Their 'Women's Shave' campaign has been recognised as the single most effective marketing effort in the world, reaffirming its impact and continued cultural and commercial resonance.

The Global Best of the Best Effie Awards competition is open to Gold and Grand Effie winners from national and regional Effie Awards programs around the world. This year's competition aimed to bring together a dynamic mix of global brands and emerging challengers, all benchmarked against the highest standards of marketing effectiveness.

Following the first round of judging, 47 Global Grand Contenders emerged, representing a broad cross-section of markets, industries and business challenges. From this group, 11 Global Grand winners were selected, spanning 7 markets and 11 categories, says the awards.

The ultimate Iridium Effie winner was then determined by the Iridium Jury, a group of senior marketing leaders, who evaluated the Global Grand winners to identify the single most effective campaign worldwide.

According to the awards, the 2025 Global Grand Effie winners (by category) are:

  • Commerce and Shopper Marketing: OREO / Mondelez International Inc (United States) and VML, 'OREO Codes'.
  • Experiential Marketing (Brand Experience): Flamin' Hot / PepsiCo and ISLA's 'Poker Face,' with Primo Content.
  • Finance: ESAF Small Savings Bank and McCann WorldGroup India's 'Saving her Savings'.
  • Non-Profit: Laut gegen Nazis e.V. and Jung von Matt AG's 'Rights Against the Right', with Redgert Comms GmbH and 02100 Digital GmbH.
  • Positive Change — Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Piramal Finance and The Womb's 'NEEYAT: India's Real Credit Score'.
  • Positive Change — Social Good — Brands: KPN and Dentsu Creative Amsterdam's 'A Piece of Me', with Wefilm, Amp. Amsterdam / The So, Het PR Bureau and Mindshare Netherlands.
  • Retail: ALDI Australia and BMF Australia's 'Shop ALDI First'.
  • Sustained Success — Products: eos Products and Mischief @ No Fixed Address' 'Women's Shave'.
  • Sustained Success — Services: ANZ Bank New Zealand and TBWA's 'From Dreaming Big to Knowing HOW'.
  • Timely Opportunity: Tubi and Mischief @ No Fixed Address' 'Tubi Takes Viewers Down a Super Bowl Rabbit Hole', with VaynerMedia.
  • Topical / Annual Events: DoorDash, Superette and GUT's 'Self-love Bouquet', with Craig Cutler Studios, Unicorns and Unicorns and MadBoxMade.

The Iridium

Selected from this year's Global Grand winners, eos and Mischief @ No Fixed Address's 'Women's Shave' campaign stood out for marketing effectiveness. The campaign earned a Global Grand Effie in the Sustained Success — Products category, which recognises marketing efforts that have delivered consistent, measurable impact over time, across multiple years.

This distinction made the campaign eligible to re-enter and compete at the highest level once again, says the awards.

Building on its prior success, the campaign aimed to continue challenging category conventions, redefine brand boundaries and drive measurable business impact.

"It was the most modern way of sustaining impact over time, and brand building over time," says Jouke Vuurmans, Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Monks and Co-Chair of the Iridium jury.

"It was so consumer-centric, really built around the consumer, and therefore completely disrupted the standards in marketing within the segment. The message that we send with this win is that you have to understand your audience, stay close to it, and stay true to what your role is within their life," adds Vuurmans.

By confronting outdated "norms" within the women's shaving category, the campaign aimed to embrace a bold, culturally attuned approach — grounded in authenticity and real consumer insight. Its ability to sustain momentum, deepen relevance and deliver continued growth aims t o underscore its effectiveness not just as a moment, but as an enduring platform for the brand, says the awards.

"It was the strongest example of consumer centricity that we saw," says Barbara Asin, Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald's Latin America and Iridium jury Co-Chair. "They were up against major competitors with significantly larger media investments, and yet still, they were the ones who succeeded in doubling penetration and increasing the market share over time."

"Winning the Iridium Effie once is an extraordinary achievement — winning it twice is a rare demonstration of sustained effectiveness at the highest level," says Traci Alford, Global CEO of Effie Worldwide. "eos and Mischief @ No Fixed Address have created work that not only disrupts and resonates, but continues to deliver measurable impact over time. It is a powerful example of how creativity and effectiveness, when aligned, can drive enduring business success."

The Global Best of the Best Effie Awards are made possible by the Effie Awards international network, with 60 national and regional programmes delivering across 130 markets worldwide, says the awards.

The list of 2025 Global Grand Winners is available here.

For more information, visit www.effieawards.co.za. You can also follow Effie on Facebook, X, or on Instagram.

*Image courtesy of contributor