Kantar Announces 2026 Advertising Effectiveness Awards Winners, EA's Apex Legends Takes Top Honor
On April 21, 2026, Kantar, a leading global marketing data and analytics company based in London, UK, announced the winners of the Kantar Advertising Effectiveness Awards. This year's ceremony highlighted various brands, including CeraVe and Heinz, but special attention was given to the newly established campaign category. The inaugural winner in this category was EA's campaign for "Apex Legends Season 22," specifically tailored for the Japanese market.
The Kantar Advertising Effectiveness Award recognizes the world's most effective advertising based on consumer reaction data. Celebrated on a global stage, this award aims to honor advertisements that have truly made an impact on audiences. This year, 36 brands received accolades across four categories: Campaign, Digital & Social, TV, and Print & Outdoor. The new Campaign category reflects the growing convergence of creative and media effectiveness in advertising, supported by Kantar's media measurement intelligence. EA's campaign for "Apex Legends Season 22" was chosen as the most effective campaign of the year, showcasing a remarkable example of strategic planning and execution.
Kantar's experts praised this campaign for its exceptional use of past learnings, carefully designed channel selection, and innovative strategies. Remarkably, the campaign did not rely on traditional television advertising. Instead, it leveraged PlayStation ads and utilized streaming and social media channels to create complementary impacts across platforms. This cross-channel integration generated cumulative effects, amplifying the brand's message.
By deeply understanding the game's universe and employing effective media strategies, the campaign succeeded in delivering its message more powerfully and widely. This recognition serves as a testament to how an integrated approach can maximize brand effectiveness.
Three Key Insights for CMOs on Creative and Media Integration
The winners of the Kantar Advertising Effectiveness Awards are selected through a combination of Kantar's media and creative solutions and qualitative assessments from a diverse group of global creative and media experts. This comprehensive approach aids marketers in making data-driven decisions to quantitatively enhance their brands based on consumer reactions to advertisements and campaigns. The award-winning campaigns exemplify how effective advertising balances both creative production and media selection, revealing three pivotal lessons for CMOs seeking impactful advertising practices:
1. The Blurring Lines of Influence: Many award-winning campaigns this year reflect the shifting definition of 'influence' as the collaboration between celebrities and creators grows. For example, CeraVe's TikTok campaign featured creator Anwar Jibawi boldly reinterpreting "Romeo and Juliet," while Hellmann's incorporated actress Sydney Sweeney to modernize the classic film's narrative, effectively linking TV and social media for high results.
2. The Chemistry of Old and New: Heinz successfully revived its classic tagline "It has to be Heinz" by embedding it into a sports context, garnering accolades for the most effective TV advertisement of the year. Similarly, Volkswagen Australia reimagined iconic print ads from the 1960s, showcasing that impactful ads don't always require a fresh slate and must sometimes draw on nostalgia.
3. Consistency and Cohesion Create Exponential Value: Savanna Premium Cider won awards in both the print/outdoor and TV categories with their campaign featuring "Steve Jobe & The Department of Unnecessary Innovation." Despite each medium being fine-tuned for its channel, the campaign crafted a coherent story that exceeded the sum of its parts.
Kantar's Global Creative Director Vera Sidlova commented, "With AI shaping the landscape, marketing teams can now create content at unprecedented speeds and scales. Therefore, CMOs must sharpen their ability to discern 'what's truly working' more than ever. The campaigns that won recognition here present clear lessons drawn from the world's top-performing ads."
Karen Owen, Chief Growth Officer for Kraft Heinz Europe and Pacific Advanced Markets, shared her insights: "At Heinz, we begin by establishing a single, unifying idea that forms the red thread running through all communications. We then identify what matters most to our consumers at each touchpoint, ensuring our message connects effectively at all levels. In this campaign, we honed in on the 'irrational love' towards Heinz, exemplified by a moment lost in the joy of enjoying a hot dog slathered in our tomato ketchup. This sentiment represents the authentic connection consumers have with our brand. We listened to that voice and reflected it deeply in our campaign."
To explore the full list of winners of the 2026 Kantar Advertising Effectiveness Awards, please visit the Kantar global website. Kantar continues to lead as one of the foremost marketing data and analytics firms, providing the intelligence necessary for brands to adapt and thrive in this fast-paced marketing world.
The Kantar Advertising Effectiveness Award recognizes the world's most effective advertising based on consumer reaction data. Celebrated on a global stage, this award aims to honor advertisements that have truly made an impact on audiences. This year, 36 brands received accolades across four categories: Campaign, Digital & Social, TV, and Print & Outdoor. The new Campaign category reflects the growing convergence of creative and media effectiveness in advertising, supported by Kantar's media measurement intelligence. EA's campaign for "Apex Legends Season 22" was chosen as the most effective campaign of the year, showcasing a remarkable example of strategic planning and execution.
Kantar's experts praised this campaign for its exceptional use of past learnings, carefully designed channel selection, and innovative strategies. Remarkably, the campaign did not rely on traditional television advertising. Instead, it leveraged PlayStation ads and utilized streaming and social media channels to create complementary impacts across platforms. This cross-channel integration generated cumulative effects, amplifying the brand's message.
By deeply understanding the game's universe and employing effective media strategies, the campaign succeeded in delivering its message more powerfully and widely. This recognition serves as a testament to how an integrated approach can maximize brand effectiveness.
Three Key Insights for CMOs on Creative and Media Integration
The winners of the Kantar Advertising Effectiveness Awards are selected through a combination of Kantar's media and creative solutions and qualitative assessments from a diverse group of global creative and media experts. This comprehensive approach aids marketers in making data-driven decisions to quantitatively enhance their brands based on consumer reactions to advertisements and campaigns. The award-winning campaigns exemplify how effective advertising balances both creative production and media selection, revealing three pivotal lessons for CMOs seeking impactful advertising practices:
1. The Blurring Lines of Influence: Many award-winning campaigns this year reflect the shifting definition of 'influence' as the collaboration between celebrities and creators grows. For example, CeraVe's TikTok campaign featured creator Anwar Jibawi boldly reinterpreting "Romeo and Juliet," while Hellmann's incorporated actress Sydney Sweeney to modernize the classic film's narrative, effectively linking TV and social media for high results.
2. The Chemistry of Old and New: Heinz successfully revived its classic tagline "It has to be Heinz" by embedding it into a sports context, garnering accolades for the most effective TV advertisement of the year. Similarly, Volkswagen Australia reimagined iconic print ads from the 1960s, showcasing that impactful ads don't always require a fresh slate and must sometimes draw on nostalgia.
3. Consistency and Cohesion Create Exponential Value: Savanna Premium Cider won awards in both the print/outdoor and TV categories with their campaign featuring "Steve Jobe & The Department of Unnecessary Innovation." Despite each medium being fine-tuned for its channel, the campaign crafted a coherent story that exceeded the sum of its parts.
Kantar's Global Creative Director Vera Sidlova commented, "With AI shaping the landscape, marketing teams can now create content at unprecedented speeds and scales. Therefore, CMOs must sharpen their ability to discern 'what's truly working' more than ever. The campaigns that won recognition here present clear lessons drawn from the world's top-performing ads."
Karen Owen, Chief Growth Officer for Kraft Heinz Europe and Pacific Advanced Markets, shared her insights: "At Heinz, we begin by establishing a single, unifying idea that forms the red thread running through all communications. We then identify what matters most to our consumers at each touchpoint, ensuring our message connects effectively at all levels. In this campaign, we honed in on the 'irrational love' towards Heinz, exemplified by a moment lost in the joy of enjoying a hot dog slathered in our tomato ketchup. This sentiment represents the authentic connection consumers have with our brand. We listened to that voice and reflected it deeply in our campaign."
To explore the full list of winners of the 2026 Kantar Advertising Effectiveness Awards, please visit the Kantar global website. Kantar continues to lead as one of the foremost marketing data and analytics firms, providing the intelligence necessary for brands to adapt and thrive in this fast-paced marketing world.
Topics Consumer Products & Retail）
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