NEW YORK, April 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Y&R took home the two top honors at the 52nd annual International ANDY Awards last night, winning the show's highest honor –- the GRANDY –- for Y&R New Zealand's groundbreaking McWhopper campaign and the Richard T. O'Reilly Award for Outstanding Public Service for its "Melanoma Likes Me" work created by GPY&R Brisbane.  It is the first time a network has won both awards.

From l. to r.: David Sable, Global CEO Y&R; Fernando Machado, SVP Global Brand Management, Burger King; Jono Key, Head of Planning, Y&R New Zealand; Tom Paine, Creative Director, Y&R Auckland; Josh Moore, CEO & CCO, Y&R New Zealand; Tony Granger, Global CCO Y&R and Colleen DeCourcy, Presenting the Award

The Advertising Club of NY announced, "This year, the ANDY Awards' best creative idea, The GRANDY, has been given to the agency that defines what it means to be a bold leader and a true risk-taker. Y&R New Zealand was awarded for the McWhopper event campaign in the Corporate Responsibility category."

Tony Granger, Global Chief Creative Officer of Y&R, states: "We are simply ecstatic.  We are so proud of winning the two top awards.  Both ideas are terrific proof that brave clients get the work they deserve.  I want to especially call out Fernando Machado, Burger King's SVP of Global Brand Management, who championed the McWhopper idea from the second we presented it to him, and it simply would not have happened without him.  And we are so proud of Josh Moore and Ben Coulson for the passion and perseverance to create such powerful work."

The GRANDY winning McWhopper campaign by Y&R New Zealand, which comes with a $50,000 cash prize, launched in late-August 2015 with a print ad in three major U.S. newspapers, live events, PR and lots of shareable content. It became one of the biggest viral ideas in the world, with nearly 8 billion media impressions, $144 million in earned media and a 40 percent increase in awareness of Peace Day. The mashup burger was conceived to raise money to benefit Peace One Day, a non-profit organization campaigning to raise awareness of Peace Day, a United Nations recognized day celebrated on Sept. 21.

When McDonald's rejected the cease-fire in the "burger wars," people around the world began creating their own DIY McWhoppers, posting videos and sharing pictures of their creations on social media, and one fan even recorded a rap song. Burger King then partnered with Denny's, Wayback Burgers, Krystal, and Giraffas to give away 1,500 "peace day burgers" at a pop-up restaurant in Atlanta on Peace Day.

David Sable stated:  "This was a labor of love on both sides, Burger King showed so much passion for the idea, such great belief in us and proved the best partner possible. They helped bring the McWhopper forward every step of the way and understood how true to their brand this was — their audaciousness paid off.  And we also feel particular pride in 'Melanoma Likes Me,' which showed that the work we do can change the world.  This is a proud day for Y&R." He added:  "This cements Y&R as the number one creative force in Australia New Zealand and is rooted in the way we are organized as a Global Boutique.  Strong local offices resonate globally and last night is living proof of that."

GPY&R Brisbane was awarded the Richard T. O'Reilly Award for its "Melanoma Likes Me" campaign for Melanoma Patients Australia, a nonprofit that provides information, support, awareness and advocacy to Australians affected by melanoma. People, identified through hashtags and geo-location as they posted on Instagram, were instantly liked and commented by "Melanoma."  The public service award for the best PSA of the year comes with a $10,000 donation to the charity the winning work was created to promote.

In addition to the top two awards, "McWhopper" and "Melanoma Likes Me" each won a Gold, and Y&R Malaysia won a Silver for "Cut a Tree. Kill a Life." 

The ANDY Award show has been held by the Advertising Club of New York every year since 1964 and is one of the most sought-after awards for creative excellence in advertising.

About Y&R

Y&R is one of the world's most iconic agencies.  With 189 offices in 93 countries around the world, Y&R's clients include Bel Brands, Campbell's Soup Company, Colgate-Palmolive, Danone, Dell, GAP, Telefonica and Xerox, among many others.

Y&R is part of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY).

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Contact:

Olivia Chamberlain
Y&R
Email: olivia.chamberlain@yr.com

or

Aviva Ebstein
Y&R
Email: aviva.ebstein@yr.com

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SOURCE Y&R

Copyright 2016 PR Newswire

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