‘Til It’s Done’ by Ogilvy Melbourne dominated the Effie Asia Pacific awards announced in Singapore.
The agency, also claiming Agency of the Year, emerged with 3 Golds, 1 Silver and the Grand Effie for the work with Football Australia.
Ogilvy Network ANZ CEO Sally Kissane was ecstatic to be bringing home the top gong.
“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,” she told AdNews.
“‘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.
“And we’re not just 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.”
Football Australia and The Matildas walked away with Marketer of the Year and Brand of the Year for their success in the ‘Til It’s Done’ campaign.
Football Australia's chief corporate affairs, brand and communications officer Peter Filopoulos said being recognised so profoundly on a global stage is a testament to the outstanding creativity, collaboration, and strategic brilliance of the team behind the campaign.
“This campaign not only elevated the CommBank Matildas but also united an entire nation,” he said in a statement.
“Achieving this level of success highlights the power of storytelling and the deep emotional connection we’ve cultivated with our fans.
“We are honoured to set new benchmarks for marketing excellence in sport, and I couldn’t be prouder of the talented individuals who made this possible.”
Ogilvy Melbourne's head of strategy Paul Arena said getting to work on this campaign was a dream come true.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
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