Warc 100: Shah Rukh Khan reigns supreme in the most effective campaign for 2023

2024 has kicked off as quite a year for Indian advertising as two campaigns from the country, ‘Shah Rukh Khan My Ad’ and ‘Keep Girls in School’ have left a mark on the global stage.

The Warc Effective 100 has placed ‘Shah Rukh Khan: My Ad' by Ogilvy Mumbai / Wavemaker Mumbai for Cadbury as the number one campaign globally. The confectionary company increased sales of its ‘Celebrations’ product by 35% during Diwali, with an interactive, geo-targeted campaign that made Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan the ambassador for small, local stores. Last year it was a runner up.

Sukesh Nayak, chief creative officer, Ogilvy India, said: “We are thrilled that Cadbury Celebrations ‘SRK My Ad’ has been recognised as the most effective campaign in the Warc Effective 100. This innovative hyper-localisation, hyper-personalisation idea has brought so much joy and happiness to millions of small shop keepers across India by making the India’s biggest superstar—Shah Rukh Khan, their brand ambassador in their time of need. The most effective campaign in the world is also the most happiest campaign in the world.”

Making its debut in the top 10 Warc Effective 100 at second place is ‘Keep Girls in School' by Leo Burnett Mumbai, EssenceMediacom Mumbai, Leo Burnett Gurgaon and EssenceMediacom London for femcare brand Whisper. It launched a long-term initiative to reduce the rate at which girls drop out of school due their periods, which included the highly awarded ‘The Missing Chapter’ execution.

Globally, Ogilvy Mumbai moved up to second place from fifth last year in the top 10 creative agencies for effectiveness, largely due to its work on the top ranked campaign. Leo Burnett Mumbai is also a newcomer in this category landing at the fifth place. In the most awarded media agencies for effectiveness, Wavemaker Mumbai took second place. Ogilvy retained its top position as the best performing network for effectiveness globally, while Cadbury moved up a spot to take the second place in the ‘Advertiser for Effectiveness’ category off back of the Shah Rukh Khan campaign.

India finished at the second place with seven campaigns ranked in 'Top 10 countries for Effectiveness’ list.

With such a stellar performance on the global stage, there are no guesses for who reigned supreme in Warc Effectiveness rankings for India.

Both ‘Shah Rukh Khan My Ad' and 'Keep Girls in School’ took the top two spots in India’s top campaigns for effectiveness rankings while 'The Hire' by DDB Mudra Bangalore/Essence Mediacom Mumbai/DDB Mudra Group for Mumbai for Indeed came third.

McCann Mumbai emerged third after Ogilvy Mumbai and Leo Burnett Mumbai in the 'Creative Agency for Effectiveness' rankings, while Mindshare Mumbai took the Bronze after Wavemaker Mumbai and EssenceMediacom Mumbai in the 'Media Agency for Effectiveness' rankings.

Leo Burnett was the most effective network this year with whopping 438.6 points. Far behind at second place was VML with 192.1 points, followed by the McCann WorldGroup at 140.6. WPP topped the ‘Holding Company for Effectiveness’ list followed by the Publicis Groupe and the Interpublic Group.

Cadbury topped the effectiveness ranking with its campaign sweeping the charts globally as well as in India. Whisper took the 2nd place, largely due its top-ranked campaign. Hero Motors Company was the highest ranked advertiser for effectiveness. Piramal Group and Jaquar came second and third.