Ten days ago, Unilever held its annual event to honor the best of creative marketing across its global enterprise. All the Unilever agencies were invited to submit their work, including the big holding companies, for review by Unilever marketers.
The Grand Prix winner for the year was Edelman for Mayo Hack, our brilliant proactive idea for Hellmann’s, cleverly responding to McDonald’s UK refusal to offer mayo as a dip. Our inventive hack invited consumers to walk into McDonald’s in the UK and ask for a chicken sandwich, but leave out the chicken, tomato, lettuce, and bun.
Edelman teams were also awarded Gold for Creative Agility on Hellmann’s Creamiest Contract, for Creative Pioneers on Dove Code My Crown, and for two campaigns done with Ogilvy Advertising for Dove Turn Your Back and Dove Cost of Beauty.
We won these awards because we do something different than the other agencies. We are delivering Earned Creative, multicultural insights, a fusion of classic media relations, influencer outreach and ideas that prompt action. As linear television viewing declines in favor of other entertainment options from gaming to streaming, we need to be part of the cultural conversation because we are competing broadly for attention.
I am so proud of my Unilever team, Smita Reddy, Katy Evans, Judy John, Melle Hock, Andrew Simon, Jamie Cordwell and so many more people. You are showing that we can compete with anybody. Bravo. And to our Unilever client, thank you for having the confidence and vision to allow us to be more than just a PR firm, and letting us be a communications firm that delivers impactful and innovative work.
Richard Edelman is CEO.
