Cheil | Centrade wins the first Romanian Grand Prix at IAB Mixx Awards Europe with „The Guilt Gifts Puppetry”

Integrated communication agency Cheil | Centrade, the hub for Southeast Europe of the Korean network Cheil Worldwide, has won the Grand Prix at the 2022 IAB Europe Mixx Awards 2022 for the campaign against domestic violence entitled „The Guilt Gifts Puppetry”, created for ANAIS Association. The campaign has also scooped two Golds in Branded Content and Non-Profit/ CSR categories, respectively, an absolute first for Romania at this festival.

Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe (IAB Europe) rewards the continent’s most impactful innovative digital campaigns, chosen by a select jury of professionals and leaders in the communications industry.

The success at the IAB Mixx Awards Gala in Madrid comes after the one in Bucharest where the campaign also won the Grand Prix at IAB MIXX Awards 2021, but also two Gold trophies for Best Branded Content Campaign and Best CSR Campaign. Also in 2021 it took the Gold from Internetics in the Social Campaigns section. Two Bronze trophies followed at the Cresta Awards London 2021 and the Caples Awards London 2022, respectively, two of the most important global festivals dedicated to creativity in communication.

The Guilt Gifts Puppetry is the first experimental theater series in which the protagonists on stage are real toys belonging to the victims of domestic violence. The characters came to life through the goodwill of the most awarded Romanian actors, from Medeea Marinescu to Victor Rebengiuc, who gave voice to the protagonists, but also of the several entertainment production companies, such as the puppet artists from The Lightwave Theater Company, the team of scenographers, animators and producers from Les Ateliers Nomad, the dance group from Mike’s School of Dance or the photographer Adi Bulboacă.

The 8 episodes could be watched on daruitdinvina.ro, but also on the Romanian online content platform, Streamerse.net, where people were able to donate for the cause. The campaign attracted prestigious partners, such as television station Prima TV with special coverage on prime-time news, and the Artmark Art Auction House, where the toys were auctioned off to raise funds to help victims of domestic violence.  

Mihai Gongu, Executive Creative Director, Cheil | Centrade.

„At Cheil, we believe in  <<Doing good with data.>>, and this approach of using the power of data to find valuable insights, like the one about gifts that keep Romanian women captive in toxic relationships, and create from them content that changes reality, gives us great satisfaction. We would like to thank the hundreds of volunteers and partners who have supported this historic achievement. All credit goes to them.”

Miruna Baias, Strategy Head, Cheil | Centrade.

„The campaign generated a 790% increase in donations and pay-per-view mechanism for the original content was key, with over 2.1 million views on all platforms. But the most important result was the start of a national conversation that led to pressure to change the law and introduce electronic bracelets for aggressors. It’s an equally effective campaign, just as it is surprisingly creative.”

Radu Florescu, CEO Cheil | Centrade South-East Europe, adds:

„All Cheil | Centrade campaigns undertaken on behalf of ANAIS Association are provided pro bono, with the generous support of our creative and production teams, external partners and community/ business leaders who agree to associate their brand, values, ​​and reputation in support of this noble fight against domestic abuse. We are proud of this collaboration and of the work we accomplished for ANAIS over the past 3 years. The success of these campaigns at major festivals, from London International to D&AD, from Cresta to Caples, from Golden Drum to AdStars put Romania on the creative map of the world and give us energy and creative courage in everyday projects for all the brands from our portfolio.”

Cheil | Centrade and the ANAIS Association have been collaborating since 2019, in a joint effort to increase public awareness of the scale and severity of the domestic violence problem in Romania, with all its medium and long-term social consequences.

The collaboration began with #VociNetacute, a campaign that gave women the courage to break the silence and give voice to their own stories. Through the experimental film “Silent Voices”, made from testimonies of victims overlapped on footage from silent films, the campaign brought to light the various types of domestic violence to which women can be exposed, from psychological abuse to economic or sexual abuse.

This was followed by #IzoleazaViolența campaign, launched in the context of the social distancing imposed in the COVID-19 pandemic, which warned of the escalation of domestic violence during the state of emergency and isolation, through a dedicated digital platform and a series of films and posters inspired by virus news coverage.

The latest initiative is the one launched in March this year, when lifting the restrictions related to the pandemic, emphasizing that “Some masks remain”.

The Guilt Gifts Puppetry campaign approached the issue of domestic violence from a unique angle, that of the aggressors, who often manage to keep the victims in a vicious circle, buying their silence with “guilt gifts”.