Ogilvy Melbourne has won big at the APAC Effies with its Til It’s Done campaign with Football Australia and the Matildas, held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Singapore on Friday.
The agency took home three golds, one silver, and the Grand Effie. The campaign with Football Australia boosted support for The Matildas amid a lull in interest in the sport by showcasing the team’s grit and tenacity in making their mark at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Ogilvy claimed Agency of the Year for the first time at the awards. It has also held on to the top honour Agency Network of the Year for the sixth year running, with six golds, seven silvers, and 14 bronzes from the evening coming from it’s offices in Australia, China, India, Thailand, Singapore, and South Korea.
Football Australia and The Matildas walked away with Brand of the Year and Marketer of the Year, respectively, for their success in the Til It’s Done campaign.
According to the Effie Awards, this is the first time a sports-based brand and marketer has appeared in the special awards.
Sally Kissane, Ogilvy Network ANZ CEO, said: “While it’s an incredible achievement to win a coveted Effie, and in particular the most elusive of all – a Grand Effie – we’re also celebrating the industry recognition that great creativity is effectiveness.
“Til It’s Done shook up the sports category, changed behaviours and solved a human problem by using empowering messages that we knew would stick. That’s what creativity can do.
“And we’re proud of the team that developed this culture-shifting work, but the partnership with our client Football Australia.
“The fact that they also walked away with two awards – the first time a sports brand and marketer has won at APAC Effies – also speaks volumes about the power of collaboration.”
“As a die-hard football fan and dad of a mini-Matilda to be, getting to work on this campaign was a dream come true,” Paul Arena, Ogilvy Melbourne head of strategy, said.
“We always expected matches at the first FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia would be well attended. The real challenge was to leverage that opportunity for lasting change. Seeing the Matildas go from half empty stadiums to 13 consecutive, sell -out home matches after the World Cup was pretty special.
“The ultimate knock-on effect of unlocking hundreds of millions of dollars in additional government funding for women’s sport being the cherry on the icing of the whole football-themed cake. Being able to say we played a small part in making it easier for girls to play football, for either fun or fame, has been the highlight of my career.”