CMS Marketing was the big winner at the 32nd APMC Star Awards which were held last night (April 16, 20206) in Dublin’s Westbury Hotel.
The agency picked up the coveted Grand Prix on the night for its work with Paddy Power and the “Paddy Power Darts” campaign which also won two Gold Stars.
Speaking on behalf of the judging panel, Muiris Ó Riada, International Marketing Director for Proximo, commented: “It was a pleasure to be a first-time judge with the APMC this year and see the incredible calibre of work across so many disciplines of marketing, from the big budget to the scrappy, all demonstrating the power of marketing as a growth driver.”
The agency that won the highest number of Gold Stars was Verve the Live Agency which picked up six Golds on the night.
The coveted and highly competitive Creative award went to The Brill Building, for its ‘The Breathless Collection’ for The Marie Keating Foundation which also won two Golds. The Brill Building was also recognised for its “Dickensian Irish Christmas” campaign for Focus Ireland.
Elsewhere, Allied Global Marketing walked away on the night 14 awards, the most by any single agency. This included Gold for ‘Nonna’s Kitchen’ for Birra Moretti.
It was also a good night for Invention, part of the WPP Group, which won three Golds. Two Silvers and two Bronzes stars for its work with Brennans Bread.
A collaborative entry between CMS Marketing, OLIVER and OMD secured two Golds for Bank of Ireland and the Never Stop Competing campaign.
Meanwhile, BITEMARK, part of the Verve family, took a Gold for Moonpig Ireland’s Mother’s Day campaign, and there was Gold too for goosebump for its work with Avonmore’s Protein Milk Coffee.
New entrant Legacy Communications took Gold for AMGEN – Make or Break while Mixtape was awarded four stars for its campaigns for Intersport Elverys (Canterbury and Adidas).
Also recognised on the night was Backup Marketing with a Silver for its Nestlé iced coffee launch. InSight Marketing, meanwhile, took three stars for its work with John West, Unilever and Yoplait campaigns. Wilson Hartnell, meanwhile, bagged a Bronze Star for its work with the KPMG Women’s Irish Open sponsorship.
The APMC was proud to recognise the 2026 Rising Stars of our industry – agencies were invited to nominate individuals from their teams who demonstrate outstanding abilities – young achievers, innovators and thinkers. Two marketeers were recognised this year – Luíseach Alexander from Verve the Live Agency and Karl Wolahan from Legacy Communications.
“We are thrilled to see so many agencies participate and win Star Awards” said Kristi Relihan, on behalf of the Board of the APMC.
“In addition to our loyal APMC members, we were delighted to see so many different agencies participating in the competition this year, and we are proud to honour the campaigns which really deliver results for our clients. It shows the depth of talent and expertise in the Irish market. All the campaigns that were shortlisted and won Stars are worthy winners and we as an Association are thrilled to celebrate and congratulate them”.
All winners are eligible to go on to compete against the best of the best in Europe at the European Association of Communications Agencies IMPACT Awards which are scheduled to be open for entries later in the year.
The APMC Star Awards are supported by IMJ/Adworld.ie, Element London; Return2Sender; Hayes Solicitors; IMJ; Horizon Digital Print; Fillit; McCul Clothing; global and Session Hire.
The full list of winners is available on www.apmc.ie
