‘The Whopper Detour’ and ‘The Blank Edition’ win Ad Stars Grand Prix of the year 2019 and $10,000

In the Ad Stars, FCB New York won Grand Prix of the Year for ‘The Whopper Detour’ campaign, while Impact BBDO in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) won Grand Prix of the Year in the Public Service Announcement (PSA) category for ‘The Blank Edition’, created for Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar.

The Whopper Detour campaign is an audacious idea that drove burger lovers to McDonald’s, where they could purchase Whoppers for only a penny thanks to an ingenious app with in-built geo-fencing. The campaign led to 1.5 million Burger King app downloads along with global media acclaim.  

“When you can’t outspend your biggest competitor, you have to outsmart them,” explains Ted Lim, Regional Chief Creative Officer at Dentsu Asia Pacific and Executive Judge at AD STARS 2019. “This campaign is digital at its best. The agency could have handed out Whopper coupons, but instead they created an app designed to start a conversation, which is what they needed to get the brand noticed and loved.”

Robin Fitzgerald, Chief Creative Officer at BBDO Atlanta and an Executive Judge at AD STARS 2019, adds: “We loved that The Whopper Detour is a promo campaign – this is an advertising festival, after all. It was basically a brief to offer coupons for one-penny Whoppers, but the agency went above and beyond to make something much more culturally provocative. Both Grand Prix of the Year winners are brilliant, impactful ideas and they had the full support of the jury, so I feel really good about our choices.”

The Whopper Detour also won the Direct Grand Prix and Mobile Grand Prix at AD STARS 2019.

‘The Blank Edition’ is a completely blank newspaper that was printed in response to a political gridlock that left Lebanon without a government for months. An-Nahar invited the people of Lebanon to write their own headlines, which politicians couldn’t ignore – especially when their messages were shared via social media. The politicians were forced to take accountability for their actions, and citizens finally got the government they demanded. 

“The jury had a really good discussion about this campaign because it could have been just another blank newspaper ad. But using a newspaper to spark conversations online was such a great idea,” says Joanna Monteiro, Chief Creative Officer at FCB Brasil.

The Blank Edition also won the Media Grand Prix and PR Grand Prix.

Kim Pick, Executive Creative Director at VMLY&R in New Zealand, judged the Direct, Media, Promotion and PR categories. She says: “Using a newspaper as a canvas, and handing ownership of the content to citizens, was really clever. This campaign was also really impactful – it ended a political impasse and had a knock-on effect in terms of media coverage.”