In 2012, just one Black Pencil was given. It was definitely not a desperation vote. There is no minimum number of Pencils per year black, white or yellow. A Black Pencil is given only for work that is truly ground-breaking. There is no compromising on that.
The year before, Lowe/SSP3 Colombia had created the world’s most effective campaign, Operation Christmas, for the Colombian Ministry of Defence.
Could the agency beat its own campaign? Enter Rivers of Light. This campaign has everything going for it:
1. An ambitious aim – the demobilization of FARC guerrillas.
2. A noble cause – FARC, which was formed in 1964, is the oldest and largest left-wing guerrilla group operating in Colombia. 20-30% of its soldiers are adolescents. The greatest concentration of FARC fighters is in the south-eastern regions of Colombia’s 500,000 sq kms of jungle.
3. A bull’s-eye insight – “Everyone gets homesick at Christmas.”
4. A big idea – get family members to write messages to ask the young men to come home for Christmas.
5. An innovative use of media – guerrilla fighters don’t watch TV. Their base camps are all near rivers. The agency packaged messages and gifts from family members in watertight capsules that lit up at night and sent them via the rivers.
6. Social involvement – “The President of Colombia and the Colombian people joined the campaign. We gathered 6,823 messages, inviting them to reflect on their situation, and to light their way back home,” Lowe/SSP3 stated.
It also reported that it achieved the demobilisation of one FARC guerrilla every six hours between December and January.
On 27 August 2012, the Colombian government engaged in exploratory talks with FARC in order to seek an end to the conflict. On 1 July 2013, FARC and the 2nd largest guerrilla group in Colombia, ELN, agreed to work together to find a “political solution to the social and armed conflict.” On 6 November 2013 the Colombian government and FARC came to an agreement regarding “the participation of political opposition”. They also began discussions about illegal drug trading.
Credits:
Agency: Lowe/SSP3
Art Director: Carlos Andres Rodriguez Monroy
Copywriter: Mario Lagos Sergio Leon
Creative Director: Jaime Duque
Executive Creative Director: Jose Miguel Sokoloff
Account Handlers: Emiliano Arango Juan Pablo García
