NEW YORK, June 24, 2019 – BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe), a leading global communications agency, celebrated Gold and Silver Cannes Lions wins at the 2019 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, held in Cannes France, for “The People’s Seat,” for the United Nations (UN) and “The Barbershop Girls: Shaving Stereotypes” for Procter & Gamble’s Gillette brand in India. Overall, BCW’s work was shortlisted in 16 categories.
BCW’s team in London led global PR and media strategy for “The People’s Seat” campaign for the United Nations, which earned a Gold Lion in the Social Community Building and Management – Digital / Social subcategory of the PR track and the Silver in the Not-for-Profit/Charity/Government subcategory of the PR track. The initiative was designed to bring the voice of millions of citizens to the UN Climate Change Conference held in Poland in December 2018. It allowed people from around the world to watch and have their voices heard during the COP24 conference. To launch the campaign, Sir David Attenborough and environmental campaigner Kathy Jetnil-Kijiñer called on people to share their experiences and opinions on climate change using the hashtag #TakeYourSeat. These messages were used to shape the People’s Seat Address Sir David gave to the assembly on December 3, 2018. The multifaceted campaign was produced by WPP agencies Grey, BCW, Town Productions, Kantar TNS, Lightspeed, Finsbury, The Social Partners and MediaCom in partnership with the UN Department of Public Information (DPI), the United Nations Office at Geneva, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Facebook, with support from Circle AI, Whalar, ITB and Getty Images.
Genesis BCW led media strategy and outreach for “The Barbershop Girls: Shaving Stereotypes” for Gillette, which won a Silver Lion in the Entertainment Lions for Music, Use of License / Adapted Music category. “Shaving Stereotypes” is a film in which the experience of two teenage barbershop girls from the Indian village of Banwari Tola is viewed from the eyes of an eight-year-old boy, whose point of view on the world is shaped by what he sees, often very strongly defined stereotypical gender roles. When the girls prepare to shave his father, he is confused and asks his father why they are doing so. His father pauses and explains that a razor can’t tell the difference between a boy and a girl. The work was produced by Grey India, Genesis BCW, Townhouse Productions, Autumn Grey, MediaCom and Encompass.
“We are incredibly proud that these powerful integrated campaigns have been recognized at the world’s premier festival celebrating creativity,” said Donna Imperato, Global CEO, BCW. “It is especially meaningful that the work honored addresses the important issues of climate change and gender stereotyping. We celebrate these awards with our clients and agency partners and look forward to continued success.”
