McCann Melbourne ties with Wieden+Kennedy for the most awarded agency in The Gunn Report
McCann Melbourne’s ‘Dumb Ways to Die‘ campaign for Metro Trains has helped Australia leapfrog the UK to take second place in the annual Gunn Report rankings for 2013.
The agency’s success with its Metro Trains cartoon public safety ad saw it enter the Top 50 most awarded agencies in the world list for the first time, but saw it tie for first place with Nike’s agency Wieden+Kennedy Portland. The tie for first place is also a first for The Gunn Report.
McCann Melbourne ECD John Mescall told Mumbrella: “It’s the best Gunn Report for Australia by a mile. It’s kind of like dead-heating with Usain Bolt, if you have to dead-heat with someone you’re happy to dead-heat with Wieden.
“It took them two offices to tie with our one. We’re Very happy to be equal first with those guys, who wouldn’t be? I’m sure an Australian agency has never gone number one in Gunn before.”
The Dumb Ways to Die campaign, which is the most viewed ad in the history of YouTube, was the most awarded commercial, taking first place in film and digital, second place in All Gunns Blazing and equal third in print and is the most awarded in The Gunn Report’s history.
The news comes just days after CEO Ben Lilley told Mumbrella he did not want the agency to be known just for the campaign.
“It’s an amazing result, we’re obviously really, really pleased. We’re very proud of our clients and all the guys here. It’s really gratifying and this sort of thing doesn’t happen very often,” Mescall said.
The Gunn Report says the same campaign coming top, or close to the top, in these tables is “totally unprecedented”.
But Mescall said the convergence in advertising and blurring of online and offline could lead to “more of this”.
He added: “I think when The Gunn Report first started it was easy to categorise campaigns – that’s a print campaign, that’s a digital campaign, that’s a film – where as now there is such convergence of media channels that I think its gratifying but not surprising that we did so well across categories because the idea was designed and executed to live in the real world and that’s just how people consume media now.
“People have said it’s the most integrated campaign they have ever seen and in many ways it hopefully leads the way for other campaigns to adopt that level of integration. It’s really gratifying but perhaps it will become the new normal.”
The success also saw McCann enter the top five in the Most Awarded Agency Network, its highest ever ranking. It was beaten by BBDO at number one, with Ogilvy, DDB and Leo Burnett following.
On what’s next for McCann Melbourne Mescall told Mumbrella: “Dumb Ways was and is part of the transformation of McCann from an advertising agency to an agency that is modern and relevant in the age of social media and integrated ideas driving brands.
“We’re not looking to follow it up with something as huge. All we’re seeking to do and what we’re doing is creating work that is effective in the real world and in the way people consume media. Dumb Ways is just one example of a lot of the work we’ve been doing. It just happened to be hyper-successful in terms of its virality and the awards it won,” he said.
“As far as awards go its the biggest campaign the world’s ever seen so you’d kind of be insane to think your mission was to top that the following year.”
Julian Frost, responsible for the animation in Dumb Ways to Die, was the third most awarded director.
Clemenger BBDO Melbourne’s Beer Chase campaign for Carlton Draught was third most award commercial in the world for 2013. The Hollywood car chase parody ad went viral within six days of being uploaded to YouTube, garnering almost 1.5m views in that time.
The agency was ranked the fifth most awarded agency, which contributed to BBDO being named network of the year for the eighth year in a row.
Clemenger BBDO Melbourne CEO Peter Biggs said: “For Clemenger BBDO Melbourne to have played a starring role in this win is absolutely phenomenal – for us, and for our clients.”
The Most Awarded Agency in The World in 2013
- A first time tie for first place – Wieden+Kennedy (Portland, New York) (who topped the table last year) and McCann (Melbourne) (first time in Top 50 table)
- AlmapBBDO (São Paulo)
- Ogilvy Brasil (São Paulo) (highest ever ranking)
- BBH (London)
- Clemenger BBDO (Melbourne & Sydney) (highest ever ranking)
The winners:
The Most Awarded Commercials in The World in 2013
- Metro Trains • Dumb Ways to Die (McCann Melbourne)
- Southern Comfort • Whatever’s Comfortable – Beach (Wieden+Kennedy, New York)
- Carlton Draught • Beer Chase (Clemenger BBDO (Melbourne)
- Axe • Susan Glenn (BBH, New York)
- Leica M Monochrom Camera • Soul (F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, São Paulo)
The Most Awarded Print Ads & Campaigns in The World in 2013
- Expedia Travel • Luggage Labels campaign (Ogilvy & Mather, London)
- Harvey Nichols Sale • Pelicans (Y&R Dubai)
- Coca-Cola • #Cokehands (Ogilvy & Mather, Shanghai)
- Metro Trains • Dumb Ways to Die (McCann Melbourne)
- The Sunday Times Rich List • Rich List 2013 pool (CHI & Partners, London)
The Most Awarded Digital in The World in 2013
- Metro Trains • Dumb Ways to Die (McCann Melbourne)
- Nike+ Fuelband • Nike+ Fuelband (R/GA, New York)
- Adidas Neo • Window Shopping (TBWA\Helsinki)
- Google / Lego • Build With Chrome (M&C Saatchi/Mark, Sydney)
- The JFK Presidential Library & Museum • Clouds Over Cuba (The Martin Agency, Richmond VA)
The Most Awarded All Gunns Blazing in The World in 2013
- Hemoba/Vitoria FC • My Blood Is Red & Black (Leo Burnett Tailor Made, São Paulo) – the most awarded campaign ever in All Gunns Blazing.
- Metro Trains • Dumb Ways to Die (McCann Melbourne)
- Nike+ Fuelband • Nike+ Fuelband (R/GA, New York)
- Sports Clube de Recife • Immortal Fans (Ogilvy Brasil, São Paulo)
- Samsung Life Insurance • The Bridge of Life (Cheil Worldwide, Seoul)
The Most Awarded Campaigns Across Tables 1 – 4 in 2013
- Metro Trains • Dumb Ways To Die
- Hemoba/Vitoria FC • My Blood Is Red & Black
- Nike+ Fuelband • Nike+ Fuelband
- Dove • Real Beauty Sketches
- Australian Defence Force • Mobile Medic
The Most Awarded Countries in The World in 2013
- USA
- Australia
- UK
- Brazil
- France
The Most Awarded Advertisers in The World in 2013
- Nike (Either Nike or Volkswagen has topped the table every one of The Gunn Report’s 15 years. This year it was Nike’s turn.)
- Volkswagen
- Axe / Lynx
- Coca-Cola
The Most Awarded Production Companies in The World in 2013
- First time at the top of the Table for Biscuit Filmworks (London, New York, LA)
- Paranoid (Los Angeles, São Paulo)
- MJZ (London, LA, New York)
- Rattling Stick (London, Los Angeles)
- Henry de Czar (Paris)
The Most Awarded Director in The World in 2013
- Southern Comfort “Beach” (amongst many others) Director, Tim Godsall, is a clear winner.
- Ringan Ledwidge (UK, USA)
- Julian Frost (Australia)
- Tom Kuntz (USA)
- Steve Ayson (Australia, NZ, Thailand)
- Marcos Kothar (Brazil)
The Most Awarded Agency in The World in 2013
- A first time tie for first place – Wieden+Kennedy (Portland, New York) (who topped the table last year) and McCann (Melbourne) (first time in Top 50 table)
- AlmapBBDO (São Paulo)
- Ogilvy Brasil (São Paulo) (highest ever ranking)
- BBH (London)
- Clemenger BBDO (Melbourne & Sydney) (highest ever ranking)
The Most Awarded Agency in Digital in The World in 2013
- Second time at top for R/GA (New York)
- Forsman & Bodenfors (Gothenburg)
- McCann (Melbourne)
- AlmapBBDO (São Paulo)
- Wieden+Kennedy (Portland, New York)
The Most Awarded Agency Network in The World in 2013
- Rankings 1 to 4 are the same for the fourth year in a row but in a slightly different order. BBDO top the table for the eighth year straight.
- Ogilvy
- DDB
- Leo Burnett
- McCann (highest ever ranking)
The rest of the results are available on the Gunn Report’s subscription website.
Miranda Ward
Miranda Ward worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017, eventually becoming deputy editor. Miranda joined Mumbrella in September 2013 from Sky News.
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