42Courses.com is proud to have been a sponsor of The Caples Awards since 2021.

It’s a show run by creatives for creatives and is unique in asking jurors to discuss the work over three consecutive days when they can and do change their scores.

Case studies of all the winners are at caples.org/winners

Here are the major awards:

Gold in Branded Content, Gold in PR and Gold in TV & Video Advertising

Client: Orange, France. Title: “WoMen’s Football”. Agency: Marcel, Paris.

A brilliant sideswipe at gender bias in sports, particularly football. It is a commonly accepted male view that women’s football is much less skilful than men’s. This turns that prejudice on its head and provides incontrovertible evidence that women are every bit as athletic as men. See the case study HERE.

Reflecting global concern with climate change, three Golds were presented to campaigns dealing with environmental issues.

Gold in Integrated Campaigns

Client: Volkswagen Title: “Greenprint” Agency: DDB Aotearoa

Kiwis love their old Kombis, but they are becoming diesel-spluttering anachronisms. So, Volkswagen set about showing owners how to electrify their vans in 20 easy(ish) steps. Everything they needed was available in kit form, along with instructions for the rebuild. An online hub provided more details, videos and links to places where owners could source parts themselves. Jurors particularly loved the OOH idea of a Kombi as a mobile blueprint itself. See the full case study HERE.

Gold in PR

Client: School Strikes 4 Climate Title: “Doctor’s Certificate” Agency: CHEP Network, Australia

In 2019, thousands of Australian students were punished for skipping school to demonstrate on World Climate Day. In 2023, Australia’s hottest year on record, the idea was to provide them with a sick note that legitimised their absence. Only this sick note was written by Doctors of Environmental Science, giving students permission to skip school. See the full case study HERE.

Gold in Art Direction and Gold in Creative Use of Data

Client: Plant Drop Title: “Smart Plants” Agency: McCann London

Okay, not a protest about climate change but very green in its way, the brilliant idea of selling plants for their air-purifying capabilities. Based on NASA research that shows how plants clean the air for astronauts in space, Plant Drops’ ‘Pollutant Absorption System’ changed how people buy plants for their looks to buying them for their detoxification properties. Read the case study on how humble pot plants became smart plants HERE.

Agencies often do their best work pro bono and/or for charities. This year’s winners proved no exception, with three Not-for-Profit campaigns honoured.

Gold in AI, Gold in Innovation and Gold in Mobile

Client: Samsung Galaxy Watch Title: “Impulse” Agency: Cheil, Spain

“Impulse” is an app made for Galaxy devices that uses the power of AI to turn words into rhythmic vibrations from the user's watch to their wrist. Amazingly, this helps the brain synchronise with speech patterns so people with speech disorders, who may stammer or stutter, can speak with greater fluency. The app can be downloaded free from Google Play or the Galaxy Store, and the case study can be viewed HERE.

Gold in Audio and the Courageous Client Award

Client: easypaisa Title: “Audio Nikahnama” Agency: Impact BBDO, UAE

More than half of all Pakistani women cannot read, which puts them at a disadvantage when they get married. They cannot read their marriage contract. Often, they sign a document that removes their right to divorce as well as handing all their money and assets to their husband. easypaisa’s “Audio Nikahnama” is an audio guide and reading of the contract by any phone.

It has led to a demand for legislation that would mandate every wedding registrar to ask the bride whether she understood her marriage contract. See the case study HERE.

This campaign won The Courageous Client Award for Rifah Qadri, Head of Brand Communications, easypaisa.

The citation reads:
If Easypaisa, the #1 payment app in Pakistan, was willing to not just poke the monster of gender inequality straight in the eye but democratise the distribution of tools for any woman with a phone to do the same, that’s a bold move. Especially when one considers the nearly intractable societal norm in Pakistan that says men make financial decisions and women are primarily restricted to household and child-rearing responsibilities.

And if it is true that there is a pervasive belief in Pakistan that education can have a “bad influence” on girls and women, making them less obedient and “evil,” this campaign really is a big deal.

See Rifah Qadri’s acceptance video HERE.

Gold in Not for Profit

Client: Team Heroine Title: “Correct the Internet” Agency: DDB Aotearoa

The internet has an unconscious bias. Ask who has scored the most goals in international football, and it will name a male player when, in fact, Christine Sinclair has scored more than Cristiano Ronaldo. At correcttheinternet.com, a raft of inaccuracies are listed, and visitors to the site are shown how to send feedback to Google to get the corrections made. The campaign was highlighted by the BBC, Fox News, Sky Sports and others. Case study is HERE.

Gold in Gaming

Client: Pepsico Doritos. Title: “Silent Doritos” Agency: Sips and Bites

Gamers like snacking on Doritos when they play. The trouble is, they are noisy. The idea was to use AI to detect and mute the sound of crunching in real-time and launch the product to the gaming community. Interest in Crunch Cancellation led to 1.8 million website hits and 15,000 downloads in a week. Case study HERE.

Gold in Digital Ad Spaces

Client: Samsung TV Title: “The Art of the Hack” Agency: Cheil, Spain

Not a Gold in TV but a Gold for a TV. Samsung made a television called The Frame because it can show more than 1,600 pieces of art when in standby mode. The idea was to sell The Frame as art, which commands VAT at 10%, rather than as a television, on which 21% VAT is levied. Who doesn’t like paying less tax? The campaign ran in social media, on art-centric platforms and at art fairs. Case study HERE.

Gold in Print

Client: NotCo Title: “We Didn’t Write This Campaign” Agency: MRM, Santiago, Chile

When NotMilk, a plant-based alternative to milk, was launched, the Chilean dairy industry launched a lawsuit against the brand’s owners, NotCo. After two years of litigation, the idea was to delve into the legal documents and use the opposition lawyers’ own words to define NotMilk. Chileans appreciated the humour of the approach, which led to a five-point increase in market share. Not bad. Read the case study and the ads HERE.

Silver in Art Direction and Silver in Not for Profit

Client: NHS Blood and Transplant Title: “Waiting to Live” Agency: VML, London

233 children in the UK were waiting for an organ transplant, but attitudes to paediatric organ donation are complex. To encourage families to join the donor register, 233 dolls were made, each telling the true story through a QR code of a child on the waiting list. They were left in hospitals and doctors’ waiting rooms. OOH, press and influencer marketing helped generate 1.5 billion media impressions and over 5,000 donor registrations. Case study HERE.

Silver in New Product/Service Launch

Client: Kia, Australia Title: “Kia’s Getting a Ute” Agency: Innocean, Australia

Utes, or utility vehicles, are essential in rural Australia, where their largely male owners care most about sport and the pub.

The idea was to pay tribute to this way of life by packing the commercial with 20 sporting legends, all coming together to ponder what Kia’s first ute might be called, with in-jokes referring to their most famous career-defining moments.

1.7 million organic views of the ad, 70,000 unique visitors to the website, 5,000 registrations of interest in the new vehicle, the Kia Tasman. Case study HERE.