Ads for a good cause

The use of impactful advertising, that which generates positive or negative feelings, but in any case exciting; the one that goes to the bottom of your neurons and stays there camped, the one that makes you want to get up from your chair and act, well moved by anger or outrage, but also by optimism that a better world can be achieved . This formula is widely used by advertising agencies whose clients are organizations that seek to promote a good cause or perhaps companies interested in raising social awareness through the promotion of some of their products or brands.

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And there are very good ones. The proof of the good health of creativity around the world has been seen during the last week of June in the virtual celebration of the Cannes Lions Awards, something like the Oscars of advertising. Its organizers announced a few months ago that this edition, which would have been the 66th, would not be held due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has carried thousands of events of all kinds. Instead, they designed a four-day calendar full of virtual conferences for professionals and amateurs from the world of advertising, which also includes a new category of awards: the Regional Agency of the Decade, a recognition of advertising agencies that have driven better campaigns since 2010.

The winners of each region are already known: Asia, Africa, Europe, America ... All of them are agencies that have created impressive campaigns to draw attention to issues of global interest such as gender equality, planet pollution, violence against childhood or racism, among others. Here is a review of some of the most striking of the last year, including several of the winners in this contest.

The cyber smile

In association with Chessie King, a social media influencer and activist for women's confidence in her body, the Cannes Lions winners for Best Regional Agency of the Decade launched a campaign for the Cybersmile Foundation using Instagram stories to demonstrate the devastating effects cyberbullying can have on young people. The protagonist uploads videos of herself on the social network and, before the criticism of other users, she is modifying her body to like it. The result ... The least, bizarre, unreal and worrying. For this campaign the hashtag #TrollingIsUgly was also circulated (Trolear is ugly).

The basics of back to school

When September arrives and the children are about to start a new course, advertising bombards consumers with "back to school basics" ads. Well, this campaign does not sell folders, backpacks, or cases, although at the beginning of the video it seems, but objects with a much more twisted end. In which head should one advertise an offering a T-shirt to make a tourniquet for a bleeding child? Or a very sharp scissors in case you have to nail it to someone to survive? Or a cell phone so you can tell your mother that you love her before they kill you? Well, the people in charge of Sandy Hook Promise came up with it. This is an American charity founded by relatives and loved ones of the 28 victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012. And they seek to create debate, draw attention to control the use of weapons in the United States, and to make the shootings in schools stop being such a frequent reality. Since 2013, at least 108 gun incidents have been reported in schools across the United States, a country with 326 million residents and 393 million guns according to the 2018 Small Arms Survey. It is 40% of the world total in a country with 4% of the planet's population.

The last problem

The Polish weekly Twój Weekend (Your Weekend) filled the kiosks with pornographic covers for 27 years without interruption. The magazine was one of the most read in the country despite the fact that its pages crudely showed women as mere sexual objects, following the macho culture that still survives in Poland: in the latest index of gender equality, this country is 12 points below the European average. In December 2018, however, the publication was sold. It seemed like its end ... But no. The header was bought by the Polish newspaper Gazeta, by the company Mastercard and the BNP Paribas bank ... And they gave it an ironic new destination through the action The last ever issue : a publication full of reports, Photographs and interviews with successful women that gave a very different perspective to that offered by the magazine until then. This idea comes from the winners of the Best Regional Agency for Africa and the Middle East at the Cannes Lions Awards, who had already been recognized for this specific campaign a year earlier in the same event.

The law of the next minute

In Brazil 1,388 violations occur daily, almost one per minute. The government asked the agency for a campaign to announce new regulations aimed at helping victims: the Next Minute Law, created to guarantee free and immediate assistance to rape victims in public hospitals. "In association with the Federal Prosecutor's Service, we raise awareness of the law by installing billboards with six times stronger lights on streets with a high incidence of violence, not only to report on the law, but also to prevent new assaults, "explains the agency.

The Tampon Book

In Germany, tampons were considered a luxury item and carried a VAT of 19%, the same as in many other countries, including Spain. However, other items such as works of art, books, caviar, truffles or flowers are classified as essential goods and have a reduced VAT of 7%. Why is having a period as expensive as eating caviar? For the vindictive brand The Female Company, this seemed to come from an upside-down world, so they created a shocking campaign to ask tampons to get this "sexist tax" down, as they called it. And it was not only an advertising video, but this campaign was accompanied by an internet petition that accumulated almost 200,000 signatures and most importantly, the trick. The Female Company put up for sale a 46-page book that inside, in addition to stories about menstruation, contained 15 tampons made from organic material. And, as it was a book, it was marketed at a reduced rate of 7% instead of 19%, which would be the one corresponding to tampons. Did the campaign work? It seems so, because Germany finally modified it.

The Look, a history of prejudice

This is a story to talk about prejudice towards the black population in the United States, specifically towards men. The video begins by showing a black man who walks down the street, enters commercial establishments, asks for a coffee in a bar ... And wherever he goes he receives hostile glances, looks of fear, of distrust. As the viewer can imagine, the end of the video shows who this man really is. We do not reveal his identity, but we do anticipate that none of the people he meets and who look at him ill would have never imagined his role in society. "Let's talk about the aspect and so we can see beyond it. Let's talk about prejudice", closes the campaign, of the multinational Procter & Gamble, which does not announce any of its products in it. The announcement is part of a P&G communication strategy to address the issue of racial bias. The entire campaign is hosted on this website.

Trash can mask your future

This is one of the campaigns that has arisen as a result of the coronavirus crisis. Before, it would have been unthinkable to carry out publicity to raise awareness about contamination due to masks; very few used them. But now they are everywhere, including those we should protect the most: our oceans, seas and rivers, our fields, mountains and beaches. For this reason, a hygiene products company has resorted to a call to conscience and responsibility to promote its reusable face masks, better than those that are discarded and end up dirtying our planet; something that, judging by the images, has already happened.

Share the load ...

In addition to procuring the sale of detergent, Ariel wanted to do something more with her latest commercial launched in India: to raise a debate on gender inequality, specifically within households, and more specifically, on the issue of the unbalanced distribution of housework. This imbalance affects the protagonist of the last of the several ads broadcast since the brand started the campaign in 2015. It is about a wife and mother who is always busy tidying the house, cleaning, cooking and can never sleep. "71% of women sleep less than men due to housework," says the campaign.

Hunger and waste

One of the recognitions granted by the Cannes Lions festival is the Young Lions Live Award, convened in collaboration with the UN World Food Program. This is an award given to authors between the ages of 18 and 30 who have carried out the best campaign to raise awareness about hunger in the world, but also about excess waste: an advertisement that "encourages people to waste less food and contribute to ending hunger in the world at the same time, "asks the organization.

The winner was announced on June 26 and was the Give a third campaign by Daniel Azar and Hendrik van Amstel from Havas, Germany. The second place went to Lorenzo Canazza and Giulia de Chirico, from We Are Social Milan, Italy, for their 2/3 campaign work , and the third, to Recypes , from Ticiana Mancini and Álvaro Salazar Chacón, from Gut Buenos Aires, Argentina. Here is the complete list of winners and finalists.

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