Uber Eats and Special US Earn Top Honor at 2026 Effie Awards United States Gala with a Grand Effie Win for "Football is for Food"

May. 28, 2026

The most effective marketing work in the United States was honored last night at the 2026 Effie Awards US Gala, held in New York City, recognizing campaigns that delivered measurable business results through bold strategy, creative effectiveness, and cultural relevance.

Uber Eats and Special US – along with PHD, O Positive, Exile and Pariah- took home the Grand Effie, the award recognizing the year’s most effective marketing effort, for their “Football is for Food” campaign. 

At a time when sports marketing is more crowded than ever, Uber Eats transformed football fandom into a powerful growth platform for the brand - reframing one of America’s biggest cultural passions through the lens of food delivery. Through sharp strategic positioning, entertainment partnerships, and culturally resonant creative, the campaign succeeded in driving both business results and brand impact at scale. The campaign earned additional honors throughout the night, including Gold awards in Delivery Services and Brand Integration & Entertainment Partnerships.

Traci Alford, Global CEO, Effie Worldwide said:

“The Effies exist to celebrate work that works. Work that clearly illustrates how effectiveness comes from the combination of strong strategy, creative courage, and results that move business forward. This year’s Grand winner exemplified that balance beautifully - demonstrating how brands can tap into culture in a way that truly speaks to the consumer.”

 

The Grand Effie is selected from the year’s top-scoring Gold Effie winners. This year’s contenders reflected the expanding definition of modern marketing effectiveness - spanning entertainment, healthcare, beauty, streaming, food, and breakthrough science. Together, the work demonstrated how effective marketing can drive sustained business growth, reshape consumer perceptions, and create cultural impact across categories and audiences.

This year’s Grand Effie contenders, alongside Uber Eats, included:

• Colossal Biosciences for “The First Dire Wolf Howl in over 10,000 Years”
• Kenvue and BBDO New York for “Neutrogena Remembers,” with OneVue and Alison Brod Marketing + Communications
• Novartis and Merkley + Partners for “Your Attention Please,” with Ketchum, The Marketing Arm, Publicis Groupe, and Moxie Pictures.
• Pantene, Procter & Gamble, and Grey New York for “Unexpired Pantene,” with Marina Maher Communications and VML.
• Pringles, Kellanova, and FCB New York for “Call of the Mustaches,” with Weber Shandwick, Starcom Media, Momentum, and MJZ.
• Tubi and Mischief @ No Fixed Address for “How Tubi Broke Category Conventions To Break Through In Streaming,” with VaynerMedia.
   

Mischief @ No Fixed Address had another standout year across multiple categories, earning wins for brands including Coors Light, Chili’s, e.l.f. Cosmetics, JCPenney, Tubi, and eos. Heinz and The Kraft Heinz Company were recognized across several categories, including a Gold Effie for “Mustard x Mustard,” which also earned top honors in Multicultural marketing.

Mastercard and McCann XBC earned top recognition for “Abracadabra: From Fan To Featured,” winning Gold in Engaged Community - Services and additional honors across youth and social categories. Novartis’ “Your Attention Please” campaign emerged as a major winner in Health & Wellness, taking home Gold in Rx - Consumer/DTC and additional recognition for disease awareness and education. Last Prisoner Project’s “The Pen to Right History” earned Golds in both Social Good - Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Social Good - Non-Profit categories, underscoring the growing impact of purpose-driven work rooted in measurable outcomes.

The Sustained Success categories once again recognized brands that have demonstrated long-term business impact over multiple years. This year’s Gold winners included Tubi for “How Tubi Broke Category Conventions To Break Through In Streaming” and The Ajinomoto Group for “How Ajinomoto Changed America’s Minds about MSG.”

“This year’s winners demonstrated the power of effectiveness across every category, from global brands and challengers to non-profits and emerging platforms,” noted Traci Alford.  “What united them were bold ideas, fresh thinking, and a distinct ability to create impact in unexpected ways. Tonight’s winners have shown us that effectiveness can come from anywhere and take many forms.”

In addition to honoring this year’s most effective campaigns, the Effie Awards also revealed the yearly rankings for most effective agencies, networks, holding companies, marketers and brands. The U.S. Rankings are calculated from finalist and winning entries and will contribute to the 2026 Global Effie Index, releasing next year.

• Most Effective Agency Offices: 1) Mischief @ No Fixed Address; 2) McCann; 3) VML
• Most Effective Independent Agencies: 1) Mischief @ No Fixed Address; 2) Special Group; 3) Alison Brod Marketing + Communications
• Most Effective Agency Networks: 1) McCann Worldgroup; 2) VML; 3) BBDO Worldwide
• Most Effective Holding Companies: 1) Omnicom 2) Interpublic (IPG); 3) WPP
• Most Effective Brands: 1) Uber Eats; 2) Chili’s; 3) Last Prisoner Project
• Most Effective Marketers: 1) Kraft Heinz Company 2) Uber; 3) Brinker International

All 2026 Gold-winning campaigns are eligible to compete in next year’s Global Best of the Best Effie Awards, where the world’s most effective marketing efforts will compete for Global Grand Effies and the Iridium Effie.