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Health Advertising's Biggest Campaigns Come Into Focus
AdHealth unfurls annual Top 10 rankings
Advertising Health releases its Top 10 rankings of the most awarded work in healthcare today. Now in its 13th year, the list details campaigns that helped push creativity in new directions across the sector.
Ad Health partnered with Clio Health for the 2024 rankings.
Klick Health, Ogilvy PR New York and VML Health Spain round out the top three agencies addressing such critical areas as disability, dermatology and medical dogs in remote parts of the world who sniff out disease where doctors are out of reach.
Muse sat down with Tim Jones, EVP and ECD at Klick Health, and John McPartland, ECD EMEA at Ogilvy Health UK. Jones serves as editor and McPartland as deputy editor of Advertising Health. The discussion concerns what the rankings set out to accomplish—and why it matters.
Muse: When was the AdHealth World Top 10 ranking created and what inspired you to create a health-focused creative ranking?
Tim Jones & John McPartland: This is the 13th year of the Top 10 rankings, each year it has grown and evolved over time, with this year being our most comprehensive to date. The rankings started with a simple idea, to help bring exposure and celebrate what was then a hidden side of the advertising industry. What has been so beautiful to see is that as we have grown, so has the industry. While the healthcare agencies still feature heavily in the annual, we see more and more consumer agencies breaking into the healthcare space. We see this mix as a reflection of how healthcare has become more mainstream.
Muse: Can you explain what sets this ranking apart from other creative rankings?
Tim Jones & John McPartland: This is the only ranking that focuses specifically on healthcare categories and shows at a global level. In doing so we are able to delve into greater detail and celebrate the best work being done in the most regulated industry you can imagine.
Tim Jones
Muse: How did you determine which awards to include in the rankings?
Tim Jones & John McPartland: Our shows were chosen to reflect the best creative work in the industry at a global level. The shows included all have a specific Health & Pharma track, meaning that we are able to isolate winners from these categories for the rankings. For instance this year sees the introduction of D&AD into the Top 10 with their inaugural Healthcare & Pharma categories.
Muse: What does it mean to be included in the rankings?
Tim Jones & John McPartland: According to LinkedIn, ‘humbled, honored and proud.’ Joking aside, we know the amount of determination it takes to get work out there in this industry. So being included in the rankings is a huge achievement to everyone involved. It means that you are delivering outstanding work consistently, you are creating groundbreaking work that has a direct impact on peoples lives, and most importantly, you are part of pushing our industry forwards.
Muse: How do you think this ranking influences creative standards and trends within health marketing?
Tim Jones & John McPartland: The rankings weren’t made to influence, but to inspire, to show what can be achieved within our industry, and push people to make better work each year. They help to demonstrate not only to agencies, but also to clients, the type of work that everyone should be aspiring to create. Each year we are blown away by the standard of work. And looking back over the past decade, the industry is almost unrecognizable to where it was—in a good way, that is.
Muse: How has it grown over the past few years and where do you envision the rankings evolving from here?
John McPartland
Tim Jones & John McPartland: We have always tried to evolve the rankings to delve deeper into the data. This helps us to get a broader picture of the work being produced, and helps highlight regions that are often overlooked. Each year we have new countries, new agencies and new trends emerging. As we move forward, we want to continue to grow the rankings. As more shows begin to introduce Health & Pharma tracks, that will help us to evolve this endeavor.
