Warc Creative 100: activist campaigns prove power of creativity

The US once again tops the annual ranking, which is produced by combining the results of the industry’s most important global and regional creative award shows of 2022.

The awards tracked are determined by a global industry panel survey and consultation with the Warc Rankings Advisory Board.

The UK finished second with France in third place, followed by Brazil and Australia in fourth and fifth respectively.

Top campaigns

Change The Ref’s “The lost class” by Leo Burnett Chicago topped the rankings, as activist campaigns continued to succeed in 2022.

“The lost class” raised awareness about mass shootings, as a ceremony was held for the 3,044 high school students in the US who didn't graduate in 2021 due to losing their lives to gun violence.

“'The lost class' was an incredibly brave idea and I’m very proud of Leo Burnett for having the courage to produce it," Britt Nolan, president and chief creative officer at Leo Burnett Chicago, said.

"But we have a long way to go to change the way America thinks about gun laws. I can only hope this recognition inspires someone else to do something even better and even more effective.”

Vice World News’ “The unfiltered history tour” by Dentsu Creative Bangalore came second place, which featured a secret tour of the British Museum’s stolen artefacts through augmented reality.

“Piñatex” for Dole Sunshine Company/Ananas Anam by L&C New York took the third spot, which promoted a vegan, cruelty-free and sustainable alternative leather made from pineapple leaves.

Ogilvy London’s “Reverse selfie” for Dove was the only campaign solely by a UK-based agency to make the top 10 creative campaigns, taking ninth place.

“Reverse selfie” raised awareness of heavily edited photographs of women and girls by showing the image reversing from one of a made-up woman to one of a young girl.

McCann Health London also made the top 10 for its work for Spinneys, Lebanese Breast Cancer Foundation and American University of Beirut Medical Center.

It helped to produce “The bread exam” alongside McCann Paris, McCann Düsseldorf, FP7 McCann Dubai and McCann Frankfurt.

The campaign showed a traditional Lebanese baker demonstrating how women can check their breasts with the help of some dough.

Top agencies

Publicis Milan was crowned top creative agency, while Area 23 New York followed in second place, jumping from 32nd place last year with four campaigns in the top 100. BETC Paris was the third most awarded agency.

Ogilvy was the most awarded network for the third year in a row, with 40 different agencies contributing to its total, including five agencies in the top 50.

The network was also responsible for 10 of the top 100 campaigns.

Liz Taylor, global chief creative officer at Ogilvy, said: “It fills us with immense pride to see Ogilvy named the most creative network in the world by Warc for the third consecutive year.

“Our teams earned this recognition by doing work that had an impact on our clients’ brands and businesses, but also for impacting policies that have helped create a more equitable and just world.”