Professional mourners lamenting the thirsty and a tabloid introducing older readers to the digital world brought agency Imago Ogilvy nine medals at BalticBest 2026. The campaigns A Cry for Hydration for Studena and My connection for Hrvatski Telekom won four golds, two silvers and three bronzes. Croatia thus took home half of the eight gold medals awarded at the ceremony held on 25 September in Riga.
This year’s edition of the international marketing and advertising competition attracted 358 entries, of which 147 reached the final. BalticBest brings together work from smaller countries, recognising the similar conditions in which their creative industries operate: smaller budgets, smaller teams and the need for ideas to compete for attention with limited resources. Alongside the Baltic countries, the competition is open to other smaller markets, and gold winners also receive free entry to the Epica Awards.
From professional mourners to digital literacy
The campaign A Cry for Hydration, known to local audiences as Posljednji GUC GUC, won six medals. It received three golds in the categories Social Media Advertising (Direct Marketing Online), Content Marketing, Branded Content and Branded Entertainment and Marketing Effectiveness. It also won silvers for Online/Banner Advertising and Integrated Advertising, and a bronze for Online Video & Film.
At the heart of the campaign is the everyday phrase “I’m dying of thirst”, which Studena and Imago Ogilvy took literally. Professional mourners, traditionally associated with lamenting the dead, mourned people who had simply forgotten to drink water. Their solemn delivery and dark humour gave the message about hydration a different tone, while the idea expanded from the main video into short digital formats and social media communication. Followers also received personalised laments, making the mourners part of the brand’s direct interaction with its audience. The campaign, which we featured in the Behind the Winning Idea series, recorded a 12% increase in sales and a one-percentage-point increase in market share.
A familiar cultural format also served as the starting point for Moja veza, entered under the title My connection. The project for Hrvatski Telekom won gold for Direct Marketing Offline and bronzes in the categories Print Advertising and Content Marketing, Branded Content and Branded Entertainment. It was shortlisted in the Promo and Activation category.
For this campaign, Imago Ogilvy placed digital education in a tabloid. Romances, family dramas and familiar sections introduced older readers to more than 50 digital terms, while QR codes directed them to short video tutorials. The printed magazine thus became the first step towards using digital services, from communicating via apps to paying bills. All 20,000 copies were distributed, and the tutorials accumulated more than 900,000 views. Among their viewers, 75% were over the age of 45.
Latvia leads in the total number of medals
While Croatia won the most golds, Latvia finished the competition with the highest number of medals, 26. It was followed by Lithuania with 24, Croatia with nine, Estonia with seven and Georgia with six. A total of 72 medals were awarded: eight golds, 28 silvers and 36 bronzes.
The remaining four golds were shared among agencies from Lithuania, Georgia and Latvia. Not Perfect Vilnius was awarded for Teacher in the TV Advertising category, and Holy Motors for the campaign Flags of Victory for Todua Clinic in the Integrated Advertising category. Latvian agency Magic won gold for The Foundation of Cyber Excellence in the Public Interest Communications category, while McCann Riga was awarded for The Pink Oath, a project for Pink Train Foundation, in the Influencer Marketing category.
An international jury decided on the awards during sessions held on 15 and 16 September, and the winners were announced at the Baltic Brand Forum. The judging was streamed live, allowing participants who followed the sessions to hear discussions about the work, comments and the reasoning behind the final decisions.
