John Lewis wins top IPA effectiveness prize
The John Lewis campaign by Adam and Eve and Manning Gottleib OMD took the top prize at the IPA Effectiveness Awards ceremony held last night (29 October) at the London Hilton Hotel.
The IPA Effectiveness Awards reward campaigns that have proved the commercial power of their ideas and demonstrated their marketing payback. Now in their 32nd year, the Awards continue to be the benchmark for marketing communications best practice.
John Lewis was awarded the Grand Prix for its highly emotive and much talked about advertising which began during Christmas 2009 and has continued ever since. The campaign propelled the brand into the nation’s hearts by reminding everyone what makes John Lewis special and the emotional role it plays at milestone occasions in our lives e.g. moving house, getting married and having babies, while remaining a constant beacon of stability.
The campaign has resulted in £1,074 million of incremental sales and £261 million in profits over a two year period.
Moreover, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of supplier brands, in particular premium ones, as more have sought to be distributed throughout John Lewis stores. Examples include Loewe, who returned to the stores after a five year absence and fashion brands such as Ralph Lauren, Whistles, Prada and Valentino.
TV was a central element to the campaign due to its unparalleled ability to engage large audiences emotionally. The music used also played an important part of the advertising’s entry into popular culture with all tracks featuring heavily in radio airplay.
Lord Hollick, former CEO United News and Media and former Senior Non-Executive Director of Diageo and Chairman of Judges said: “This campaign combined wonderfully emotive creativity with evident effectiveness to return the brand back to national treasure status. It demonstrates the power of acknowledging and rallying other audiences behind the brand, including employees and stakeholders, to really shift consumer behaviour and perceptions.”
In total, 14 Gold Awards, 10 Silver Awards, 11 Bronze Awards and eight Special Prizes were awarded in this year’s competition:
Visit the IPA effectiveness awards site to view the winning campaigns and creative work.