“Generation Lockdown,” a gun violence campaign from March for Our Lives created by McCann New York earned the Grand Prix for Good at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this week.
The spot, directed by Bryan Buckley of Hungry Man, shows an expert well-versed in gun safety protocol instructing a group of office workers on how to prepare themselves in case of an active shooter incident. It turns out that expert is a child.
Charity work is ineligible for Grand Prix in the regular categories at the festival, so Gold Lion charity work winners throughout the week are placed in contention for the Grand Prix for Good Honor, which is then decided by the Titanium jury.
“We see so much on this subject, but this was a new way to see it,” said Titanium Jury President David Lubars, chief creative officer of BBDO Worldwide and Chairman of BBDO. "This was so visceral, and shattering. That’s what this subject needs.”
BBH Global Chief Creative Officer Pelle Sjoenell, one of the Titanium Grand Prix jurors, said that now is a particularly fertile time for great charity work and work with purpose. “Trump and politics across the world are giving our industry a lot of good briefs right now,” he said. “Creativity is fearless and always rises to the task of balancing what’s wrong in the world, and we need more brands and agencies to jump in.”