Following our triple shortlisting success announced in May, Carat UK has secured two major wins at The Drum Marketing Awards EMEA 2025, taking home Gold in the Content category and Bronze in the Partnership or Collaboration category for the groundbreaking Co-op Funeralcare "Celebrity Send Off" campaign.
The awards ceremony, held in London last night, brought together the region's top marketing talent to celebrate exceptional work that has driven the industry forward across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa within the past year.
Gold-Winning Content Strategy Breaks Industry Taboos
The Gold award in the Content category recognises Carat's innovative approach to tackling one of society's most challenging topics. When 91% of people think about death but half never discuss it, the "Celebrity Send Off" campaign broke through this powerful taboo with authentic, entertaining content that genuinely changed viewer behaviour.
Key campaign achievements:
- 63% of viewers felt more comfortable discussing funeral planning after watching
- A permanent addition to Channel 4's All4 on-demand service
- National conversation starter on end-of-life planning
- Authentic storytelling featuring real funeral directors and genuine celebrity participants
The campaign paired well-known duos—rockers Bez and Shaun Ryder, Olympic athlete Kriss Akabusi and his daughter Shakira, and Gogglebox stars Marcus and Mica—to plan each other's funerals, creating compelling content that was both meaningful and memorable.
Breaking New Ground for Channel 4 Collaboration
We were also awarded the Bronze award in the Partnership or Collaboration category, which celebrated the strategic alliance between Carat, Co-op Funeralcare, and Channel 4 and made this campaign possible.
This groundbreaking partnership achieved several industry firsts:
- Channel 4's first cross-platform content sharing beyond their own channels to YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok
- Real funeral directors on camera guiding celebrities through actual funeral planning
- Seamless integration of brand expertise with entertainment value
Each partner contributed unique strengths: Channel 4 provided the platform and audience reach, Co-op Funeralcare shared professional expertise and opened their facilities, while Carat developed the strategic framework that unified all elements into award-winning work.
Cheez-It Campaign Recognised as Finalist in Competitive Category
We also want to acknowledge the exceptional work of our team behind the Kellanova Cheez-It "Cheez-Hit? Cheez-It!" campaign, which was recognised as a finalist in the highly competitive CPG/FMCG category.
The campaign successfully launched this beloved American snack brand into the UK's competitive £4bn snack market, achieving:
- 8.9% reach of UK consumers within 12 weeks
- 25.8% repeat purchase rate by year-end
- The biggest new brand launch in the large-sharing snacks category in four years
This recognition demonstrates Carat's versatility in delivering impactful campaigns across diverse sectors and challenges.
You can see the full list of winners from the night here.
Dentsu Network Success
These wins contribute to broader success across the dentsu network at The Drum Marketing Awards EMEA, with sister agencies iProspect, Merkle and dentsu Creative also securing nominations in various categories. This collective achievement showcases the network's comprehensive expertise across all marketing disciplines throughout the EMEA region.
