McCann Erickson Belgrade has won a prestigious "Bronze Lion" at the world-renowned Cannes Advertising Festival, taking place in France for the 58th time, with their "You are not alone" campaign. The campaign, a result of a pro bono partnership with the Suicide Prevention Call Center in Serbia, has been declared by the Cannes jury of leading international experts as one of the most successful campaigns in the world in the category of creative use of media.
The campaign was awarded "Bronze Lion" in the category "The Use of Media: charities, public health & safety, public awareness messages" among nearly 3,000 other contestants from around the world. Cannes Advertising Festival brings together international advertising and media professionals, designers, digital innovators and brand leaders, who meet in Cannes every year to celebrate the most creative in brand communication, discuss industry issues, and network with each other. This year, agencies from more than 90 countries submitted over 28,000 works, the highest number of entries in the Festival's history.
We have won an award for a pro bono campaign, meaning that, despite not having a proper budget, we were able to come up with an idea that created real and heartfelt impact.
"We're very touched by the news that McCann Erickson has won this award for the project that we worked on together. This award proves that the jury has recognized how powerful, universal, and applicable this campaign is anywhere in the world. Our goal was to demonstrate, in a symbolic manner, that there is always a solution and hope for everybody. We hope that this international recognition will encourage other socially responsible companies to support our efforts", said Branka Kordić, managing director of the Suicide Prevention Call Centre.
McCann Belgrade is part of the McCann Group, founded 14 years ago, which now represents the only communications network in the region to have won two Cannes Lion awards. In 2009, the first Lion went to McCann Erickson Skoplje. The talent and dedication of the creative teams working in our Agencies in no way fall short of world-class standards. On the contrary, we have once again proved that creativity knows no boundaries.