DUBAI: The World Advertising Research Center has announced the winners for the 2021 WARC Prize for MENA Strategy. The award was launched five years ago with the aim of encouraging strategic thinkers and planners to generate inspiring work.

This year, there were 21 entries shortlisted for both international brands including Burger King, Facebook, Knorr and Mastercard, and local brands, such as Almosafer, An-Nahar, Diari and Lotto Libanais. The jury panel of 16 industry experts was chaired by Peter DeBenedictis, chief marketing officer of Microsoft, Middle East and Africa.

This year’s Grand Prix went to TBWA\RAAD and the KFC MENA “Shift +K+F+C” campaign, which provided a unique cheat code that helped users score a limited-edition menu item. The campaign also won the Special Award for Pivot to Digital.

“We are honored to receive the Grand Prix in effectiveness at the WARC Prize for MENA Strategy for our ‘Shift +K+F+C’ campaign, which drove great affinity with gamers in the region,” said Ozge Zoralioglu, chief marketing officer, KFC MENA.

The campaign saw KFC leverage its own online ordering process to connect with gamers in Saudi Arabia. With a few tweaks to the website’s code — and zero production costs — KFC programmed the code, Shift+K+F+C, into its website as a shortcut to accelerate the online ordering process and unlock a special menu item.

The campaign tapped into the emerging gaming culture in the Kingdom and was promoted exclusively through Twitch and gaming influencers.

“‘Shift +K+F+C’ perfectly demonstrates how a simple idea with a modest budget, coupled with a disruptive, innovative strategy can effectively resonate with its audience, drive traffic and generate sales,” said Jennifer Fischer, chief innovation officer at TBWA\RAAD.

She added that the campaign “gave us a deep understanding of the gaming community and set us on track for many more meaningful ways to engage with gaming culture and deliver on their needs.”

Among the other winners, FP7 McCann bagged the most awards across Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia including two Gold, one Silver and three Bronze. The Gold-winning campaigns “A Dad’s Job” for Landmark Group’s Home Centre and “Rooftop Farms” for Knorr also won The Brand Rebel and Long-Term Strategy awards respectively.

Wunderman Thompson won a Gold and a Silver for its campaigns for Burger King, “The Doppelganger” in Saudi and “Pay Cut Whopper” in the UAE, as well as another Silver for the “Noise-O-Meter” campaign for Bose UAE.

The full list of winners is:

GOLD

Campaign: A Dad’s Job

Agency: FP7 McCann Dubai

Brand: Home Centre

Campaign: Rooftop Farms

Agency: FP7 McCann Cairo

Brand: Knorr

Campaign: The Doppelganger

Agency: Wunderman Thompson KSA

Brand: Burger King

SILVER

Campaign: Pay Cut Whopper

Agency: Wunderman Thompson Dubai

Brand: Burger King

Campaign: Noise-O-Meter

Agency: Wunderman Thompson Dubai

Brand: Bose

Campaign: Thank You Russia

Agency: TBWA\RAAD

Brand: LADA

Campaign: Mars Shot

Agency: FP7 McCann Dubai

Brand: Emirates Nation Brand (Government of UAE)

BRONZE

Campaign: Stories of Mecca

Agency: FP7 McCann Riyadh

Brand: Almosafer

Campaign: Dream Number

Agency: Impact BBDO

Brand: Lotto Libanais

Campaign: The New National Anthem Edition

Agency: Impact BBDO & OMD

Brand: An-Nahar

Campaign: The Man Who Never Got Anything Back

Agency: Momentum Riyadh

Brand: Emirates NBD

Campaign: Neb Adventures

Agency: McCann Health & FP7 McCann Dubai

Brand: AstraZeneca           

Campaign: A Journey Across Tunisia

Agency: FP7 McCann Tunis & Dubai

Brand: Diari