Chimera is relatively new on the Cannes scene, so here’s its snapshot. It began when Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation got together to use the creativity and problem-solving abilities of the communications industries to do good where it is needed in the world.
At each Cannes Lions, a brief is released that relates to a problem the world is facing. Anyone with an idea can answer that brief by writing it down on two sides of paper.
Naked Communications Australia Creative, Tristan Graham explained, “Cannes Chimera perfectly reflects the role modern creative agencies can now play; not just as creators of advertising but as creators of ideas. Tools, initiatives, products, businesses and innovations that work to create positive change for the community.”
The winners get to take part in a mentoring workshop in February with the Cannes Chimera, a group chosen from previous Cannes Lions Grand Prix winners, to develop the ideas further. Each winner is also invited to come back to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with a proposal for further funding of up to US$1 million to implement the idea.
Naked Communications’ idea, The Act Button, gives people the power to change tragic, poverty-related news stories to positive news stories with just one click.
Through the addition of an ‘Act’ button at the end of these stories online, readers can click through to a new section of the publisher’s site.
Here they will be encouraged to share news about initiatives, policies, programmes and potential investment opportunities that could play a role in changing the outcome of the exact story they’ve just read.
When readers share what they’ve learned and many do something, however small, the effectiveness of the results multiplies rapidly.
Naked Communications’ entry was chosen from more than 900 individual entries across 79 different countries in response to a brief to find ways to ‘Help Lead the Fight Against Extreme Poverty’.
Currently, 1.1bn people live on less than US$1.25 a day. The aim is to bring this number as close to zero as possible by 2030.
Judging was managed by Cannes Lions, led by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. All members of The Cannes Chimera Jury are Cannes Lions 2013 Grand Prix winners.
Naked Communications Australia chief executive officer, Carl Ratcliff stated, “We are incredibly honoured to have been awarded a Cannes Chimera, and to have the opportunity to make a real difference to a global issue with our creative thinking. We thank the Jury and look forward to developing this idea further with some of the best creative minds in the world.”
