2026 Effie U.S. Award Winners Announced
NEW YORK, May 27, 2026 – The most effective marketing work in the United States was honored tonight at the 2026 Effie Awards US Gala, held in New York City, recognizing campaigns that delivered measurable business results through bold strategy, creative effectiveness, and cultural relevance.
Uber Eats and Special US – along with PHD, O Positive, Exile and Pariah- took home the Grand Effie, the award recognizing the year’s most effective marketing effort, for their “Football is for Food” campaign.
At a time when sports marketing is more crowded than ever, Uber Eats transformed football fandom into a powerful growth platform for the brand – reframing one of America’s biggest cultural passions through the lens of food delivery. Through sharp strategic positioning, entertainment partnerships, and culturally resonant creative, the campaign succeeded in driving both business results and brand impact at scale. The campaign earned additional honors throughout the night, including Gold awards in Delivery Services and Brand Integration & Entertainment Partnerships.
“The Effies exist to celebrate work that works. Work that clearly illustrates how effectiveness comes from the combination of strong strategy, creative courage, and results that move business forward,” said Traci Alford, Global CEO, Effie Worldwide. “This year’s Grand winner exemplified that balance beautifully – demonstrating how brands can tap into culture in a way that truly speaks to the consumer.”
The Grand Effie is selected from the year’s top-scoring Gold Effie winners. This year’s contenders reflected the expanding definition of modern marketing effectiveness – spanning entertainment, healthcare, beauty, streaming, food, and breakthrough science. Together, the work demonstrated how effective marketing can drive sustained business growth, reshape consumer perceptions, and create cultural impact across categories and audiences.
This year’s Grand Effie contenders, alongside Uber Eats, included:
- Colossal Biosciences for “The First Dire Wolf Howl in over 10,000 Years”
- Kenvue and BBDO New York for “Neutrogena Remembers,” with OneVue and Alison Brod Marketing + Communications
- Novartis and Merkley + Partners for “Your Attention Please,” with Ketchum, The Marketing Arm, Publicis Groupe, and Moxie Pictures
- Pantene, Procter & Gamble, and Grey New York for “Unexpired Pantene,” with Marina Maher Communications and VML
- Pringles, Kellanova, and FCB New York for “Call of the Mustaches,” with Weber Shandwick, Starcom Media, Momentum, and MJZ
- Tubi and Mischief @ No Fixed Address for “How Tubi Broke Category Conventions To Break Through InStreaming,” with VaynerMedia
Mischief @ No Fixed Address had another standout year across multiple categories, earning wins for brands including Coors Light, Chili’s, e.l.f. Cosmetics, JCPenney, Tubi, and eos. Heinz and The Kraft Heinz Companywere recognized across several categories, including a Gold Effie for “Mustard x Mustard,” which also earned top honors in Multicultural Marketing.
Mastercard and McCann XBC earned top recognition for “Abracadabra: From Fan To Featured,” winning Gold in Engaged Community – Services and additional honors across youth and social categories. Novartis’ “Your Attention Please” campaign emerged as a major winner in Health & Wellness, taking home Gold in Rx – Consumer/DTC and additional recognition for disease awareness and education. Last Prisoner Project’s “The Pen to Right History”earned Golds in both Social Good – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Social Good – Non-Profit categories, underscoring the growing impact of purpose-driven work rooted in measurable outcomes.
The Sustained Success categories once again recognized brands that have demonstrated long-term business impact over multiple years. This year’s Gold winners included Tubi for “How Tubi Broke Category Conventions To Break Through In Streaming” і The Ajinomoto Group for “How Ajinomoto Changed America’s Minds about MSG.”
“This year’s winners demonstrated the power of effectiveness across every category, from global brands and challengers to non-profits and emerging platforms,” noted Traci Alford. “What united them were bold ideas, fresh thinking, and a distinct ability to create impact in unexpected ways. Tonight’s winners have shown us that effectiveness can come from anywhere and take many forms.”
In addition to honoring this year’s most effective campaigns, the Effie Awards also revealed the yearly rankings for most effective agencies, networks, holding companies, marketers and brands. The U.S. Rankings are calculated from finalist and winning entries and will contribute to the 2026 Global Effie Index, releasing next year.
- Найефективніші агентські офіси: 1) Mischief @ No Fixed Address; 2) McCann; 3) VML
- Найефективніші незалежні агентства: 1) Mischief @ No Fixed Address; 2) Special Group; 3) Alison Brod Marketing + Communications
- Найефективніші агентські мережі: 1) McCann Worldgroup; 2) VML; 3) BBDO Worldwide
- Найефективніші холдингові компанії: 1) Omnicom 2) Interpublic (IPG); 3) WPP
- Найефективніші бренди: 1) Uber Eats; 2) Chili’s; 3) Last Prisoner Project
- Найефективніші маркетологи: 1) Kraft Heinz Company 2) Uber; 3) Brinker International
All 2026 Gold-winning campaigns are eligible to compete in next year’s Global Best of the Best Effie Awards, where the world’s most effective marketing efforts will compete for Global Grand Effies and the Iridium Effie.
See the full list of 2026 winners HERE.
2026 Effie Awards US Competition
2026 Effie Awards US Competition
Effie Awards US has opened its 2026 Call for Entries. This year’s competition is open to any marketing effort, whether a full campaign or targeted effort within a campaign, that ran in the United States між June 1, 2024 і September 30, 2025.
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- Second Deadline: October 20, 2025 $1,940
- Third Deadline: October 27, 2025 $2,845
- Final Deadline: November 3, 2025 $3,330
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2025 Effie Awards U.S. Winners Announced
The Field Museum’s “Blood Appétite” Wins Grand Effie at the 2025 Effie Awards US
The Field Museum і Leo Burnett Chicago, with contributing agencies Publicis North America, Aisle Rocket, and PXP Studios, took home the Grand Effie Award for their campaign “Blood Appétite” at the 2025 Effie Awards US Gala, held May 22nd in New York City.
To combat the seasonal dip in attendance caused by harsh Chicago winters, the Field Museum launched a bold campaign for its Bloodsuckers exhibit, focused on blood-feeding creatures. Recognizing that Chicagoans brave the cold for great food, the museum partnered with top local restaurants to create ‘Blood Appétit,’ a limited-time culinary experience. Adventurous diners earned discounted museum tickets, resulting in a 42% increase in attendance, more than double the original goal.
Honored for its sharp strategy and original thinking, the campaign took home the top prize for marketing effectiveness. In a classic David vs. Goliath moment, the nonprofit museum outshined major global brands, proving that courageous, insight-driven work can come from organizations of every size and sector.
“The work was so innovative, surprisingly creative, and just had this magical spark to it that really made it stand out,” said Soyoung Kang, CMO, eos Products, who served on this year’s Grand Jury. “I think the message this win sends to the industry is that sometimes the magic is in the unexpected.”
The Grand Effie is selected from the year’s top-scoring Gold Effie winners. Among this year’s contenders were campaigns spanning Fortune 500 brands, rising disruptors, and mission-driven non-profits, each showcasing how effective marketing can drive impact across categories and audiences. “Blood Appétite” stood out for its cultural relevance and imaginative execution, earning high marks from judges and distinguishing itself in a fiercely competitive field.
“It was a tough call because there were a lot of big brand contenders, but this year’s Grand winner just had everything – from a really ingenious way to turn their problem into an insight, into a creative execution… it just turned nothing into so much magic,” said Mo Said, Founder and CEO of Mojo Supermarket, and another of this year’s Grand judges.
The Grand Effie Contenders, alongside The Field Museum, were:
- Advil, VML and Grey for “The Advil Pain Equity Project | Believe My Pain,” with Edelman, Publicis, Sibling Rivalry and Duotone (United States)
- Change the Ref and MullenLowe U.S. for “The Shotline,” with Mediahub, Edisen Tech and March For Our Lives
- Dove and Ogilvy UK for “Let’s Change Beauty,” with Edelman New York and Mindshare
- L’Oréal and Ogilvy USA “Michael CeraVe,” with PrettyBird, Mackcut, and Blacksmith
- Miller Lite and DDB Chicago for “Running of the Beer Ads,” with Phaedon, Connect@Publicis Media, Merkle and Wasserman
- Sandy Hook Promise and BBDO New York for “Just Joking,” with Smuggler
- Spotify and FCB New York for “Spotify Spreadbeats,” with Uncharted Limbo Collective, Colossa, Bogota and We Are Volume
- Verizon, Ogilvy USA and MJZ for “Verizon-Can’t B Broken,” with Parkwood Entertainment, Cabin Editing Company, Art & Science Partners and R/GA
- Volkswagen and Johannes Leonardo for “An American Love Story,” with PHD and The Community
Effies were awarded across a broad range of categories, including Marketing Disruptors, Media Innovation, Timely Opportunity, and the recently introduced categories for AI and Retail Media effectiveness. The winners reflected the evolving definition of what ‘works’ in marketing today, spanning long-term brand-building efforts, timely cultural responses, and technology-driven innovation.
The Стійкий успіх category once again spotlighted brands delivering multi-year impact. Recognized gold-winning campaigns that have stood the test of time were Progressive Insurance, and Apartments.com, each demonstrating that consistency, clarity, and purpose are the cornerstones of effective brand-building.
L’Oréal had a standout year, taking home two Gold Effies and earning a Grand Effie contender spot for the buzzworthy Michael CeraVe campaign, which blurred the lines between satire and skincare to deliver business results.
Non-profit campaigns also made a strong showing: Sandy Hook Promise earned two Golds, a Silver, and a Grand contender spot for its powerful public service work; Change the Ref took home two Golds and two Silvers, as well as a place among this year’s top Grand contenders.
All 2025 Gold-winning campaigns are now eligible for entry into next year’s Global Best of the Best Effie Awards, which will honor the world’s most effective work in a global competition.
See the full list of winners HERE.
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