Leo Burnett Chicago Wins Inaugural D&AD White Pencil

First New Award in D&AD's History Recognizes Ideas With Genuine Social Impact

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Nov 28, 2012, 01:32 ET

CHICAGO, Nov. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Last night, at the 2012 D&AD White Pencil Symposium, Leo Burnett Chicago won the inaugural White Pencil for its "Recipeace" campaign. D&AD's White Pencil is a new initiative designed to harness the power of creativity to effect real and positive change in the world.

"We – the creative community – have the tools and talent to create big, bold and scalable ideas that have the power to change the planet for the better," said Mark Tutssel, Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett Worldwide. "I applaud D&AD for creating the White Pencil challenge and inspiring the global creative community to make a difference. I am incredibly honored that Leo Burnett Chicago's campaign for Peace One Day 'Recipeace' earned the inaugural White Pencil."

In coordination with Peace One Day, Leo Burnett Chicago's "Recipeace" campaign was designed to bring people together over a shared meal in celebration of International Peace Day on September 21. The social movement joined conflicting people across the globe through food.

"This was a daunting brief. Peace? When everywhere we look from the Middle East to the gangs in our own city, we see violent conflict? We knew we needed a big idea we could build on year after year. That's how 'Recipeace' was born," said Susan Credle, Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett USA. "Asking people to come together over food to solve conflict seemed simple but when we thought about the ask, like the brief, it also seemed quite daunting. But Peace Day seemed the perfect place to start. The hope is year upon year, more people will come together over food to solve their differences."

D&AD's 2012 White Pencil brief tasked the world's creative communities to establish September 21 as a global self-sustaining annual day of peace. Entries were evaluated on criteria including the fundamental creative idea, determination and the ability to drive the creative idea forward. Nineteen campaigns were shortlisted for the honor including Leo Burnett London's "Missile for Peace" initiative.

"The D&AD White Pencil is a message and a movement. It symbolizes the power of creativity as a force for positive social change and provides a platform for a growing community of design and advertising talent to share ideas and showcase innovation," said Tim Lindsay, CEO, D&AD.

This year, Leo Burnett Worldwide also collected one Yellow Pencil, seven Pencil Nominations and 14 In Book (D&AD annual report) placements at the 50th Annual D&AD Awards, held in London on April 19. Eleven global offices, including, Bangkok, Beirut, Chicago, Detroit, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, London, Shanghai, Sydney, Toronto and Zurich, contributed to overall network wins.

The highly coveted Yellow Pencil was awarded to Leo Burnett Shanghai for the Shanghai Qing Cong Quan Training Centre's design installation, "The Distance Between Mother and Child."

About Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett Worldwide, part of Publicis Groupe, is one of the world's largest agency networks with 96 offices and nearly 10,000 employees. In 2012, the global network was awarded a record-breaking 55 Lions at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity and was also named "Network of the Year" by YoungGuns, Dubai Lynx and MENA Cristal Awards. A HumanKind communications company, Leo Burnett Worldwide has a simple and singular approach: put a brand's purpose at the center of communications to truly connect with people. Leo Burnett works with some of the world's most valuable brands including The Coca-Cola Company, Fiat, Kellogg's, McDonald's, Nintendo, P&G, Samsung and Tata among others. To learn more about Leo Burnett Worldwide visit our site, Facebook page and follow us via @leoburnett.

SOURCE Leo Burnett