'The Last Ever Issue,' a porn mag that killed itself, wins Glass Lion Grand Prix at Cannes
VMLY&R Poland bought the publication, fixed it and let it die
Editor's Pick
“The Last Ever Issue,” a feminist send-off for an ailing pornographic magazine in Poland, won the Glass Lion for Change Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Made by VMLY&R Poland for Gazeta.pl, MasterCard and BNP Paribas, the campaign ponied up the cash to buy out “Twój Weekend,” an explicit publication that had been one of the country’s most popular. Polish sex education is lacking, so many men had grown up with the images in the magazine as their only exposure to female sexuality.
After the purchase, the buyers shut it down, releasing one last issue that took inspiration from the content of the original magazine. Only this time, it features stories of powerful Polish women and columns that corrected much of the misinformation “Twój Weekend” had previously spread.
“When I look at this Grand Prix, I see culture-shifting creativity in spades,” says Glass Jury Chair Jaime Robinson, chief creative officer at Joan Creative. “What I love about it is it’s a Iightning-bolt idea. It’s one of the things we all pray for.”
Read more about why it won over at AdAge.com.
