MANILA, MARCH 15, 2013 – Draftfcb Manila’s ‘Help Japan’ viral video, produced for the Philippine Red Cross to raise support and funds for the victims of the Japan tsunami disaster, won the Gold award underscoring the cornerstone value of “Respect for Human Life and Dignity” at the Araw Values Awards.
The video’s appeal was in its simple but powerful message, opening with a bond-sized paper showing the flag of Japan.A hand then starts folding the four corners of paper, placing the folded triangles on the red circle that transforms into a Red Cross symbol. It ends with an appeal for donations to help the victims of the tsunami disaster that devastated Japan in 2011.
“The idea was really the brainchild of our deputy executive creative director Bong Pedro, who was then a creative director. At that time, everyone was shocked at all the images coming from Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. He was able to craft this simple yet powerful visual – of the sun in the Japanese flag transforming into the universal symbol of help, a red cross – which tied in very well with the Philippine Red Cross’s efforts to raise donations for the victims of this tragedy,” said Sydney Samodio, chief creative officer of Draftfcb.
“Making a difference matters. That was the driving force behind the ‘Help Japan’ ad. The idea was simple enough to be interesting. It used the Japanese flag and origami to reveal a red cross. I’m proud of the work, not only because it has won awards but most importantly, on how it was used to help others,” explai Pedro.
The 15-seconder ‘Help Japan’ web video was uploaded in the Philippine Red Cross website and its official YouTube and Facebook pages. It has since gone viral and has been shared a number of times in the social media.
The Araw Values Awards, organized by the Advertising Foundation of the Philippines, is considered as the premier award-giving body that recognizes not only the creativity and production value of the advertising material but also the values being promoted by the campaign.
Draftfcb Manila’s ‘Help Japan’ campaign also earned recognition at the 3rd Philippine Tinta Awards, spearheaded by the United Print Media Group (UPMG), whose aim is to raise the profile of print media by recognizing creative and well-crafted advertising pieces. The ‘Help Japan’ print ad won the Gold for the Interactive Print category and Silver for the advocacy advertising category.
“It’s a nice example of how Draftfcb’s ‘simplenough’ creative philosophy works – an idea that’s simple enough to be understood but with a visual twist that makes it complex enough to be interesting. What’s great about being ‘simplenough’ is that you get ideas that translate well across different forms of media. In this case, the idea worked well both as a 15-second internet film and as an interactive magazine ad,” Samodio added.
CREDITS
Advertiser : Philippine Red Cross
Advertising Agency : Draftfcb Manila, Manila
Chief Creative Officer : Sydney Samodio
Executive Creative Director : Sydney Samodio
Creative Director : Marvin Pedro
Copywriter : Sydney Samodio
Art Director : Marvin Pedro
Agency Producer : Syd Alcala
Planner : Lizette Santos
Film Production Company : Abracadabra, Manila
Director : Marvin Pedro/Jessel Monteverde
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