘Hello Christmas: How Telstra won the toughest festive fight ever, by adding a little Christmas spirit’ and a bronze for Australian Government Department of Social Service ‘How carer gateway provided help for those who might never ask’.

CHEP Network Brisbane won the Best Smaller State Campaign award for Norco Co-operative Limited ‘Norco Cow’s Play; How a little Queensland Co Op Took it to big milk’.

The Effie Awards dinner and show was held at Sydney’s Doltone House, hosted by comedian Becky Lucas and delivering five special awards, six Gold, 19 Silver and 19 Bronze awards, bringing the total number of agencies awarded for outstanding, measurable results to 16 and the number of clients to 26.

VML scored three silvers for Honest Eggs Co. ‘How FitChix made eggs a medium to deliver a 33% increase in sales and a 222% increase in stockist enquiries, by creating a cluckload of fame’.

Saatchi & Saatchi scored two silvers for Arnott’s ‘How little moments delivered big bikkies…again (the Tiny Teddy budget version)’
and one bronze for Nestlé NESCAFÉ ‘How NESCAFÉ made mini breaks into big business’.

Ogilvy picked up a silver for Football Australia ‘Til’ It’s Done’ and two bronze for KFC ‘Kentucky Fly Chicken’.

Howatson+Company scored a silver and a bronze for Petbarn ‘PetWatch: Parasites aren’t out of sight – they’re on your doorstep’.

Scoring one silver each was Havas Host with Tourism Fiji ‘How Bringing Fijian Culture to the Fore of its Tourism Brand Transformed the Fortunes of a Nation’ and Thinkerbell XXXX ‘How ”Giving a XXXX” about Origin turned ’The Pride of Queensland’ to gold’.

CHEP Network scored three bronze, whilst M&C Saatchi scored two.

Agencies with one bronze apiece include DDB, TBWA, The Brand Agency and Richards Rose.

Says Tony Hale, CEO, ACA: “The Australian Effie Awards represent the highest standard of any marketing effectiveness award program in the world, demonstrating just how deserving all of this year’s winners and finalists are.

“Australia’s ad agencies and marketers have again adhered to highly held standards, ensuring every advertising dollar translates into outstanding commercial success. Congratulations to everyone.”

The full list of Gold Effie winners by category is as follows:

Retail/E-tail
BMF
ALDI Australia ‘Shop ALDI First: How encouraging supermarket polygamy helped a nation save in a cost-of-living crisis’

Challenger Brands
BMF
ALDI Australia ‘Shop ALDI First: How encouraging supermarket polygamy helped a nation save in a cost-of-living crisis’

Insight and Strategic Thinking
BMF
ALDI Australia ‘Shop ALDI First: How encouraging supermarket polygamy helped a nation save in a cost-of-living crisis’

Brand Value
303 MullenLowe
Budget Direct ‘One Campaign. Six Years of market redefining insurance growth – Solved’

Long-Term Effects
303 MullenLowe
Budget Direct ‘One Campaign. Six Years of market redefining insurance growth – Solved’

Restaurants and Food Delivery
Special Australia
Uber Eats ‘Get Almost Almost Anything’

Download the full list of winners here or view below: