Innovative cross-cultural agency the community at SapientNitro, was honored with the prestigious Press Grand Prix at the 62nd Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity for its “Never Stop Riding” campaign, created for the Buenos Aires Public Bike System. The campaign was also awarded two Gold Lions in the Art Direction and Illustration categories.
“To be awarded the Grand Prix out of almost 4,500 entries is an incredible honor”
“The Cannes Lions awards represent the pinnacle of creative achievement for our industry,” said Joaquin Mollá, co-founder and chief creative officer of the community. “This recognition is a testament to the creative courage born from a great relationship between the agency and the City of Buenos Aires.”
“The success of this campaign is emblematic of the tremendous political will behind the vision to transform Buenos Aires into an eco-friendly city,” said Marcos Peña, general secretary of the City of Buenos Aires. “As part of this effort, in just a few short years, Buenos Aires has already become one of the 20 most bike-friendly cities in the world.”
“To be awarded the Grand Prix out of almost 4,500 entries is an incredible honor,” said Jose Mollá, co-founder and chief creative officer of the community. “We are committed to diversity and bringing a global perspective to our clients, and so we are thrilled that a campaign that is performing so well with the people in Buenos Aires was created and produced in the U.S.”
“Never Stop Riding” brings awareness to Buenos Aires’ public bicycle system and its new automated system that includes an expansion of locations and hours of operation. The campaign is running in print and on outdoor billboards throughout Buenos Aires and is supported by advertisements on the wheels of the program’s bicycles.
To communicate the new 24-hour availability of the bikes, the campaign uses illustrations to portray the wheels of a bike as partners in a constant chase – a baby chasing a breast, a dog chasing its tail, moths chasing a light bulb, and a squirrel chasing a chestnut. Each ad incorporates a hand-drawn typeface for the tagline, “The Buenos Aires Public Bike System Now Runs 24/7,” further evoking the movement of a bicycle chain. View the ads here.
The campaign is credited with generating buzz around the ease and convenience of Buenos Aires’ public bicycle system – a program that revolutionized the city more than six years ago by creating not only more than 140 km of bike lanes, but changing the culture of how the city’s residents commute. By the end of 2015, there will be more than 200 bicycle stations throughout Buenos Aires.
“Never Stop Riding” was created by the U.S. team of the community at SapientNitro of which includes: Joaquin Mollá chief creative officer; Jose Mollá, chief creative officer; Fernando Reis, associate creative director; Marcelo Padoca, associate creative director; Fernando Reis, art director; Guilherme Nóbrega, art director; Marcelo Padoca, copywriter; Arthur D’Araujo, illustrator; Sebastian Diaz, group account director; and Daniel Gergely, account director.
The community at SapientNitro also won a Bronze Press Lion in the Fundraising, Donations and Appeal category for its cogent “Blood Donation” campaign, also for the City of Buenos Aires. The copy heavy print campaign, designed to increase awareness of the need for blood donations, highlights three cultural icons whose lives were saved by transfusions: Andy Warhol, Stephen King and George Lucas. All the ads feature a biographical story that starts off in black type, but at the point at which the person’s life was saved by blood transfusions, the color of the type turns to red. With all three icons, the campaign showcases that their most important work comes after this life-saving moment. The tagline “Give More Than Just Blood” evokes this sentiment. View the ads here.
The team at the community that created “Blood Donation” includes: Jose Mollá, chief creative officer; Joaquin Mollá chief creative officer; Ricky Vior, executive creative director; Tomas Duhalde, art director; Federico Diaz, copywriter; Sebastian Diaz, group account director; and Daniel Gergely, account director.