More than 50 campaign ideas were pitched that featured a range of non-visible disabilities such as depression, autism, deafness, Alzheimer’s and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Grey London has been shortlisted three times for separate client campaigns for Bose, Marks & Spencer and Volvo.
The seven finalists are:
- Bose and Grey London;
- BT and Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO;
- Ford and GTB;
- Lloyds Bank and Adam & Eve/DDB;
- Marks & Spencer and Grey London;
- Panasonic and Brave;
- Volvo and Grey London.
The inaugural award is a long term commitment from Channel 4 to improve diversity in advertising every year until at least 2020 and each year the prize will focus on a different area of diversity.
It follows the success of last year’s Superhumans Wanted giveaway, which was won by Mars brand Maltesers and its agency AMV with ads that took a light-hearted view of potentially difficult situations. The resulting campaign was Maltesers’ most successful for ten years.
A panel of judges will award the £1m prize to the brand and agency with the strongest idea and the winning campaign will air on Channel 4 in the autumn. The broadcaster will also offer match-funding to the runners-up to encourage them to commit to making their entries.
The seven finalists will present their ideas to a judging panel, chaired by Channel 4 sales director Jonathan Allan, which includes – Campaign’s global editor-in-chief Claire Beale; Matt Berry, group business director at 4Creative; Channel 4’s chief marketing and communications officer Dan Brooke; Thinkbox chief executive Lindsay Clay; Credos director and AA head of strategy Karen Fraser; Alex Ricketts, head of membership of the Marketing Society; and Leila Siddiqi, head of diversity at the IPA.
Allan said: "The ideas submitted this year were so compelling it emphasises just how important this award is. £1m of airtime definitely helps brands really think about the way they approach their campaign strategies and the commercial success Maltesers’ winning ads experienced last year is a clear testimony to the power of putting diversity front and centre of the creative idea."
