The national Croatian award celebrating effectiveness in marketing communications, Effie Awards Croatia, was presented to the best agencies and advertisers at Days of Communication 2025, recognizing outstanding market communication in the areas of creativity, strategy, and achieved results over the past year.
The Grand Prix and Gold Effie Award Croatia 2025 went to Zagrebačka pivovara and agency BBDO Zagreb for the project Be Brave, Be Healthy (Ožujsko pivo), carried out in collaboration with strategic partners 404/MYTY, OMD Media, and Croatia Polyclinic.
The well-known lyrics “Songs for courage”, which were creatively visualized in a TV commercial starring two Gorans and one Rene 😊 (Goran Bogdan, Goran Navojec, and Rene Bitorajac), motivated as many as 3,500 Croatian men to muster up the courage, make time for themselves, and schedule a urology check-up. Compared to previously much lower statistics on preventive urological screenings, the results clearly confirmed the campaign’s message: “A real man doesn’t fear the finger.” This outcome was one of the key reasons why the campaign won over the Effie jury.
As a reminder, prostate cancer – the most common type of cancer in men in Croatia – has in recent years also become the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths. According to the latest data, around 2,800 men are diagnosed with it annually, approximately 800 die, and nearly 600 cases go undetected every year, which significantly increases the mortality rate.
Due to apathy, prejudice, and misunderstanding of the screening process used in early detection – which is critical for survival – many men are afraid to go for an exam.
That’s why raising awareness is so important. However, the challenge lies in approaching the subject appropriately – not scaring men further, but rather encouraging them to be open to discussion and motivated to take care of themselves.
How exactly did they connect such a serious topic to a beer brand? Was the campaign’s success partly due to the carefully measured use of humor? And what are they especially proud of in this initiative? After the awards ceremony, we briefly spoke with a visibly proud Ana Štebih Pinjuh, Marketing Director of Zagrebačka pivovara.
A socially responsible campaign with such excellent results earned this valuable award. Did it take a long time to develop the idea and connect your target audience with one of the leading men’s health issues in Croatia?
Ana Štebih Pinjuh with the team after their big win
Ana Štebih Pinjuh: Yes, we thought long and hard about the topic – about finding something relevant to our audience that we could address in a way that’s true to the Žuja spirit. That’s how we always work – we want to be genuine, to speak on issues that are important to society, and use the strength of our brand to raise awareness about things we feel aren’t talked about enough.
We recognized that there was a real need to talk about men’s health – prostate cancer specifically – which, if detected early, is 90% curable. Unfortunately, the exam still carries a kind of “mystique” in Croatia – it’s associated with discomfort, but in reality, it lasts just a few seconds and saves lives. That’s the territory we chose to claim and communicate – in our own Žuja way.
We’re extremely proud of these awards, but most of all, we’re proud that our initiative led to over 3,500 men signing up for a screening. More than 10% of them showed indications that required further testing, which is a very significant outcome. What’s particularly moving is that some individuals personally reached out to thank us – because they went for the exam only due to our campaign, received a cancer diagnosis, but caught it in time. They reached out while recovering from surgery, telling us they’d be fine – and that is the biggest reward of all: knowing we saved lives.
Many studies show that fear and shame are key reasons why men avoid screenings and also why they rarely discuss these issues with one another. Did this campaign help spark those conversations and break the taboo?
Ana Štebih Pinjuh: Absolutely. That’s exactly why men tend to avoid talking about it. What was interesting is that this campaign actually encouraged conversations among them. Some started saying things like: “I went for the check-up – it’s really no big deal.” A lot of them talked after playing football or hanging out, and that motivated them to get screened.
How did you determine the number of screenings performed and the campaign’s effectiveness indicators?
Ana Štebih Pinjuh: We carried out this activity with our partners, including Croatia Osiguranje, who supported us logistically by organizing check-ups through their nationwide clinics. After the first wave of the campaign, they reported a surge in men showing up for exams – a dramatic increase compared to their usual numbers. The way a message is communicated is absolutely crucial, and that made all the difference in the campaign’s success.
The winning trio of actors – Goran Bogdan, Rene Bitorajac, and Goran Navojec
