Controversial "It's not the drinking, it's how we're drinking" advertisements by the Alcohol Advisory Council (Alac) have won a Gold Effie award for effective advertising.
Judges praised the "hard-hitting" ads for finding traction in a cluttered environment.
Alac chairman Peter Glensor said the ads had attracted a large number of complaints but the council made no apologies.
"The ads show graphic examples of excessive drinking leading to harm.
"These commercials are unpleasant but so are the consequences of binge drinking."
The advertisements won a Gold Effie for social marketing/public service for Clemenger BBDO at the awards ceremony in Auckland last week.
The Advertising Standards Authority last month ruled against a bar manager who complained two of the ads showed people being served by bar staff despite being visibly intoxicated.
The complainant said neither ad showed any control of bar managers to refuse service and this went against New Zealand standards.
"Should not the ad say `it's not what we are drinking nor is it how we are drinking, it is how alcohol is being served to us'?," they asked.
The authority found the social message of the ads overrode issues about the depiction of bar managers.
A survey in April found 94 percent of adults had seen one of the Alac ads and most knew the "It's not the drinking, it's how we're drinking" message which accompanied them.
The Effies are run by the Communication Agencies Association NZ, Association of NZ Advertisers and TVNZ.
