Kantar’s 2026 Advertising Effectiveness Awards 

Vimto’s Ramadan campaign named among Kantar’s Top 10 most effective campaigns globally

CeraVe, Heinz and McVitie’s have taken top honours at Kantar’s 2026 Advertising Effectiveness Awards, which celebrate the world’s most effective, results-driving advertising. The only global awards to crown its winners based on the reactions of real people: the awards recognise 36 brands across four categories – campaigns, digital and social, TV, and print and outdoor. Among this year’s winners, Vimto’s Ramadan campaign also earned global recognition, securing a place among Kantar’s top 10 most effective campaigns worldwide – the only Middle East campaign to feature in the ranking.  

The winners are determined by Kantar’s media and creative solutions and a qualitative review by Kantar’s diverse global creative and media experts. Together, they measure consumers’ reactions to ads and campaigns to assess their effectiveness and help marketers make decisions that will quantifiably build their brands. 

The ‘campaigns’ category is a new addition to the awards this year, based on Kantar’s media effectiveness intelligence, and reflecting the increasing integration of creative and media in advertising. The inaugural winner of the world’s most effective campaign is gaming brand EA / Apex Legends for its Japan ‘Apex Legends S22’ campaign. Kantar’s experts hailed it as a standout example of applying the lessons of previous campaigns and well-considered channel selection; despite its scale the campaign deliberately avoided broadcast TV, anchoring instead around PlayStation ads and streaming and social channels. These reinforced each other, creating a cumulative impact across channels. 

What the world’s most effective advertising shows us

The winners prove that when creative and media decisions work together, brands can deliver greater impact, and highlights three lessons CMOs can learn from the world’s most effective advertising: 

• The blurring lines of influence: Many of the winners demonstrate the convergence of celebrities and creators, making it ever more important for marketers to understand the new reality of influence. Winners include CeraVe for its TikTok campaign where creator Anwar Jibawi created a dramatic retelling of Romeo and Juliet to sell the benefits of the brand’s Air Foam cleanser. And the Hellmann’s Mayo campaign where a cameo from actor Sydney Sweeney brought the iconic 90s romcom “When Harry Met Sally” into the 21^st century, and which used creator-led and social extensions to help the idea travel beyond the flagship Super Bowl TV slot.
  
• Something old, something new: Many of the awarded campaigns show that alchemy lies in the ability to make the new work with the old. Heinz claimed the most effective TV ad of the year with a tennis‑themed spot reprising its classic ‘It has to be Heinz’ tagline, bringing the concept up to date with a reference to 2025’s summer of sport. Volkswagen Australia tapped into the brand’s iconic 1960s print ads to launch a new platform for its Tayron model, proving that effective advertising doesn’t always need reinvention, but an openness to evolving ideas and building on previous successes. 

• Consistent, coherent and connected: Many of this year’s standout campaigns demonstrate the power of well-tailored creative that allows each channel to sing, while delivering results that are worth more than the sum of their parts. Savanna Premium Cider stood out, taking home awards in the print/outdoor and TV categories for its ‘Steve Jobe & The Department of Unnecessary Innovation’ 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. Otherwise, brands are simply adding to the noise rather than making decisions with confidence. Our winners offer clear lessons from the world’s most effective campaigns, whether that’s putting your brand at the heart of culture, refreshing a proven idea from your back catalogue, or joining the dots between channels to create campaigns that are more than the sum of their parts,” said Vera Sidlova, Global Creative Director at Kantar. 

“At Heinz, we approach campaigns by first establishing an overarching idea that serves as the red thread through all our communications. We then identify what matters most to consumers at different touchpoints, ensuring our message connects effectively everywhere. For this campaign, we focused on what we call ‘irrational love’ for Heinz. It’s about those moments when consumers are so lost in enjoying their Heinz tomato ketchup-loaded hotdog – to take this example – that they are not paying attention to anything else around. It’s about the true, authentic connection which consumers are telling us they have with our brands.” said Karen Owen, Chief Growth Officer, European and Pacific Developed Markets at Kraft Heinz.

2026 Kantar Advertising Effectiveness Awards. The top three winners in each category are:

Digital and social

TV

Print and outdoor

Overall Campaign

Middle East spotlight: Vimto named among the world’s top 10 most effective campaigns

Among this year’s global winners, a Middle East brand also earned standout recognition. Vimto’s Ramadan campaign was the only campaign from the region to feature in Kantar’s global ranking, securing a place among the world’s top 10 most effective campaigns.

“The creative assets for this campaign were built with the consumer at heart. The Vimto team also pre-tested the work using Link+ and Branding, placing it in the top 15% of ads in KSA. That’s a powerful result for a timeless brand that remains a staple on Ramadan tables across the region,” said Mohamed Hayek, Creative Effectiveness Lead, Middle East, Kantar.

“The LIFT+ study highlights a robust multimedia strategy, with strong execution delivering total reach and driving above-norm uplifts in awareness (+6%) and brand associations (+5%). Long-format creative was prioritised during peak Ramadan viewing, while digital activation built early momentum and stayed live through the end of the period to sustain reach and amplify cross-channel synergy,” said Hari Prasaadh Kumar, Associate Director, Media & Analytics, Middle East at Kantar. 

The recognition underscores the growing strength of culturally rooted, insight-led campaigns from the Middle East in driving measurable brand growth on a global stage.

Special award: Effectiveness at Scale 

The Effectiveness at Scale award recognises the companies that have mastered scaling production without sacrificing performance. It is awarded to Coca-Cola, the company whose advertising delivers the strongest overall effectiveness across all content tested by Kantar during 2025.

To hear more about the Kantar Advertising Effectiveness Awards and for the full list of winners, please visit: https://www.kantar.com/campaigns/advertising-effectiveness