“What people are discovering is that there’s a real strategic rigor and backbone to all that great creative,” McCrory said. “It’s all, always very purposeful. Strategy doesn’t inhibit creativity, it unlocks it, so the ideas are designed to drive real business results, not just ‘be cool.’”

The winners

There were eight Grand Effie Contenders aside from Tubi’s winning work, meaning they were the top scoring Gold Effie Award winners:

1. “Move Over Turkey, Campbell’s Celebrates and Owns Sides Season.” Brand: Campbell Soup Company/Campbell’s Condensed Soup. Agencies: Leo Burnett Chicago and MSL Group
2. “The Blue Square: Standing Up to Jewish Hate.” Brand: Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), Agencies: VML (entered as Wunderman Thompson) and Mindshare
3. “The Cactus Plant Flea Market Box.” Brand: McDonald’s. Agencies: Wieden+Kennedy New York with Starcom, Narrative Media Group, The Marketing Store and Boxer
4. “ADLaM: An Alphabet to Preserve a Culture.” Brand: Microsoft. Agencies: McCann New York with NAFFA, Jamra Patel, Andrew Footit Design and Craft.
5. “Oreo Codes.” Brand: Mondelēz International/Oreo. Agency: VML (entered as VMLY&R Commerce)
6. “Superstore.” Brand: Progressive Insurance. Agency: Arnold Worldwide
7. “Brand.” Brand: Tinder. Agency: Mischief @ No Fixed Address
8. “A Peek Into the Real Navy.” Brand U.S. Navy. Agency: VML (entered as VMLY&R)

As part of the competition, the Effies revealed its top marketers and agencies based on a point system that will factor into the 2024 Global Effie Index, which will be announced in early 2025.

2024 U.S. rankings:

Most Effective Marketers: 1. Molson Coors  2. McDonald’s 3. Fox Corporation and Kraft Heinz Company (tie)
Most Effective Brands: 1. McDonald’s  2. Tubi  3. Tinder
Most Effective Holding Companies: 1. IPG  2. WPP 3. Publicis Groupe
Most Effective Agency Networks: 1. McCann Worldgroup 2. VMLY&R (now VML) 3. Ogilvy
Most Effective Agency Offices: 1. Mischief @ No Fixed Address 2. Ogilvy New York 3. McCann New York
Most Effective Independent Agencies: 1. Mischief @ No Fixed Address 2. Wieden+Kennedy 3. Gut

ADWEEK will have comprehensive looks at a number of the most compelling case studies that took home top honors at the Effies in the coming weeks.