Compiled by WARC, the international marketing information company, the Creative 100 Ranking is produced by combining the results of the industry’s most important global and regional creative award shows tracked throughout 2019. The awards tracked are determined by the WARC Rankings Advisory Board and a worldwide industry survey.
Burger King’s The Whopper Detour, by FCB New York, is the most creatively celebrated campaign of 2019. Designed to increase Burger King app users, the campaign involved the geofencing of rival McDonald’s restaurants with customers having to be in the vicinity of a McDonald’s store to unlock a Whopper-for-one-cent promotion. Mobile sales tripled during the promotion and the chain saw the highest number of store visits in four years. Burger King estimated the campaign earned it a 37-1 return on investment.
Gabriel Schmitt, Co-Chief Creative Officer, FCB New York, comments: “We are extremely humbled and honoured by this recognition. ‘The Whopper Detour’ was a unique idea because it not only broke through from a creative standpoint, it also drove significant business results, solving a real business problem through creativity. The most successful campaigns should grow brands and their bottom line, and we are happy to see ‘The Whopper Detour’ being recognized for doing just that.”
In second place is lip-sync music video Viva La Vulva, a campaign for feminine hygiene brand Bodyform/Libresse by AMV BBDO London. In third, Nike’s Dream Crazy, a provocative campaign by Wieden+Kennedy Portland, featuring NFL player Colin Kaepernick.
Ranked #1 in the creative agencies ranking is McCann New York. Climbing up from fifth place last year, the crowning agency has five campaigns in the Creative 100 for Verizon, Xbox, two for March For Our Lives and one co-created for Donate Life.
Droga5 New York follows closely behind, with two campaigns in the top 20, and in third place is Wieden+Kennedy Portland with three campaigns in the top 100.
Sean Bryan and Thomas Murphy, co-Chief Creative Officers, McCann New York, said: “Results like this are not possible without the passion and hard work from everyone across the agency. And our creative effectiveness comes directly from brave clients who have entrusted us to represent their brands and businesses in a meaningful and impactful way in the world.”
BBDO Worldwide retains its top position as the most awarded Network for an impressive 14th consecutive year, with eight different agencies ranked in the top 50, all contributing points to their total. McCann Worldgroup is in second place and DDB Worldwide third.
David Lubars, Chief Creative Officer Worldwide & Creative Chairman, BBDO Worldwide, comments: “What makes me most proud of topping the WARC Creative 100 for the second year in a row is that it’s not just one agency or campaign. It’s multiple agencies delivering work for multiple clients across multiple forms and platforms.”
Omnicom Group continues to lead the Holding Companies ranking with BBDO Worldwide, DDB Worldwide, TBWA Worldwide, Grupo ABC, DAS Group and Tribal Worldwide contributing to their points. Interpublic Group moves up one place into second position, and WPP drops down to third.
Global fast-food chain Burger King is top creative brand for a second year, with four campaigns ranked in the top 100 for three different markets – Brazil, Spain and USA. Sportswear brand Nike remains in second position and global gaming brand Xbox has jumped to third, up from 11th last year.
Restaurant Brands International, parent company of Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons, which held second place last year, has moved up to claim pole position as #1 creative advertiser. Nike climbs from fourth to second, and Anheuser-Busch InBev leaps from 17th to third.
Fernando Machado – Global Chief Marketing Officer, Restaurant Brands International, says: “This recognition is a true honour to our entire marketing team and creative partners. It’s amazing to see how all our teams believe that creativity can be a source of competitive advantage. The way we collaborate is the key to our success. We have great ideas coming from everywhere: US, UK, Sweden, France, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, India – really everywhere. And that is a testament to the quality of our people and the mindset we have as a company. It’s also incredibly rewarding to see Restaurant Brands International rise to the top. The teams on Popeyes and Tim Horton’s are also contributing for RBI to be a creative powerhouse”.
USA retains its place as the most creatively awarded country in the world by far. United Kingdom and Brazil follow.
The most highly ranked campaigns and companies in the 2020 WARC Creative 100 are:
Top 10 world’s most awarded campaigns for creativity
| Rank | Campaign title | Brand | Agency | Points |
| 1 | The Whopper Detour | Burger King | FCB New York | 271.9 |
| 2 | Viva La Vulva | Bodyform/Libresse | AMV BBDO London | 227.7 |
| 3 | Dream Crazy | Nike | Wieden+Kennedy Portland | 223.3 |
| 4 | The Truth Is Worth It | The New York Times | Droga5 New York | 198.8 |
| 5 | Changing the Game | Xbox | McCann New York | 159.4 |
| 6 | Broadway the Rainbow | Skittles | DDB Chicago | 114.1 |
| 7 | StorySign | Huawei | FCB Inferno London | 107.4 |
| 8 | Keeping Fortnite Fresh | Wendy’s | VMLY&R Kansas City | 100.3 |
| 9 | ThisAbles | IKEA | McCann Tel Aviv | 100 |
| 10 | Safety Hub | NRMA Insurance | CHE Proximity Melbourne | 87.7 |
Top 10 world’s most awarded agencies for creativity
| Rank | Agency | Location | Points |
| 1 | McCann | New York, USA | 376.6 |
| 2 | Droga5 | New York, USA | 375.8 |
| 3 | Wieden+Kennedy | Portland, USA | 297.4 |
| 4 | AMV BBDO | London, UK | 234.6 |
| 5 | Impact BBDO | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 222.5 |
| 6 | adam&eveDDB | London, UK | 221.2 |
| 7 | Publicis | Milan, Italy | 211.3 |
| 8 | FCB | New York, USA | 200.0 |
| 9 | Africa | São Paulo, Brazil | 196.3 |
| 10 | McCann | London, UK | 181.0 |
Top 10 world’s most awarded networks for creativity
| Rank | Network | Points |
| 1 | BBDO Worldwide | 1316.5 |
| 2 | McCann Worldgroup | 1068.4 |
| 3 | DDB Worldwide | 917.2 |
| 4 | TBWA Worldwide | 853.8 |
| 5 | Ogilvy | 707.1 |
| 6 | FCB | 637.8 |
| 7 | Wieden+Kennedy | 457.5 |
| 8 | Droga5 | 429.5 |
| 9 | Publicis Worldwide | 418.9 |
| 10 | VMLY&R | 405.3 |
Top 10 world’s most awarded holding companies for creativity
| Rank | Holding company | Points |
| 1 | Omnicom Group | 3367.1 |
| 2 | Interpublic Group | 2067.5 |
| 3 | WPP | 1964.8 |
| 4 | Publicis Groupe | 833.8 |
| 5 | Accenture | 512.3 |
| 6 | Dentsu | 483.1 |
| 7 | Havas Group | 225 |
| 8 | MDC Partners | 198.2 |
| 9 | Hakuhodo DY Group | 160.8 |
| 10 | BlueFocus | 10.6 |
Top 10 world’s most awarded brands for creativity
| Rank | Brand | Product Category | Points |
| 1 | Burger King | Retail | 490.7 |
| 2 | Nike | Clothing & Accessories | 338.1 |
| 3 | Xbox | Technology & Electronics | 257.8 |
| 4 | IKEA | Retail | 211.1 |
| 5 | Bodyform/Libresse | Toiletries & Cosmetics | 200.0 |
| 6 | The New York Times | Media & Publishing | 198.8 |
| 7 | Apple | Technology & Electronics | 198.0 |
| 8 | Volkswagen | Automotive | 179.7 |
| 9 | Diesel | Clothing & Accessories | 146.3 |
| 10 | KFC | Retail | 146.2 |
Top 10 world’s most awarded advertisers for creativity
| Rank | Advertiser | Location | Points |
| 1 | Restaurant Brands International | Canada | 504.4 |
| 2 | Nike | USA | 338.1 |
| 3 | Anheuser-Busch InBev | Belgium | 281.7 |
| 4 | Microsoft | USA | 266.6 |
| 5 | Mars | USA | 224.8 |
| 6 | The New York Times Company | USA | 212.6 |
| 7 | Volkswagen Group | Germany | 212.3 |
| 8 | IKEA | Sweden | 211.1 |
| 9 | Procter & Gamble | USA | 207.0 |
| 10 | Essity | Sweden | 200.0 |
Top 10 world’s most awarded countries for creativity
| Rank | Country | Points |
| 1 | USA | 3499.0 |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 1072.0 |
| 3 | Brazil | 863.6 |
| 4 | Australia | 506.8 |
| 5 | France | 433.1 |
| 6 | Spain | 424.5 |
| 7 | South Africa | 422.7 |
| 8 | Germany | 355.8 |
| 9 | Argentina | 320.6 |
| 10 | Japan | 312.5 |
David Tiltman, VP Content, WARC, says: “This year’s top 10 sees the theme of accessibility playing a leading role. Xbox’s Changing the Game, Huawei’s Storysign, and IKEA’s ThisAbles, all used creativity to improve accessibility for disabled people.
“Activism also comes through strongly: Viva la Vulva forBodyform/Libresse drives the issue of body positivity and challenges a universal taboo, and Nike’s Dream Crazy was one of the most successful activism campaigns of the year.”
The WARC Creative 100, formally known as the Gunn Report, has been compiled by applying a rigorous, unbiased and transparent methodology. to the analysis of the results of the most important global and regional creative awards shows, as determined by the industry following consultation with the newly introduced WARC Rankings Advisory Board and a worldwide survey. This consultation and survey will be carried out each year to ensure that the Rankings continue to reflect the opinion and meet the needs of the industry.
The award shows tracked for the WARC Creative 100 are:
Global:
(1) Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, (2=) D&AD, (2=) The One Show, (4) Clio Awards, (5) London International Awards (LIA)
Regional:
– APAC: Spikes Asia, Adfest
– Europe: Eurobest, Golden Drum
– Middle East & Africa: Dubai Lynx, Loeries
– Latam: El Ojo de Iberoamérica
More information and the WARC Creative 100 Rankings in full – which include the world’s top 100 creatively awarded campaigns, top 50 creative agencies, agency networks, brands, advertisers, countries and top holding companies – are available to view available here. The campaigns, case studies, credits and subsequent analysis reports are available by subscription.
The WARC Media 100 will be announced on 10 March and WARC Effective 100 on 17 March. An analysis of the WARC Rankings and brand stories report will follow at the end of March.