Note to Correspondents

New York Festivals/United Nations Department of Public Information Awards

for Public Service Advertising to Be Presented on 5 May

 

Winning Campaigns Tackle Children’s Issues, Development, Energy Conservation

Advertising agencies from Sweden, Hungary and China, among other countries, will be honoured for public service advertising on Thursday, 5 May, during the 2011 New York Festivals/United Nations Department of Public Information International Advertising Awards at Skylight West in New York City.

Jointly sponsored by the Department of Public Information and the New York Festivals, the awards were established in 1990 to honour advertising that best exemplifies the ideals and goals of the United Nations.  This year’s panel of judges reviewed dozens of television, radio and print and new media submissions on United Nations-related themes such as human rights, AIDS, disability, child protection and road safety.  They then selected the top three to receive awards and seven others for honourable mentions.

This year’s Gold Award goes to Lowe Brindfors of Stockholm, Sweden, for the integrated media campaign “The Lottery of Life”, produced for Save the Children Sweden.  Given that the probability of being born in Sweden is only 0.08 per cent, the agency created a site giving Swedes another chance at the Lottery of Life and discover what their lives would be like, and what problems they would face, had they been born elsewhere.

The Silver Award goes to DDB Budapest of Hungary for “Slow Download”, a digital and interactive campaign produced for Amnesty International Magyarorszag.  It calls for continued pressure on world leaders to deliver on the promises of the Millennium Development Goals.  Users are invited to download videos, but then get a loading icon and a message saying, “Impatient already?  It only took 15 seconds.  Imagine waiting 15 years for food.”

DDB Shanghai of China won the Bronze Award for “Green Pedestrian Crossing”, an outdoor campaign produced for the China Environmental Protection Foundation to encourage a reduction in automotive traffic.  A busy pedestrian crossing is covered with a canvas bearing the image of a large leafless tree.  Nearby are sponges soaked in washable green paint.  As pedestrians walk across the sponges and then the canvas, they leave behind green footprints that form leaves on the tree, delivering the message that walking can create a greener environment.

In addition, the following finalists were recognized:  Cleminger BBDO, Melbourne, Australia; Mortierbrigade, Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Belgium; Agency 59, Toronto, Canada; Ogilvy & Mather, Budapest, Hungary; Lowe Brindfors; Lisa Jelliffe & Kirsten Rutherford, London, United Kingdom; and BBDO, New York, United States.

International Awards Group has representation in 75 countries and organizes international advertising and programming competitions for the AME Awards for Advertising Marketing Effectiveness; Hive Awards for the Unsung Heroes of the Internet; Midas Awards for Financial Services Communications; the Global Awards for Healthcare Communications; and the New York Festivals Awards for Advertising, TV, Film and Radio Programming.  Entries in each of the international competitions are annually judged online by hundreds of professionals in their respective industries.  For more information, visit www.InternationalAwardsGroup.com.

For more information, please contact Joanna Piucci at e-mail:  piucci@un.org or tel.:  +1 212 963 7346, or Daniela Sinobad at e-mail:  sinobad@un.org or tel.:  +1 212 963 3873.

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For information media • not an official record