What you need to know: 

• NSW Government voted overall winner.
• GroupM won most awards, almost half of overall prizes.

NSW Government's HIV campaign ‘Discrete Life’ landed out the 2021 MFA Awards Grand Prix last night.

The awards celebrated the best and most effective work created by media agencies in 2020 and 2021, with winners selected by silent vote after a rigorous judging process involving more than 100 people.

Campaigns from Dell, IAG, MARS, Swinburne University, McDonald's and Tourism Australia were also among those voted the best in the business by MFA members. (Read an interview with Dell's top marketer here on how the brand drove massive growth by going hard on brand after being swamped by Australian publishers after MediaCom issued an open brief).

Winning agencies included Wavemaker, Initiative, OMD, UM, Essence, Mindshare, MediaCom, 10ViacomCBS and Yahoo. GroupM agencies won seven out of 16 categories.

Gemma Harriss from Zenith and Thomas Murphy from The Media Store won the NGEN Award, with their entry for UnLtd charity Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

“The ultimate goal of the MFA Awards is to help elevate the quality of product we deliver across the entire industry and demonstrate the invaluable role that media agencies play in generating business growth for our clients,” MFA Awards Committee Chair Joe Lunn, Chief Technology & Transformation Officer at Mindshare, said.

Sophie Madden, MFA CEO, said: “Australian media agencies and their clients showed great agility, perseverance and ingenuity throughout the many challenges thrown at them over the past two years, delivering some of the most insightful and effective work we’ve ever seen.”

The 2021 MFA Awards winners are:

Behaviour Change: NSW Government, Discreet Life, Wavemaker 

Business Impact: Swinburne University of Technology, Swintopia, Initiative 

Innovation in Media: IAG, CGU Rescues Donuts for Dogs, Mindshare 

Brand Impact: Swinburne University of Technology, Swintopia, Initiative 

Partnerships: Dell Australia, Dell Change Makers, MediaCom & 10ViacomCBS 

Covid Media Pivot: MARS, Freshen up Behind Your Mask, MediaCom 

Best Long-Term Results: nib, Delivering an Unfair Market Share, Essence (previously AKQA Media)

Best Use Of Data & Analytics: Defence Force Recruiting, Deep Data Dive into the Australian Navy, UM 

Real-time Marketing: McDonald’s, Macca’s Monopoly = Playing to WIN!, OMD  

Best Use Of Content: Tourism Australia, Live From Aus, UM 

Bravery: IAG, CGU Rescues Donuts for Dogs, Mindshare 

NGEN Award: Gemma Harriss, Zenith & Thomas Murphy, The Media Store  

Pro Bono/Cause Marketing Incentive – In recognition of Pam Lane: Coles Brand Responsibility, OMD 

Media Partner: Yahoo

Agency Talent & Culture: Initiative’s Iso-Internship 

Grand Prix: NSW Government, Discreet Life, Wavemaker