Hoy Argentina was awarded a Bronze Lion in Print and Publishing, for developing the world’s first fireproof newspaper.
The impactful campaign, created with SeSocio Financial Investments, was designed to raise funds and awareness of the fires devastating Argentina’s forests and support the Firefighters’ Foundation of Argentina. Tony Waissmann, Chief Creative Officer of Hoy LATAM, joins us in the Havas Café 2021, to tell us about the campaign and why it was such a personal one for his team.
What does it feel like to win a Lion?
The truth is that it always feels different but what immediately happens, at least to me, is that I look back and think about the work behind it, the love for this profession, the road full of obstacles that we go through day by day. It makes me proud. To be recognised by your peers is a great honour and revalidates our desire to move forward, always looking for a better and more relevant idea for us as an agency and for our clients who team up with us.
Why do you think this campaign was so impactful?
I think it is a topic that has been around for decades but for which awareness campaigns are rarely seen. We found a very strong insight that has to do with the fact that fires are caused by lighting fires (bonfires or barbecues), which often are not well extinguished and all of them are lit with a newspaper, so to make a local newspaper one that cannot be lit was the goal. Of course, the images, the testimonies, and the music achieve the perfect combination, which touched people’s hearts. Finally, knowing that in Argentina firefighters are volunteers and they risk their lives to take care of what belongs to everyone makes it a no-brainer to donate because the cause is more than justified.
What about this campaign made the work stand out in the category?
Well, over the years, print used to be a printed page inside a magazine and today, print is much more than that. I think that we produced a print publication, but with an idea related to what happens when it is exposed to fire. The idea is neither a photo nor a headline, it is the media itself.
How will you celebrate?
Hugging each other tightly with a smile on our faces in a virtual way until the pandemic is over. Everyday, we have the desire to be part of this place we built as HOY, strengthening the sense of belonging. Being part of something this motivating is always a plus. We will celebrate that we are passionate about what we do and that our work has an impact on people. We are thrilled that, in this case, it has also materialised into such an important win for us at Cannes Lions.
Read more about the Bronze-winning campaign HERE.
