“Not a Target” takes one of 38 Yellow Pencils awarded globally for making International Humanitarian Law visible where it is being violated.
TBWA\RAAD and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) won MENA’s only D&AD Yellow Pencil for “Not a Target”, earning the campaign a place among a highly selective global list of just 38 winners this year.
One of the industry’s most respected honors, the Yellow Pencil recognizes work that sets a global benchmark for creativity and craft.
But “Not a Target” was never created for awards recognition. It started with a purpose: to renew the world’s attention to the laws designed to protect humanity during war.
TBWA\RAAD and the ICRC chose not to create another awareness campaign. Instead, they placed the law directly where it was being broken.
The Geneva Conventions were spray-painted word by word onto the walls of damaged hospitals and ambulances in conflict zones. Bullet holes, blast marks and shrapnel cuts ran through the text, turning every damaged surface into a reminder that the international humanitarian law must be honored and not ignored.
Then the campaign moved from documentation to prevention. Active hospitals and ambulances were marked with large-scale rooftop messages reading “This is not a target” – designed to be visible to drones and aircraft.
“Winning TBWA\RAAD’s first-ever D&AD Yellow Pencil is an incredibly proud moment for our team, but it’s also bittersweet”, said Derek Green, Chief Creative Officer at TBWA\RAAD. “You never want the reason for work like this to exist in the first place, because no matter what side you’re on during a war, hospitals, ambulances and schools should be off limits. That was agreed by 196 nations 76 years ago when they signed the Geneva Conventions. “Not a Target” wasn’t created to win awards. It was created with the International Committee of the Red Cross to remind the world that these laws still matter, and that humanity should never become collateral damage.”
Roy Al Chidiac, Communication Manager at ICRC Lebanon added “The global recognition helps amplify an urgent humanitarian message far beyond the headlines. It is an opportunity to continue reminding the world that civilians, healthcare personnel, and medical facilities must be protected under international humanitarian law. It is also a reminder that communication, when placed at the service of humanity, can do more than raise awareness. It can help protect lives. Every message shared, every story told, and every image seen has the potential to reinforce respect for the law, humanize those affected by conflict, and remind the world that behind every attack on healthcare are people fighting to survive, heal, and save others.”
In the creative industry, a D&AD Yellow Pencil is proof that an idea has broken through one of the world’s toughest creative standards. For TBWA\RAAD, it means taking MENA creativity onto the global stage while reminding the world that the laws of war are not symbolic or optional, but exist to protect humanity when it is most at risk.