Through New Year’s on Creativity, we’ll be counting down the best work and ideas of the year in various categories: TV/Film/Branded Content, Print/Out of Home/Design and Digital/Integrated.

At No. 8 in Print/OOH/Design, we’re seeing more and more brands try to insert themselves into the socially-conscious conversation with clunky, embarrassing results. But this campaign from DDB Germany--for office supplies, of all things, found a way to make a comment on gender equality with impressive elegance. This print and outdoor campaign for Stabilo Boss revisited historical classic black and white photographs to literally highlight women whose accomplishments went unrecognized back in the day.

Original Story:

A clever print campaign from highlighter pen brand Stabilo Boss emphasizes the role of important women who have been overlooked throughout history.

The ads, by DDB Germany, take black and white historical images and then use a highlighter pen to pick out the woman in the photograph: for example, Katherine Johnson, the NASA mathematician responsible for calculating Apollo 11's safe return to earth, is highlighted in the corner of a room full of men.

Another woman highlighted is Lise Meitner, the discoverer of nuclear fission whose male partner was awarded the Nobel Prize. There's also Edith Wilson, the First Lady and wife of Woodrow Wilson, who took over his responsibilities after he had a stroke, pictured just below her husband, who is the subject of the photo.

It's a great idea, both perfect for the product and completely in tune with the zeitgeist.