Four Ad Council Campaigns Tackling Bullying Prevention, Autism Awareness, Diabetes Prevention and Shelter Pet Adoption Honored at the 2016 Cannes Lions Festival

NEW YORK, June 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Seven Cannes Lions were awarded to Ad Council social good campaigns at this year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The honors, signifying the most creative and innovative ideas across the communications industry, were given to Goodby, Silverstein & Partners for the I Am A Witness Bullying Prevention campaign, Ogilvy & Mather for the Type 2 Diabetes Prevention campaign, J. Walter Thompson for the Shelter Pet Adoption campaign, and BBDO New York for the Autism Awareness campaign. The one gold, four silver, and three bronze awards were given across the Cyber, PR, Mobile and Design categories.

"Groundbreaking creativity and strategy is crucial to stimulating lasting social change. We could not be more proud of the Ad Council creative and our agency partners who continue to bring their best ideas, thinking, and execution to these worthy issues," said Lisa Sherman, Ad Council President & CEO.

Each of the winning campaigns seeks to address an important social issue and provide viewers with the tools and information to make a difference and help both themselves and those around them.

I Am A Witness, in partnership with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, won a Gold Lion in the Cyber: Social Good category, along with two Silver Lions in the Mobile category. The I Am A Witness campaign aims to stop bullying by activating the "silent majority" of kids who witness it each day and transform them from passive bystanders into a united, empowered, and active collective. At the heart of this campaign is the Witness Emoji a tool, adopted by Unicode and native in most smartphones, that enables teens to take a stand against bullying and show support for someone who is being bullied.

Ogilvy & Mather, New York was also honored at the festival for their work on the Ad Council's Type 2 Diabetes Prevention campaign, a partnership with the CDC, AMA and ADA, by taking home a Bronze Lion in the PR: Public Sector category. The campaign seeks to help the more than one in three Americans who have prediabetes and are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Through the PSAs, people are encouraged to take a short online test at DoIHavePrediabetes.org, and to learn about how to reverse their risk. In the past year, the campaign has been featured on ABC's Good Morning America and The Dr. Oz Show.

J. Walter Thompson's work on the Ad Council's Shelter Pet Adoption garnered a Silver Lion in the Cyber: Influence/Talent category. The Shelter Pet Project, a campaign on behalf of The Humane Society of the United States and Maddie's Fund, encourages people to adopt the more than 2.4 million healthy and treatable pets in shelters every year. The PSAs feature some of the internet's most loved animals, including Toast Meets World, Keyboard Cat and Hamilton Pug, all of whom were adopted from shelters.

BBDO earned a Bronze Lion in Motion Graphics: Design & Animation for their work on Ad Council's Autism Awareness campaign, in partnership with Autism Speaks. This campaign helps parents detect and intervene early if they suspect their child might have an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Early detection is essential as it can result in critical improvements over a child's lifetime. The PSAs bring to life an Autistic boy's world and highlight the key features that can lead to an Autism diagnosis.

The Ad Council also participated in a series of panels and talks throughout the seven day festival as part of the OMD Oasis, Girls Lounge, and Facebook Lounge.

About the Ad Council
The Ad Council is a private, non-profit organization with a rich history of marshaling volunteer talent from the advertising and media industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. To learn more about the Ad Council and its campaigns, visit www.adcouncil.org, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or view our PSAs on YouTube.

About the 63rd Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
June 18-25 2016, Cannes, France| Founded in 1954, Cannes Lions is an eight-day programme of creative inspiration, celebration, education and networking. Over 15,000 delegates from around 100 countries attend the Festival, making it the only truly global meeting-place for branded communications professionals to connect, share and discover.

Lions Health is dedicated to life-changing creativity, showcasing and inspiring ideas that transcend especially challenging boundaries. With insights from thought-leaders, marketers, specialists and scientists, Lions Health connects global healthcare and pharmaceutical professionals, allowing them to share successes, problem-solve and do business. 

SOURCE The Ad Council

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