IPA announces Effectiveness Awards shortlist

In addition to the shortlist, five case studies were bestowed Commendations by the judges for providing new learning, including around social/creator-led marketing.

Analysis of the shortlist reveals:

• There are 15 single-market case studies, three not-for-profit and two multi-market entries.
• The combined total marketing communications spend of the shortlisted agencies exceeds £1bn.
• There are 14 joint entries and six single entrants from 26 different agencies.
• adam&eve\TBWA and PHD Media are the most shortlisted agencies with three papers each. They are followed by AMVBBDO, MG OMG, VCCP and Zenith UK (all two).
• Financial Services are the most represented sector with five papers, followed by Food & Confectionery (three), Automotive and Retail (both two).

All entries into the Awards have been analysed by Technical and Industry judging panels of leading strategists and econometricians to evaluate the payback of their marketing activity. Following this, the final awards and special prizes, which will be awarded at the Ceremony on 1 October, will be determined by a panel of Client experts, led by Tesco’s UK Customer Director and Chair of Judges, Suzanne Quinn.

The 2026 IPA Effectiveness Awards also include The President’s Prize for Creative Effectiveness, which will recognise the vital role of creativity in driving business success and celebrate the people behind the work delivering tangible results. A special judging panel for the President’s Prize for Creative Effectiveness will convene later this year.

Commenting on the shortlist:

Chief Strategy Officer UK, Omnicom Media and Convenor of Judges, Charlie Ebdy said:

“This year’s IPA Effectiveness Awards saw an unprecedented diversity of work submitted, from entrants both new and old - but an evaluation process that was as rigorous as ever. Whilst not every paper can make it through that process, the case studies on this year’s shortlist - all of whom will challenge for prizes come awards night - represent the best of the best."

IPA Director of Effectiveness Laurence Green said:

“Every IPA Effectiveness Awards paper goes through a rigorous evaluation from our Technical and Industry judging panels. As a result, there are inevitably some brilliant and exciting new cases that offer important learning for the industry but are unfortunately still in their infancy. With more time and proof of payback, these cases could absolutely be in the mix for the top prizes. That is why we have introduced five commendations from this year’s Awards, Huge congratulations to each of our commended papers.”

The winners of the IPA Effectiveness Awards 2026 will be announced at a black-tie ceremony on Thursday 1 October. Key lessons from the Awards, including a deep dive into the Grand Prix winning case, will be presented at the IPA Effectiveness Conference on Wednesday 7 October.

The IPA Effectiveness Awards are sponsored by Analytic Partners, System1, Thinkbox and WARC.

IPA Effectiveness Awards 2026 Shortlist:

Global Market:

• Specsavers by MG OMD and Specsavers: The serious value of humour

Not-For-Profit:

• Alzheimer's Society by Medialab, New Commercial Arts and Alzheimer's Society: HOW A ‘CULTURAL MULTIPLIER’ GENERATED THE SHORT AND REALLY LONG-TERM INCOME TO FIGHT DEMENTIA
• Capita, for the British Army by Droga5 and EssenceMediacom: You Belong Here: Sharpening Belonging for the next Generation of Army recruits
• NHS Blood and Transplant by VML: Waiting to Live: Shining a light on children waiting for a transplant

Regional Market:

• Škoda by Škoda, AMVBBDO and PHD Media: Škoda Elroq: From Complexity to Confidence: How Škoda unlocked Europe’s EV market

Single Market:

• Admiral by McCann Bristol: Ahoy Admouth! The power of a fluent world to create emotional connections
• AJ Bell by Pablo London: Clear as a Bell: The Stupidly Simple Strategy that made AJ Bell the talk of the town
• Andrex by Omnicom and PHD: Getting Andrex back on a roll: How confronting toilet truths unlocked a bold new chapter of growth
• com by Leo UK and Zenith UK: From chasing efficiencies to growing efficiently: how Confused.com made the whole system work harder
• Currys by AMVBBDO and Spark Foundry: The Superpower In-store
• easyJet by VCCP and T&P London: Not a campaign, a creative system for the modern era of algorithmic media
• Gousto by the7stars: Gousto rewrote the rules of DTC growth by building a brand before chasing performance
• Great Western Railway by adam&eve\TBWA: Consistency Starts Here: How committing to a single campaign idea paid back for Great Western Railway
• Jaffa Cakes by adam&eve\TBWA and MG OMD: HOW A MODERN BRAND BUILDING STRATEGY REIGNITED AN AGE OLD DEBATE ABOUT JAFFA CAKES
• Lurpak by Wieden+Kennedy London and Arla: How Lurpak led a category for 19 years, by thinking outside it
• Madrî Excepcional by Ogilvy UK and Carat: “You don’t need history, to make history” How Madrí Excepcional became a £1bn brand in 5 years
• Nationwide by Mother and Wavemaker London: Marketing and Finance: Pioneering a new kind of alliance
• SMARTY mobile by The Gate London, Zenith UK and VodafoneThree: Less Malarkey. More SMARTY: How a flanker brand reignited growth in a shrinking market
• Vitality by VCCP: Life, not death
• Volkswagen by adam&eve\TBWA and PHD Media: The power of people like you: How popularity paid back for Volkswagen

The commended papers are:

• Argos by Billion Dollar Boy: Taming the Wild West: How Argos Closed the Credibility Gap in Influencer Marketing
• KitKat by VML and OpenMind UK: The Value of Have a Break
• Sheba by AMV BBDO: Powerless to resist: How SHEBA® leveraged cats & creativity to supercharge growth in America
• Vaseline by Ogilvy: Vaseline Verified
• Xbox by McCann London: The Everyday Tactician: How getting a football club promoted helped Xbox take a step closer to the future of gaming