All of the winners from The Drum Awards for Social Purpose 2023

Taking home the top prize, the Grand Prix, is Alma DDB with its ‘Ballots Against Bullets – Survivors’ for Change the Ref – a campaign that followed up on its 2020 work exposing politicians who failed to reduce gun violence by superimposing voter ballots over crime scene images from mass shootings.

Following the success of that first edition, Alma DDB’s next effort took a personal approach, enlisting real survivors of gun violence to make the case for gun control. The images superimposed voter ballots over the survivors’ bullet scars, using their wounds to ‘check’ the box for politicians opposing gun reform. The goal was to continue driving awareness around why gun policies matter during voting while highlighting politicians who have historically failed to support measures reducing gun violence in the US.

The target audience was US voters, especially in states where notorious pro-gun politicians would run, including Florida, Texas and Georgia. Running the day before the election, the campaign was showcased on 40 billboards, posters and projections strategically placed near voting sites in Florida, Georgia and Texas. The prints showcased in each state corresponded to the real state ballots

The recipient of the Chair’s Award, meanwhile, as chosen by head judges Cristina Macina of Nestlé UK & Ireland and Graham Nolan of the WeRQ, is We Believers for its work with AB InBev. This campaign saw beer brand Corona hold the first-ever Plastic Fishing Tournament, a global initiative where fishers from all over the world were challenged with bringing in the biggest haul of plastic waste, which was then sold to recycling companies. The more plastic they caught, the more money they made and the cleaner the ocean became.

Macina and Nolan were joined on the judging panel this year by senior marketers from top brands, including Ben & Jerry’s, Glossier, Johnnie Walker and Snapchat.

Among the other big winners of the night are Rethink for its work with Decathlon Canada, VMLY&R Commerce for its work with Unipads and Ogilvy for its work with Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital.

You can read the full list of winners below and read the stories behind the winning work over on our Case Studies hub.

• Grand Prix: Alma DDB for Change the Ref

• Chair Award: We Believers for AB InBev

• Agency of the Year: Dentsu

• Change-Maker of the Year: Indeed

• Brand/In-House Team of the Year: Shelter

• Creativity: Alma DDB for Change the Ref

• Fundraising: Bursty Company for Mobilise

• Integrated Campaign (Not-For-Profit): WWF UK, RSPB and National Trust

• Integrated Campaign (For-Profit): Rethink for Decathlon Canada

• Video and Film: Nice and Serious for Southwark Council

• Inclusivity and Diversity: Rethink for Nestlé KitKat

• Big Thinking: We Believers for AB InBev

• Data and Insights: Kindred for Gatsby Charitable Foundation

• Community Engagement: Activision Blizzard/Call of Duty Endowment

• Design: WMN by CPB London

• Brand Partnership: Visible Wireless

• Educational: VMLY&R Commerce for Unipads

• Public Awareness: Ogilvy for Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital

• Celebrity or Influencer Partnership: M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment for Pernod Ricard, Absolut

• Healthcare & Pharma: VMLY&R Commerce for SBS & Asociación de Alzheimer de Puerto Rico

• Poverty: The Kite Factory and Killer Creative for Action for Children

• Not-For-Profit, Charity and Government: The Maverick Group for the Felix Project

• SEO, Programmatic or Digital Advertising: Crafted for Doctors without Borders

• PR: M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment for Pernod Ricard, Absolut

• Social Media: Fatima Fertilizer/ Sarsabz Fertilizers

• Content: National Geographic for De Beers

• Environment and Sustainability: We Believers for AB InBev

• Out of Home: Rethink for Decathlon Canada

The Drum Awards for Social Purpose took place at The Drum Labs, our very own bar, event and film studio in central London. You can rewatch all of our Awards shows so far over on The Drum TV.