The Monkeys has been named Effective Agency of the Year at the 2016 Australian Effie Awards, scooping one Gold for its work with Blackmore’s, and three Golds for Meat & Livestock Australia’s ‘Operation Boomerang’ – a case which also won the coveted Grand Effie.

Described as Meat & Livestock Australia’s most successful Australia Day Lamb campaign to date,‘Operation Boomerang’ was awarded for demonstrating a very compelling and clear business case, with a high degree of difficulty; judges said the strategy was bold, disruptive, and extremely effective.

The remaining two Gold awards were presented to AFFINITY for the Narellan Pools case, ‘Diving into data for Narellan Pools’, and Whybin\TBWA Group Melbourne for the entry, ‘Owning the First Job Trigger’ for ANZ.

The ceremony, which took place at Doltone House, Jones Bay Wharf, in Sydney last night, delivered a further 13 silver and 20 bronze awards, bringing the total number of agencies awarded for outstanding measurable results to 27 and the number of clients to 23.

The Effective Advertiser of the Year award was presented to Officeworks. The jury said the Officeworks marketing team not only have a very impressive case history and set of results, but a great argument for the science and art of marketing over simple merchandising.

The team was praised for their consistent approach and focus on effectiveness; a long term commitment to their agency partners; and, processes that give everyone the best chance of success, internally and externally.

Anthony Freedman, Chairman of The Australian Effie Awards, said, “Now in their eighth year, the Effies have become one of the most important dates in our industry’s calendar. Each year, the quality of the cases raises the bar for great creative and strategic thinking that delivers real value to clients businesses.

“These awards have one of the most rigorous judging processes, led by Chairman of Judges Colin Wilson-Brown through three stages of judging with 170 agency and marketing leaders, so even to become an Effies finalist is a huge achievement – to take home metal is outstanding. Congratulations to all of our winners and finalists.

“I’d also like to thank effectiveness expert and consultant, Peter Field, for speaking at the Awards ceremony last night, and our marquee sponsor, research driven, marketing and technology development company, Think TV, for their support.”

The full list of Effie winners by category are:

Retail

SILVER:  BMF, Aldi Australia, ‘The Christmas campaign that was so effective, we had to pull it off air’

BRONZE: BMF, Aldi Australia, ‘On for the Retail Brave: Converting the Haters’

Food, Confectionery & Snacks

GOLD:  The Monkeys, Meat & Livestock Australia, ‘Operation Boomerang’

BRONZE:  BMF, Meat & Livestock Australia, ‘Turning the Corner on a Forty Year Decline’

Beverages

BRONZE:  Mr Wolf, Taylors Wines, ‘How cooling things down can heat things up’

Other Consumer Goods

BRONZE:  Leo Burnett Sydney, Samsung Electronics Australia, ‘Samsung Galaxy Tab S2: A data love story’

Health & Wellbeing

GOLD: The Monkeys, Blackmores, ‘The power of knowledge: How an 80-year-old reclaimed thought leadership’

Financial Services

GOLD: Whybin\TBWA Group Melbourne, ANZ, ‘Owning The First Job Trigger’

BRONZE:  Whybin\TBWA Sydney, RaboDirect, ‘Shonky Savers’

Travel, Leisure and Media

SILVER:  AFFINITY, Narellan Pools, ‘Diving into Data for Narellan Pools’

Government

SILVER:  J. Walter Thompson Sydney, NSW Rural Fire Services, ‘From Apathy to Action’

BRONZE:  The Brand Agency, Water Corporation, ‘Drop 2: How one small action helped a city save water’

Not For Profit & Cause Related Marketing

SILVER: J. Walter Thompson Sydney, NSW Rural Fire Services, ‘From Apathy to Action’

BRONZE: J. Walter Thompson Melbourne, Beyondblue, ‘It’s not you, it’s your brain: encouraging young people to seek support for mental illness’

BRONZE: McCann Melbourne, Seeing Eye Dogs Australia (Vision Australia), ‘Free Puppies Forever’

Best State Campaign

SILVER:  Meerkats Brand Leadership Company, Brownes Dairy, ‘Don’t lie to your Mum: How honesty turned the tide for Brownes Yogurt’

BRONZE:  J.Walter Thompson Sydney, NSW Rural Fire Services, ‘From Apathy to Action’

Return on Investment

SILVER:  Red Planet, Qantas, ‘Turning retail conventions on their head for the Qantas Wanderlust sale’

BRONZE: AFFINITY, Narellan Pools, ‘Diving into Data for Narellan Pools’

Short Term Effects

GOLD: The Monkeys, Meat & Livestock Australia, ‘Operation Boomerang’

SILVER: BMF, Aldi Australia, ‘The Christmas campaign that was so effective, we had to pull it off air’

BRONZE:  Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, Myer, ‘Myer Wonderful Hold Music’

Most Original Thinking

GOLD: The Monkeys, Meat & Livestock Australia, Operation Boomerang

BRONZE:  303 MullenLowe, Budget Direct, ‘Captain Risky’

BRONZE:  Grey Melbourne, MS Limited Australia, ‘This Bike has Multiple Sclerosis’

New Product or Service

SILVER:  DDB Sydney, Westpac, ‘Culture eats category for breakfast’

BRONZE: Atomic 212° Group, Double Robotics, ‘Lucy the Robot’

BRONZE:  gyro, USG Boral, ‘Next Generation’

Small Budget

BRONZE:  J. Walter Thompson Melbourne, Beyondblue, ‘It’s not you, it’s your brain: encouraging young people to seek support for mental illness’

BRONZE:  Leo Burnett Melbourne, SPC Ardmona, ‘#MyFamilyCan’

Digital Led Ideas

SILVER: AFFINITY, Narellan Pools, ‘Diving into Data for Narellan Pools’

PR Led Campaign

BRONZE:  Whybin\TBWA Group Melbourne, ANZ, ‘Push for an Equal Future’

Insight & Strategic Thinking

SILVER: AFFINITY, Narellan Pools, ‘Diving into Data for Narellan Pools’

SILVER: Whybin\TBWA Group Melbourne, ANZ, ‘Push for an Equal Future’

BRONZE: J.Walter Thompson Sydney, NSW Rural Fire Services, ‘From Apathy to Action’

On-Line Brands

SILVER:  BMF, Sportsbet, ‘The Idea that cost Sportsbet Millions’

Use of Data

GOLD: AFFINITY, Narellan Pools, ‘Diving into Data for Narellan Pools’

SILVER:  Red Planet, Qantas, ‘Turning retail conventions on their head for the Qantas Wanderlust sale’

BRONZE: Leo Burnett Sydney, Samsung Electronics Australia, ‘Samsung Galaxy Tab S2: A data love story’

The Effective Advertiser of the Year

Client: Officeworks, Agencies: AJF Partnership, Initiative Media, DT Digital, Columbus, Haystac, Mango, Rapp

The Effective Agency of the Year

The Monkeys

The Grand Effie

The Monkeys, Meat & Livestock Australia, ‘Operation Boomerang’

The Communications Council would like to thank its sponsors and supporters for their generous support, including: Marquee Sponsor Think TV, B&T, Healthcare Communications Council, Shootsta, The Monkeys Cobbler, and UnLtd.