JOHANNESBURG The Trillion Dollar campaign run by The Zimbabwean and South Africas top advertising agency, TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, has been listed as a finalist for yet another prestigious award. (Pictured: The billboards that featured in the Trillion Dolla
Osocios Best Campaign of 2009 award will be presented for the most creative and innovative social advertising campaign launched last year. Osocio is dedicated to social advertising and non-profit campaigns. Formerly known as the Houtlust Blog, Osocio is the central online hub for advertisers, ad agencies, grassroots, activists, social entrepreneurs, and good Samaritans from around the globe.
The Trillian Dollar campaign was launched last year, with the primary aim of raising awareness for the plight of The Zimbabwean, which was then subject to an outrageous import duty of 55 per cent by the government of President Robert Mugabe.
Success at Cannes
In June, at the 2009 International Advertising Festival, the campaign scooped seven Cannes awards to become the single most awarded campaign coming out of South Africa in Cannes’ 56-year history. It won two Bronze Lions, two Gold Media Lions for the best use of mixed media, one Gold Outdoor Lion for the best outdoor and a Grand Prix. The campaign also bagged the Silver Direct Lion award. The major achievement of the campaign was that the finance Minister, Tendai Biti, waived the duty fee.
The Trillion Dollar campaign consisted of various creative elements, including a billboard, made up entirely of Zimbabwean dollar bank notes. This was meant to be an analogy for the collapse of the country. The idea developed into using actual notes as the medium of the campaign, since the money had no value in terms of purchasing power. This represented the collapsed state of Zimbabwean currency, which had failed to cope with world record inflation. The campaign is one of 10 finalists for the Osocio award, the winner of which will be announced this week.
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