The winners of the AdNews Agency of the Year Award 2025 have been announced.
The awards recorded a double-digit increase in entries for a consecutive year, with several highly contested categories across agencies and campaigns.
The winners, judged by senior marketers and CMOs from across Australia, were revealed at a long lunch February 19, 2026, at Doltone House, Sydney.
AdNews Agency of the Year
Overall winner: Avenue C
Hall of Fame inductee: Virginia Hyland
Category winners:
Creative Agency of the Year - Sponsored by Pinterest
Winner: BMF
Finalists: Droga5 ANZ, part of Accenture Song; Howatson+Company; Special; Thinkerbell.
Media Agency of the Year - Sponsored by PubMatic
Winner: Avenue C
Finalists: Hearts & Science; Match & Wood; Mindshare; PHD Australia; Spark Foundry Australia; Yango; Zenith Media.
Independent Agency of the Year - Sponsored by Reddit
Winner: Howatson+Company
Finalists: Avenue C; HERO; Nunn Media; Special; Thinkerbell.
Small Agency of the Year (Headcount under 25)
Winner: Poem
Finalists: Aruga; Equality Media + Marketing; Rumble Strategic Creative; Supermassive.
Digital Agency of the Year - Sponsored by Integral Ad Science
Winner: Digitas
Finalists: Orchard; Reload Media; WiredCo.
PR Agency of the Year
Winner: Havas Red
Finalists: Herd MSL; Poem; Thinkerbell; WiredCo.
Ad Campaign of the Year - Sponsored by Spotify
Winner: The ad that could only be seen on SBS (Droga5 ANZ, part of Accenture Song).
Finalists: Go A Little Extra (BMF); Kia Tasman Launch (Innocean Australia); Toyota HiLux 'In a Pickle' (Saatchi & Saatchi Australia & Spark Foundry Australia); Uber Eats - Get Almost Almost Anything (Special); HBO Max Aussie Launch (Special).
Media Campaign of the Year - Sponsored by Magnite
Winner: BYD: Challenger to Champion (Yango).
Finalists: Hyundai: The Big Trip (Innocean); Macca's Squid Game Meal - Dare to Play? (OMD & Akcelo); MESHKI - Real Time Runway (This is Flow); Specsavers Welcome to Melbourne (TBWA\Melbourne).
Small Budget Media Campaign of the Year (Less than $500,000)
Winner: Kitchen Warehouse: Mum-nipulate The Algorithm (Hatched and Special).
Finalists: Lady Jayne: Unshakeable Hair Confidence (Wavemaker); Unjarring the Category with Providore d’Italia (OMD & OMD Create); Banner Ad Change Room (Dentsu Creative); UNICEF Appeal Appeal (Howatson+Company); Australia’s biggest new brand launch of 2025 - Wingstop Australia (Hello).
Social Media Campaign of the Year
Winner: Lamb. The Ultimate Social Device (Droga5 ANZ, part of Accenture Song).
Finalists: Bonds - Made For Down Under (Special); The Comments Section (Droga5 ANZ, part of Accenture Song); Shift 20 Initiative: Shift 20 Casting Call (Special, TikTok & PHD Australia); Dove “Real Beauty Unfiltered” (Mindshare); Australia’s biggest new brand launch of 2025 - Wingstop Australia (Hello).
Regional Media Campaign of the Year - Sponsored by ACM
Winner: Us Without Abuse (Longreach Media).
Finalists: Primo salami sticks (Avenue C); TasWater – Water Conservation (Showpony); Toyota 'Signs of Support' (Saatchi & Saatchi Australia & Spark Foundry Australia).
Best Influencer Campaign
Winner: The KitKat Break Chair (OpenMind/VML/Eleven)
Finalists: The Week Long Layover (Connecting Plots Group); Samsung Packed Full of History (Clemenger BBDO); Hey Drake, This Yours? (It’s Friday); Hello & U By Kotex remove period taboo for millions of women with Flex Mami 'Conversation Cards' (Hello, We Are Different).
Best Use of Data in Campaign Planning - Sponsored by Blis
Winner: Escape Your Pricey Telco (Avenue C)
Finalists: Turning Local Intelligence into National Impact for Diageo (Hearts & Science); Kitchen Warehouse: Mum-nipulate The Algorithm (Hatched & Special).
Best Use of Content
Winner: The ad that could only be seen on SBS (Droga5 ANZ, part of Accenture Song)
Finalists: McDonald's x Squid Game: Dare to Play (Akcelo x OMD); Healthier Ways (Dentsu Creative); Stop It At The Start (Nine/UM); Made for Down Under (Special); True North: Our Immersive Journeys (Today the Brave).
Brand Partnership Award
Winner: Ford Hoop Dreams (Mindshare)
Finalists: UNICEF Appeal Appeal (Howatson+Company); Solo by MYOB – ‘Still Rolling’ (iProspect); New Balance: Winning the Culture Game at the Australian Open (Mediahub); Uber Eats - Get Almost Almost Anything, Maybe Even Andy Murray (Special); JACK DANIEL’S x McLAREN – JACK’S RIDES (We are Different, Zoo Republic).
Social Responsibility/Pro Bono Award
Winner: Deep Rising: The Campaign That Protected the Planet From a Hidden Invasion (Emotive)
Finalists: Change Direction (Apparent); MND Australia - Show We Care (Avenue C); UNICEF Appeal Appeal (Howatson+Company); Shift 20 Initiative: Shift 20 Casting Call (Special, TikTok & PHD Australia); A Happier 10th Birthday | Raise the Age NSW (Tag, Carat).
The Game Changer Award - sponsored by Perion
Winner: 36 Months (FINCH & Supermassive)
Finalists: The ad that could only be seen on SBS (Droga5 ANZ, part of Accenture Song); triple j - Rejenerated (Howatson+Company); Macca's Squid Game Meal - Dare to Play? (OMD & Akcelo); Plus Also Studios (Plus Also Studios); Shift 20 Initiative: Shift 20 Casting Call (Special, TikTok & PHD Australia).
Best Transformation Strategy
Winner: IPG Mediabrands Australia
Finalists: ATime&Place; Plus Also Studios.
Best Use of AI and Technology - Sponsored by Snapchat
Winner: Plus Also Studios x Endeavour Group (Plus Also Studios)
Finalists: Mastercard Transit Tales (Hero); Instax Mindography (Hero); triple j - Rejenerated (Howatson+Company).
Employer of the Year (Headcount over 75)
Winner: Howatson+Company
Finalists: Apparent; BMF; WPP Media.
Employer of the Year (Headcount under 75)
Winner: Equality Media + Marketing
Finalists: Avenue C; The Media Store; WiredCo.
Marketing Team of the Year - Sponsored by Boomtown
Winner: Bonds.
Finalists: Allianz; Domain; Endeavour Group; Nescafe; Uber Eats ANZ.
Sales Team of the Year
Winner: SCA.
Finalists: Foxtel Media; News Australia; Nine Perth; Veridooh.
The AdNews Effectiveness Award - Sponsored by StackAdapt
Winner: Got You Looking (Dentsu Creative).
Finalists: A Help Company: How NRMA Insurance made Help its whole business. (Accenture Song); Grimace’s Very Important Purple Tour (Akcelo); How Lamb got Australians out of the comments and into the cutlets (Droga5 ANZ); Toyota HiLux 'In a Pickle' (Saatchi & Saatchi Australia & Spark Foundry Australia); Uber Eats - Get Almost Almost Anything (Special).
Stay tuned for full coverage on all the winners as part of a special midday newsletter on Monday.
AdNews would like to thank our sponsors. Presenting partner ACM, Supporting partners Blis, Boomtown, Integral Ad Science, Magnite, Perion, Pinterest, PubMatic, Reddit, StackAdapt, Snapchat, Spotify and Associate partners Coles 360, Mamamia, and NEXXEN
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