A stunning backdrop, shiny trophies, fantastic company, and some outstanding news brand advertising — it could only be the Newsworks Awards.

Our yearly awards returned in December to the 12th Knot rooftop bar on the banks of London’s River Thames to celebrate another year of top advertising achievement of multi-platform news brands.

Judged by a range of leading agency and advertiser figures including chair of judges Claire Sadler (British Heart Foundation’s chief marketing and fundraising officer), this year’s entries saw news brands’ enduring trust with readers emerge as a leading theme. Additionally, their contextual importance for engaging consumers in quality environments also stood out.

2024’s submissions also leaned more than ever into publishers’ multi-platform narrative strengths, making full use of their range of platforms and commercial opportunities — from print to display, audio, video, social media, and more.

Our winners and highly commended ads always provide plenty of inspiration for next year’s award-winning campaigns, so take a look at who took home a trophy in 2024.

EssenceMediacom and Boots — a Newsworks Awards hat trick!

Two of the night’s big winners were EssenceMediacom and Boots, bagging most effective campaign, best contextual campaign, and best tactical campaign for Boots’ Opticians.

The three campaigns recognised show not just the range of what the high-street healthcare chain offers its consumers but also the impressive breadth of ad campaigns the partnership has produced over the past year — from beautifully timed, brand-led tactical campaigns to cleverly placed, price-based contextual ads and cover wraps.

Three of the best content partnerships

With advertisers recognising their power, value, and flexibility across news brands’ myriad content platforms, it’s no wonder we’ve seen a significant increase in news brand content partnerships in recent years. That’s why we split the category into three budget tiers in 2024, celebrating more of these fantastic campaigns.

Wavemaker UK took home two of the three awards from the best content partnership categories: the medium-budget award for its Keep Britain Tidy partnership with The Sun and the large-budget award for Morrisons’ “More from Market Street.” The small-budget award went to EssenceMediacom Scotland for Quality Meat Scotland’s “Meat & 2.0.”

Using news brand ad effectiveness for good

News brand ads’ placement around the nation’s conversations makes publishers inherently relevant spaces to advertise in. This matters even more when it comes to purpose-led campaigns aiming to make a positive impact on society. UM London, CALM, and MoneySuperMarket’s campaign managed this with aplomb, winning best social impact campaign.

With a focus on mental health and suicide prevention, the campaign harnessed insight that found more than 40% of adults were stressed over domestic bills and almost three-quarters would welcome financial advice from brands to ensure readers knew they could access help and support.

The industry votes for its first ad of the year

With a shortlist made of Newsworks’ nine ad-of-the-month winners, this year’s awards saw the first award voted for not by our esteemed judges, but via a two-week public vote by the industry.

All the ads got plenty of love in the vote but only one would be crowned the ultimate winner. That accolade (and a shiny trophy) went to OMD UK and British Gas for “Trunks Hung Up,” a tactical ad honouring recently retired Olympian Tom Daley as part of the energy supplier’s sponsorship of Team GB.

Advertiser of the year: from passive brand to powerhouse

In addition to recognising the ads themselves, each year we recognise an advertiser that has consistently used news brands to supercharge the effectiveness of its campaigns.

This year’s award went to building society Nationwide. The company’s massive recommitment to news brand ad investment was instrumental in bringing the brand out of passive positivity and into active appreciation among its target market.

The Grand Prix winner takes readers back to the 90s

We save the best for last at the Newsworks Awards with the one everyone wants to win — the Grand Prix award. Chosen by the judging panel, the award rewards the very best of the best of effective, creative, memorable news brand advertising.

Chosen for its brilliant marriage of creative idea and media execution as well as impressive business results, OMD UK and McDonald’s made the most of The Times’ former broadsheet format to immerse readers in the 90s culture of “Cool Britannia” and demonstrate the brand’s long-standing commitment to quality ingredients.

In addition to the Grand Prix, the judges also awarded the best display ad campaign.

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