Left to right: Trevor Kennedy - Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett Sri Lanka receiving the award from Josy Paul - Chief Creative Officer, BBDO India, Mumbai

Leo Burnett Solutions Inc. (LBSI), the local office of the global advertising network Leo Burnett Worldwide recently won two prestigious awards at ADFEST 2016 and emerged as the only agency from Sri Lanka to be recognized at the festival. The agency secured a Silver Award for the world’s first ‘Soap Bus Ticket’ in the Media Lotus  - Best use of Outdoor & Transit category and a Bronze Award for the agency’s ‘15kg Extra Baggage- Surfboard’ campaign for Find my fare in the Print Craft Lotus – Best use of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) category. 

Founded in 1998, ADFEST is the region’s leading advertising festival, which brings together thousands of delegates from around the world to acknowledge and promote creative excellence in the industry. The festival provides an important platform where professionals from across the region can network, exchange ideas and participate in unique learning opportunities. This year, under the theme “Creative Intelligence”, ADFEST 2016 reiterated the importance of creative minds learn how to communicate intelligently through new paths of technology. 

Commenting on the agency’s win, Ranil de Silva – Managing Director, Leo Burnett Solutions Inc. stated, “We are extremely honoured to be recognized once again at ADFEST 2016. This success reinforces Leo Burnett as Sri Lanka’s leading creative agency. Creativity is at the core of our business and it is the collective efforts of our team which enables us to secure such glories. Therefore I am exceptionally grateful to the team for bringing home these prestigous accolades.  As we look ahead to the future, we remain dedicated to contributing further to the success of our valued clients by developing ideas that truly move people and their behaviour.”   

The ‘Soap Bus Ticket’ was an activation that was created for the Asiri Group of hospitals, one of Sri Lanka’s largest healthcare providers. Asiri Hospitals was keen to highlight how essential the simple hygienic habit of washing one’s hands is to maintaining good health. From preventing a common cold to protecting a person from hepatitis, washing hands on a regular basis is crucial to fighting germs and keeping people healthy. Public buses are a mainstream source of transportation in Sri Lanka. With scores of people boarding every day, buses become a hub for spreading germs among passengers. Public bus stops do not provide sanitizers for the passengers.To spread this important public health messageLeo Burnett devised the ‘Soap Bus Ticket’ an inventive ticket roll infused with soap. Every bus ticket issued to a passenger also served as a free piece of soap. An integrated campaign of posters and signage educated the public about the benefits of hand washing as a way to help protect people from serious diseases and illnesses. The campaign generated public interest which started an important dialogue about the importance of adhering to basic yet essential hygiene habits. It also created greater awareness about the Asiri Group of Hospitals and its commitment to ensuring the health and well-being of the people of Sri Lanka. 

Sri Lanka’s first and largest online travel company findmyfare.com always pledged to offer innovative travel solutions at the lowest rates to fulfil the evolving needs and demands of travellers. Leo Burnett Sri Lanka observed that travellers by nature tend to be picky and choosy about the items that they can pack in their bags, out of fear that they will have to pay an excess baggage fee. The agency drew inspiration from this and created a campaign that used advanced Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) to show a series of suitcases that had been packed and had taken the shape of items (such as a surfboard), which travellers would normally opt to leave behind. The campaign reassured travellers that with findmyfare.com’s ’15 kg Extra Baggage’ offer, they could take whatever they wanted on their travels. This  execution led to a significant rise in enquiries and bookings.  

As Leo Burnett celebrates a new chapter of its operations in Sri Lanka and looks ahead to the future with optimism, the agency will continue to focus on its HumanKind approach to help build powerful brands and meaningful partnerships with its clients, while delivering gratifying results and gaining peer recognition in the industry.