NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) has named Fairlife and its agency Doner as winners of the 2026 Grand Ogilvy Award for their campaign “Core Power: Champion Your Recovery.” The campaign also won Gold in Food & Beverage and Silver for Best Brand Transformation. The Grand Ogilvy recognizes the year’s most compelling connection between research, consumer insight, creative work and results.
The Fairlife and Doner team used post-workout interviews, in-home discussions, semiotic analysis, barrier research, brand tracking and creative testing to understand how people approach exercise and recovery. The research pointed to an opportunity beyond serious fitness enthusiasts: everyday exercisers also value recovery. “Champion Your Recovery” turned that insight into a more inclusive invitation to recognize effort at every level.
The winners were celebrated October 14 at Tribeca Rooftop in New York City, following the ARF’s Creative Effectiveness conference. The conference examined how marketers can balance immediate performance with lasting brand value such as AI, retail media and creator marketing reshape creative strategy. Speakers explored ways to measure effective creative across channels and connect it to business outcomes.
Other Gold winners
- Abbott Laboratories / FreeStyle Libre — “This is Progress” (Pharmaceuticals)
- Auto Glass Now / Driven Brands — “Get Your Auto Glass Now” (Automotive)
- Chase Sapphire Reserve — “Stories Worth Retelling” (Financial Services & Insurance)
- He Gets Us — “Loaded Words” (Cultural Fluency)
- Heineken USA / Dos Equis — “Ni Perdón, Ni Permiso” (Cultural Fluency)
- J Sainsbury’s PLC / Sainsbury’s — “Are We Made of Money?” (International, For-Profit)
- Kaiser Permanente — “A Whole Big Thing” (Health & Personal Care)
- Microsoft — “M365 with Copilot Campaign” (Best Use of Emerging Technology)
- Nestlé / Sanpellegrino — “With Love, Italy: Disrupting the Rules of Latecomer Marketing” (Best Brand Transformation)
- Tapestry / Coach — “Courage to Be Real” (Fashion, Beauty & Home)
- The Ad Council — “Agree to Agree” (Government, Public Service & Non-Profit)
- TruGreen — “Trust the Pros the Pros Trust” (Best Brand Transformation)
- Wahl Clipper Corporation / Wahl Professional — “Make It with Wahl” (Business-to-Business)
- White Castle — “Crave Thy Castle” (Retail & Restaurants)
- YouTube TV — “Don’t Settle for Meh” (Sports, Media & Entertainment)
“Fairlife and Doner’s work shows how research can uncover a bigger opportunity and give creative teams a clear direction,” said Scott McDonald, Ph.D., President and CEO of the ARF. “By listening to a wider range of exercisers, the team made recovery feel relevant to more people.”
See the complete list of 2026 winners.
About the ARF
Founded in 1936, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) is the leading organization dedicated to creating better advertising through research, standards and collaboration. With more than 400 member companies, the ARF advances the science and practice of advertising, media and marketing.
For more information, visit thearf.org or follow the ARF on LinkedIn, YouTube, X and Facebook.
Media Contact: Philip Perry | Senior Content & Communications Manager | pperry@thearf.org | (212) 751-5656 ext. 5757
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SOURCE The Advertising Research Foundation
