The international Purpose Awards, held annually in London but conducted during a digital ceremony on 29 and 30 June, recognise powerful and effective cause marketing for a greater purpose, which has become increasingly mainstream among major brands and companies. TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg has won Agency of the Year at the Purpose Awards.
The agency also bagged the Brand-led Best Advocacy Campaign category for its ‘Wear it for Me’ campaign for MTN. For this campaign, TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg turned mothers into influencers to persuade the youth of Africa to wear masks to stem the spread of Covid-19. With many people refusing to wear masks or not wearing them correctly, the campaign was part of MTN’s drive to raise awareness about mask-wearing in its 21 African and Middle Eastern markets.
TBWA\South Africa has committed its resources, time and expertise to cause marketing for years, but in 2020, the agency doubled down on pro bono work.
The agency also addressed the second pandemic, of gender-based violence in South Africa, which earned it five Cannes Lions for the ‘Blame No More’ victim-blaming campaign. It pivoted its clients’ marketing and leveraged their resources, time and expertise to put 550,000 pairs of school shoes on children’s feet and provide 750,000 meals to people who were economically hit by the pandemic.
And TBWA\South Africa became the primary communication partner of the Solidarity Fund, set up to address the most urgent needs of the pandemic. These campaigns did not ‘look’ like charity: they were tangible expressions of purpose that the client, their staff and their customers could be a part of.
Luca Gallarelli, Group CEO of TBWA\South Africa said, ‘As a group, we’re delighted to receive this latest accolade just a week after winning a Glass Lion for change at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity. We believe in the power of creativity to act as a force for good and, more importantly, a force for change. Producing purposeful work for our clients that impacts our continent positively is what drives us.’
TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg’s Chief Creative Officer, Pete Khoury, added, ‘Brands and agencies that are doing more than they’re saying are building their businesses for future success. We use the power of storytelling, not just to build brands and sell products, but also to bring into awareness narratives that can impact society in positive ways. That can create real change,’ Khoury said.
Ntombizamasala Hlophe, strategy director at Yellowwood said, ‘Not many of us had an opportunity to do something about the pandemic. MTN had the bravery to respond with a single-minded focus on mask-wearing. That focus really liberated us to explore the most motivating reasons for wearing a mask – reasons that, while universal, could have stand out meaning in Africa.’
