Finalists for 2017 Global Awards announced

17 Oct 2017

The Global Awards grand jury shortlisted 154 entries this year submitted from 22 countries worldwide. Entries achieving shortlist status will be judged by the 2017 Pharma (Rx) and Health and Wellness executive juries in a live session in New York City to determine trophy winners. The 2017 award-winning entries will be announced at the Global Awards ceremonies on Thursday, 16 November in New York City and Sydney, Australia.

Elizabeth Elfenbein (Health & Wellness jury chairman), partner/chief creative officer of The Bloc USA.

This year’s finalists employed a wide variety of tactics to engage and educate consumers including ambient advertising, humour, social media, event marketing, experiential engagement, and technology.

Entries utilising ambient advertising achieved finalist status. The Classic Partnership Advertising’s (UAE) “Footnote for the breast” for Medcare Women & Children Hospital wanted to raise awareness on the importance of health check, especially amongst local and Arab women. The campaign tackled the issue of taboo: while some health conditions may be taboo to talk about, there shouldn’t be any taboo for checking. Pebbles were placed in the shoes of women who went to mosques or prayer halls, and when they returned and put on their shoes, the “lump’s” message urged women to respond by calling Medcare’s toll-free number to schedule their free-of-cost consultation.

A shift in perception and increased empathy

Additional uses of ambient advertising include: FCB Health USA “Gay Blood Dumpster” for Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) – the agency constructed a large art installation in Chelsea for Pride, New York that featured two dumpsters packed with "Gay Blood" to signify how discrimination dehumanises a community while simultaneously wasting 617,000 pints of potential donor blood every year! The Bloc USA “Hearing voices of support interactive art installation” for Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America, created an immersive interactive art installation for Schizophrenia Awareness Week that featured sensor plates throughout the gallery activating light beams and triggering sound and a video projection of a person speaking, reminiscent of auditory hallucinations but with a twist – the voices were positive. Gallery visitors heard positive stories told by affected people talking about what helps them. People surveyed who experienced the event showed a shift in perception and increased empathy, with more than 80% wanting to do more to help people affected by a schizophrenia-related illness.

Humour drove multiple entries to the trophy round: McCann Health Australia “Poo Romance” for client Metamucil utilised an ironic love story between a giant walking brand icon – a Metamucil jar, and a walking poo to engage pharmacists and consumers. The creative brought to life health messages and raised talkability about a sensitive subject. Ogilvy CommonHealth Australia “The Stool Expert” for client Coloxyl tackled the embarrassment of constipation by introducing Stefan, a stool expert who captures that elusive spot between humour and respect, educating the consumer on the using correct terminology 'stools' without embarrassment and with expertise. Results include 400 earned media placements yielding 350MM+ impressions.

Coloxyl: Stefan the Stool https://t.co/d59uaOh6tm pic.twitter.com/ttatO5qAwZ
— Prashanth (@uleadin) May 25, 2017

Weber Shandwick’s “The Debate Headache” for client Excedrin conducted a social takeover on twitter. During the 2016 US Presidential Election custom head pain relief kits were delivered to top journalists with a tease that a big headache was coming. The morning of the debate, social takeover began on Twitter via a Promoted Trend with the message: “The possibility of a #DebateHeadache is high, be prepared with Excedrin.” Within hours of the first tweet, media coverage appeared in consumer/lifestyle, business and marketing publications, national/local broadcast—results include 400 earned media placements yielding 350MM+ impressions, 180,000+ engagements across social platforms and more.

Which one of these successful 2016 marketing campaigns made the best impression on you? We def loved #DebateHeadache https://t.co/44X5wP3gqo pic.twitter.com/0BzP77OJ9V
— Torx Media (@torx) December 20, 2016

United States in the lead

The United States took the lead in this year’s Global Awards competition with 78 entries achieving finalist status. Australia saw 20 entries moving on to the trophy round, followed by the United Kingdom with 19. India moved forward with 7 entries and German agencies saw 6 entries advance. Japan advanced with 5, the United Arab Emirates and China each saw 4 entries move forward. Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Italy each saw 2 entries advance and Brazil, France, Jordan, Spain, and Sri Lanka moved forward with a single entry.

The executive jury, headed by Global Awards co-chairpersons Robin Shapiro (Pharma Rx jury chairman), global president, North America of TBWA\WorldHealth and Elizabeth Elfenbein (Health & Wellness jury chairman), partner/chief creative officer of The Bloc USA, will meet in New York City to determine the 2017 Global Award winners.

To view the 2017 Global Awards finalists please click here. For more information, please visit the Global Awards by clicking here.