Warc Awards Announces 2025 Mea Winners

Four Gold, three Silver and five Bronze accolades have been awarded for the Middle East and Africa. Campaigns for both global and local brands, and for a range of product categories covering consumer packaged goods (CPG), technology and telecommunications are represented, showcasing how marketers are driving growth across different sectors, says the awards. 

WARC says the United Arab Emirates has won the most awards (seven), followed by South Africa (four) and Saudi Arabia (one).

The MEA jury, made up of industry experts from across the region, followed a rigorous judging process using the Creative Effectiveness and the B2B Effectiveness Ladders, unique tools providing a consistent approach and global language to benchmark effectiveness, says the awards. 

John Bizzell, Awards Lead, WARC, says, "The jury for the WARC Awards 2025 for Middle East and Africa were impressed by the technological innovations and data-driven insights shaping strategic marketing across the region, but what truly dazzled them in the winning work was the power brands are finding for business and society in pushing to truly understand and empathise with customers and citizens."

According to the awards, the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners are:

Brand Purpose category: 

• Gold — 'Bread of The Nation,' AB InBev SA, Ogilvy South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa

Channel Pioneer category:

• Gold — 'Sounds of stands: Turning culture into channel,' Vodafone Oman, Memac Ogilvy, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Silver — 'Oops, AI caught you craving — The world's perfect non-traditional meal ambush,' Coca-Cola, EssenceMediacom, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 

Cultural Impact category:

• Bronze — 'Moving the nation without moving the budget,' Saudi Sports for All Federation, Webedia, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
• Bronze — 'Selling the best car from the worst seat,' Chevrolet, Commonwealth McCann, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Customer Experience category:

• Bronze — 'Colors through Lexus,' Lexus Al-Futtaim, Memac Ogilvy, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Instant Impact category:

• Silver — 'KFC's breakfast coup: How chicken disrupted the biggest conspiracy the world has ever seen,' KFC South Africa, Ogilvy South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa

Long-Term Growth category:

• Silver — 'Underdog to Unstoppable: How MG Motor Conquered UAE's automotive market,' MG Motor, C2 Communications, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Partnerships & Sponsorships category:

• Gold — 'Carling Cup 2023 – Fak'ugesi (Bring the Energy),' AB InBev SA, Ogilvy South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa

Strategic Thinking category:

• Bronze — 'Baity battle,' STC Telcom, VML, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Bronze — 'How KFC reclaimed its fame by turning its taste from a sales killer into a business driver,' KFC South Africa, Ogilvy South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa

Use of Data category:

• Gold — 'The new president,' AnNahar, Impact BBDO, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The awards says that no metal was awarded in the Business-to-Business and Channel Integration categories.

The WARC Awards concludes that the Gold winners will automatically progress to compete at a Global level where a Grand Prix awarding jury made up of all the regional jury chairs — Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Africa, North America — and other regional judges will award the WARC Grands Prix. The Grands Prix will be revealed on Tuesday, 13 May via the Effectiveness Show screened on warc.com. 

For more information, visit www.warc.com. You can also follow WARC on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or on Instagram. 

*Image courtesy of contributor