McCann ad for Coca-Cola tops digital media awards

MANILA, Philippines - Coca-Cola and McCann Worldgroup Philippines’ “The OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) Project” won top honors at the 2012 Asia Pacific Digital Media Awards (DMA), with Coca-Cola taking Digital Brand of the Year title and McCann bagging the coveted Platinum Award.

The DMA is a celebration of the best that Asia’s digital marketing industry has to offer, honoring the best in creativity, innovation and effectiveness in digital marketing.

Platinum is the ultimate accolade given to the work that was unanimously voted as the Best of Show by the 26-member jury comprised of leading client marketers (including regional marketing directors of P&G, Samsung, Kraft McDonald’s), and industry leaders (CEOs and regional creative and planning heads from Saatchi, Lowe, Omnicom, DDB Group, OgilvyOne and Colenso BBDO).

Coca-Cola OFW Project bested all winning works across all categories – media and entertainment, apps, gaming, online PR and online marketing – and emerged as the top winner among the 600 entries culled from China, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Korea and Australia.

Coke“The OFW Project” is the country’s most awarded online campaign- a viral sensation that triggered massive cultural and emotional impact because of the insight-rich strategy and heartwarming, tear-jerking video execution. It was a campaign that resonated powerfully with Filipinos and touched the hearts of millions more around the world, nothwithstanding geography, race or nationality.

The OFW Project is Coca-Cola’s most successful viral video released locally –  barely 72 hours after its launch, the video reached one million views, and became a Twitter Trend worldwide. At its peak, it became the world’s most shared video – getting over 700,000 shares by netizens from different parts of the globe.

The DMA Platinum win is an addition to the Coke OFW Project’s array of accolades from international and local shows, including Spikes Asia, New York Festival International Advertising Awards, 4A’s Agency of the Year, Internet and Mobile Marketing Association’s Boomerang Awards, Creative Guild Kidlat Awards, Tambuli Awards and Adobo Ad of the Year.

According to Coca-Cola marketing director Anubha Sahasrabuddhe,“Coca-Cola recognizes digital’s crucial role as it enabled The OFW Project to succeed not just in the Philippines, but all over the world. The OFW Project serves as the new Coca-Cola benchmark in storytelling, and digital will continue to propel our future efforts in happiness sharing.”

Raul Castro, McCann Worldgroup chairman and CEO, says, “Winning Platinum from Asia’s most important digital show solidly marks McCann Worldgroup Philippines’ continuing transformation – where digital plays a vital role as a catalyst in business and brand stewardship. We celebrate with our Coca Cola partners, and we share this award with the Philippine industry.”

Digital Marketing Awards is organized by the Lions Festivals (Cannes, Dubai Lynx, Eurobest) and global media conglomerate Haymarket.