A campaign from the Middle East has been named among the world’s most effective advertising, according to Kantar’s 2026 Advertising Effectiveness Awards.
Vimto’s Ramadan campaign secured a place among Kantar’s top 10 most effective campaigns worldwide, the only campaign from the Middle East to feature in the ranking.
“The creative assets for this campaign were built with the consumer at heart,” said Mohamed Hayek. He said the campaign was pre-tested using Link+ and Branding, placing it in the top 15 percent of ads in Saudi Arabia.
“The LIFT+ study highlights a robust multimedia strategy, with strong execution delivering total reach and driving above norm uplifts in awareness (+6 percent) and brand associations (+5 percent),” said Hari Prasaadh Kumar, Associate Director, Media & Analytics, Middle East at Kantar.
He said long-format creative was prioritised during peak Ramadan viewing, while digital activation built early momentum and remained live through the end of the period.
Awards recognize effectiveness across four categories
Kantar’s 2026 Advertising Effectiveness Awards recognize 36 brands across four categories: campaigns, digital and social, TV, and print and outdoor.
The awards are based on consumer reactions measured by Kantar’s media and creative solutions and a qualitative review by global creative and media experts.
CeraVe, Heinz and McVitie’s were among the brands taking top honors across categories.
A new “campaigns” category was introduced this year, based on Kantar’s media effectiveness intelligence and reflecting the integration of creative and media.
Apex Legends campaign wins top award
The inaugural winner of the world’s most effective campaign was EA / Apex Legends for its Japan “Apex Legends S22” campaign.
Kantar said the campaign applied lessons from previous campaigns and used channel selection, including PlayStation advertising, streaming and social channels, while avoiding broadcast TV.
Winners highlight three advertising lessons
Kantar said the winners highlight three lessons for marketers.
The first is the convergence of celebrities and creators. Examples include CeraVe’s TikTok campaign featuring creator Anwar Jibawi and Hellmann’s campaign featuring actor Sydney Sweeney with creator-led extensions.
The second is combining existing brand ideas with new execution. Heinz won the most effective TV ad with a campaign reprising its “It has to be Heinz” tagline, while Volkswagen Australia used its 1960s print ads to launch a new platform for its Tayron model.
The third is consistent and connected execution across channels. Savanna Premium Cider won awards in print/outdoor and TV for its campaign.
“With AI making it possible for marketing teams to churn out content at unprecedented speed and scale, it’s more important than ever for CMOs to understand what’s actually effective,” said Vera Sidlova.
Category winners span digital, TV and outdoor
In digital and social, CeraVe ranked first, followed by Neutrogena and Malibu.
In TV, Heinz ranked first, followed by Nationwide and Deliveroo.
In print and outdoor, McVitie’s ranked first, followed by Heinz and Savanna.
In the overall campaigns category, EA / Apex Legends ranked first, followed by Victoria and Uber Eats.
Coca-Cola wins effectiveness at scale award
A separate “Effectiveness at Scale” award was awarded to Coca-Cola for delivering the strongest overall effectiveness across all content tested by Kantar during 2025.
