Clemenger BBDO Melbourne and BMF Sydney led the Effies finalists with both agencies scoring more than 10 shortlisted entries each.
Clemenger BBDO Melbourne racked up 12 shortlisted entries across campaigns for Bupa, NAB, Mars and Carlton United Brewers. BMF Sydney had 11 finalists for Commonwealth Bank and Meat & Livestock Australia.
There have been 101 entries shortlisted from the 203 campaigns submitted. In total, 29 agencies will vie for awards across 18 categories.
303Lowe had nine shortlisted entries for WA Office of Road Safety, Ikea and Challenger campaigns, while Leo Burnett Melbourne's 'BYO Cup Day' campaign for 7-Eleven/Slurpee is a seven-time finalist.
The Monkeys had six shortlisted entries while George Patterson Y&R Sydney, George Patterson Y&R Melbourne and DDB Sydney have five finalists each.
Other shortlisted agencies include Naked Communications (four finalist entries), JWT Melbourne (three), Ogilvy Sydney (three), Leo Burnett Sydney (three), AJF Partnership (three), George Patterson Y&R Brisbane (three), Host (three), Etcom (two), BWM (two), Clemenger BBDO Sydney (two), Publicis Mojo (two), Ward6 (two), Whybin TBWA Tequila Sydney (two), BCM, DDI, MercerBell, Banjo, Slingshot/Rodd Martin/NPS and Amnesia Razorfish.
Effies chairman Matthew Melhuish said: “It's great to see half the entries progress to round two and I'm especially pleased to see strong finalists in the newly introduced Short Term Effects and Transformational Digital Business Platform categories.
“The papers chosen make insightful reading, detailing enormous challenges, clever thinking, strong ideas and outstanding results. I look forward to finding out which of them withstand the judges' scrutiny at round two.”
Chairman of judges Colin Wilson-Brown said: “I'd like to thank the 80 judges for their generosity in time and experience in judging this round of the fourth annual effectiveness awards. The finalists have had to demonstrate strong cases to get through to this point but the next phase will really test their arguments and results.”
The winners will be announced at an awards gala in Sydney on 6 September. The Effies are presently jointly by The Communications Council and the Australian Association of National Advertisers in association with Telstra.
Follow @AdNews on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.
Have something to say? Send us your comments using the form below or contact the writer at wenleima@yaffa.com.au
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.