New Zealand Herpes Foundation (NZHF) bagged this year’s Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Good for the Make New Zealand the Best Place in the World to Have Herpes campaign, created by Motion Sickness, Aotearoa. The organisation also won the Lions Health Grand Prix for Good earlier in the week.
To fight the shame and isolation caused by the common herpes virus, NZHF created a series of educational films featuring local celebrities like Sir Ashley Bloomfield, Sir Graham Henry and Mea Motu. The content was condensed into accessible educational resources.
Jury president Judy John, global chief creative officer at Edelman, described the winning campaign as brave, outrageously creative and wildly ambitious.
She added: ‘The bravery of this idea [and] the creativity is off the charts. The execution was flawless. [...] We were able to admit to one another that we may all have herpes, and we’re okay with it. That is effectiveness. That is de-stigmatising. That’s the brilliance of this campaign.’
She added, ‘The case study doesn't really do it justice when you get into watching the content, how educational and entertaining it is, you actually want to watch the whole thing and you’re learning, and it does destigmatise herpes. It’s so effective.’
