The secret ingredients revealed by Kantar’s most effective creative awards

Marketing data and analytics company Kantar has announced that Coca-Cola, Desperados, Freya’s and Deliveroo are the winners of its annual Creative Effectiveness Awards. The awards showcase the most effective ads across digital and social, TV, print and outdoor from 80 countries.

Three South African ads made Kantar’s 2025 shortlist: Savanna Neat’s “Giving” TV ad from TBWA\South Africa; Albany’s “Malume” TV ad from Grey Advertising — South Africa; and Cadbury Lunch Bar’s “Lunch Bar Man Lucas” from VML South Africa in the digital/social category.

Marketers often struggle to find the secret ingredient to ads that connect with the consumer on a personal level, make them stop what they’re doing and focus, says Věra Šídlová, global creative thought leadership director at Kantar. “What this year’s winners reveal is how creativity can connect with audiences. Whether it’s bizarre moments that stop us in our tracks, relatable stories that touch our hearts, or helping us find our place in today’s world, these ads prove that genuine connection and fresh thinking go hand in hand. The power of creativity in shaping brands and driving commercial impact has never been clearer. Testing creative content throughout every stage of the development process is key to creating campaigns that are both creative and effective.”

The world’s most effective ads highlight four rising creative trends in the industry. The first trend is connecting with people through real moments that reflect their everyday lives. Coca-Cola’s No 1 winning print/outdoor ad, “Pick up a Coke, light up the dark”, by agency Uncommon Creative in Norway, lit up the opportunities that hide in the dark for those living in places where the winter months bring long hours of darkness.

The second trend is that surreal ideas like exaggerated visuals and fantastical scenarios don’t just grab attention, they differentiate these ads from the crowd. Deliveroo’s TV winner, “Octoman”, by Pablo London, unexpectedly presents Octopus Triton on a date ordering his takeaway to an isolated island, stopping viewers in their tracks.

The third trend is based on how brands are looking to their past to help connect with people today, whether that’s emphasising the way they’ve always been there for people, or celebrating the ways they’ve changed and grown. The No 3 TV winner, Volkswagen’s “YourWagen” ad, by adam&eveDDB in the UK, spells out the meaning of the brand’s name, “people’s car”, and highlights the personal stories of its owners over time, involving genuine Volkswagen fans in its storytelling.

The fourth trend focuses on how advertising is embedding brands in the conversations people are already having, through music, sports or borrowing attention by jumping on viral hype moments and contemporary culture. Tourism Australia did this with its No 3 digital/social winner “Colours of Australia, Taylor’s Version”, released just as Taylor Swift arrived to tour the country.

To see the full list of award winners in each category, visit kantar.com/campaigns/creative-effective.

The big take-out: The power of creativity in shaping brands and driving commercial impact has never been clearer.