Saatchi and OBV shortlisted for top media award

Once again OBV is making international headlines with news just in that our "Don't Drain The Colour' voter registration advert campaign, featuring Hollywood star David Harewood, rapper Tinnie Tempah, football legend Sol Campbell, and paralympic athlete and TV presenter Ade Adetipan, has been shortlisted, in what is the equivalent the Oscars for the advertising world.

The international event in Cannes, Southern France is the most prestigious advertising industry awards ceremony in the world.

The campaign developed in partnership with OBV by global advertising giant Saatchi and Saatchi, with the photographic brilliance of Rankin, was rolled out during the 2015 UK general election and caused a storm of controversy with its striking images of black men covered in white paint.

Our hugely successful campaign enjoyed unprecedented coverage across radio, TV and printed press and reached more than 98 million individuals.
The campaign inverted the terrible imagery of 'blacking up' into a powerful statement about diversity and representation in a modern democracy and beyond.

The partnership with OBV and Saatchi & Saatchi creative team produced a poster and film that got the nation talking about politics and engagement. Data the week after the campaign was launched revealed that nearly one million individuals registered to vote. Whilst OBV or the campaign don't claim all the credit for that late surge, being the boldest voter registration campaign during the election, we rightly take some credit.

The results are due in tomorrow, but win, lose or draw OBV is delighted to have been shortlisted. Lets keep our fingers and toes crossed!

Lee Jasper