It was a proud moment when the team from Y&R Dubai went up on the Cannes Lions stage to receive the Gold Lion for ‘One Poster for Peace’ campaign. The campaign designed for The Inter-religious Council for Bosnia & Herzegovina won the Gold Lion in Industry Craft category and a Bronze in Print & Publishing.
In a country strife with discord, what can be done to spread the message of unity & togetherness? How do we get people to look past differences and embrace similarities?
Y&R Dubai had a solution. They noticed that Islamic and Christian art forms have a lot in common. Studying the history of both religions, they chose 4 common art forms (such as mosaics, stained glass, door carving and calligraphy) and merged their individual styles seamlessly to create one poster.
Talking about the campaign, Kalpesh Patankar, executive creative director / art director at Y&R, Dubai said in a chat with Mediavataar MENA, “There was a higher purpose of UNITY and PEACE and to start a positive conversation. The project won a Gold at Cannes and almost every other global award. But more importantly it has reached millions of hearts. And that for us is the work that matters.”
The campaign received a total of 53 million impressions. From sending the posters to influential leaders like Pope Francis, Antonio Guterres and Donald Trump, to placing it in between the church and the mosque, they reached 96% of the total population of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 100% of its online population.
The posters are now being promoted at peace conferences across Europe, Middle-east and Asia. Two weeks after the launch, faith leaders came together for a common prayer for the first time after the Bosnian War.
Kalpesh added, “There’s so much more that unites us than sets us apart. We went back in time and brought common art forms from both the church and the mosque together. Byzantine mosaics of Palatine Chapel of Italy were merged with the Girih pattern mosaics of Bibi Khanym Mosque in Uzbekistan. Similarly, other stories about beads, carpets, relief and dome from churches and mosques around the world were brought together.”
This win is in line with the theme of Cannes Lions – “PURPOSE,” said Kalpesh. “Every piece of work, client and agency at the festival this year reflected a strong purpose and stood out and shined at the awards. Whether it was a piece like Palau Pledge or ‘It’s a Tide ad’, purpose was the real winner. Cannes Lions 2018 showcased a lot of promising work.”
In addition to Kalpesh, other key players in the award winning team were: Kapil Bhimekar – Art Director, Sambhav Khandelwal – Copy Writer and Jasmina Nikolic – Account Director at New Moment New Ideas Company.