After coming to the Lions festival for many years, for some reason this is the first year that ACT has come onto my radar.
It’s a separate, yet supported exhibition of public service advertising. Including many who couldn’t afford to pay the submissions fee for the Lions competition.
Why this year?
Maybe this year the promotion is better. Maybe the location. Maybe the free coffee. Maybe it was just time.
Whatever it is, here you can find some of the best print, TV and online work for just causes from around the world.

Between the corporate sponsors and the ad agencies involved, they have ponied up the money to present free to the public a showing of this work, plus panel discussions on the causes they champion.

When you have a client whose goal is to only make life better, not cleaner, sexier, bigger, shinier, tasting better, thirst quenching, softer, harder, faster, or any of the rest of our needs, sometimes the creative work comes from a different place in the creative mind. The heart part.

[photopress:act_logo.gif,full,alignright] “ACT – Advertising Community Together – is a non-profit initiative.
Its goal is to federate, promote and inspire responsible communication on sustainability, equitable development and social responsibility. ACT shows how advertising professionals from all continents can use their core talent – creativity – to play a significant role in addressing today’s crucial world issues.
Our unique strength – The Advertising Community Together – Federating an array of partner, ACT Responsible brings together Industry key players, keen to share their commitment to Responsibility. Its reach helps gather forces and build a network facilitating the sharing of good practices. These partners finance and contribute to 100% of our action.”

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Title: “Alligator”
Agency: Almap BBDO Comunicações
City: São Paulo
Advertiser: O Boticário Franchising
Tagline: The devestation of nature threatens more animals than you think.
Photographer: Maurício Nahas

And this is another site from Cannes you can share everywhere in the world. It’s all online. Worth your time to click through and look/watch this work.

Sure, love the friends, the parties, the food, the scene, etc. but you have to remember to give back. there’s an old expression that says “take what you want from this world, but pay for what you take”.
Maybe work like this begins to pay back a little.