2018 Winners & Shortlists

COLOR REHAB

BrandCOLORTEK
Product/ServiceCOLORTEK PAINTS
EntrantY&R DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryLive Events, Installation & Environment
Idea Creation Y&R DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production INDEPENDENT PRODUCTIONS Beirut, LEBANON

The Campaign

To demonstrate the power of colour, we went to one of the world’s grayest environments: Ebbé prison, Tripoli. Here, prisoners spend their days confined between four gray walls. The dullness of the environment fuels the already present frustration and negativity, leading to more violence and even riots. After working side by side with a colour therapist and the prison’s psychologist, we painted the cells’ walls with soothing and warm colours, which can help inmates improve their psychological condition and general state of mind. We filmed the experiment and inmates’ reactions, and later returned to see how they felt about it.

Creative Execution

We selected the colours to paint the cells based on their healing properties. The wide range of Colortek paints allowed us to choose different shades with which to soothe inmates. For example, blue gives a sense of spirituality and peace. Green creates a sense of friendliness, calmness, and is reminiscent of nature, trees, wood, valleys, while yellow conveys inner warmth. We chose these colours for their calming characteristics and worked side by side with a colour therapist and the prisons’ psychologist in order to determine the perfect hues which could help prisoners feel better. Colour Rehab was first implemented in Ebbé Prison, Tripoli – Lebanon. As the result of the experiment was highly encouraging and positive, the Ministry of Social Affairs of Lebanon supported the initiative and wants every prison in Lebanon to be painted by the end of this year.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

According to the prison’s psychologist, inmates are now calmer, have started to interact more with each other and are reacting positively to the initiative. Colour Rehab gave them hope, so much so that soon after the project, Ebbé prison experienced a significant drop in violence. With this initiative, Colortek demonstrated the importance of colours and created awareness about the situation of prisons in Lebanon. With the support of the Ministry of Social Affairs of Lebanon, we will soon replicate the project in every prison in the country, so that what started as an experiment in Ebbé will become common practice to improve many lives. This project is shifting the perception of prison from a punitive measure to a chance for rehabilitation. We hope this will inspire other brands to also contribute. With Colour Rehab, brand love for Colotek grew by 13 percent.

There is extensive research proving that colours can change people’s moods. As Colortek wanted to show the power of colours, we used their paints as therapy to improve prisoners’ psychological conditions, feelings and mental health. For this project we received the support of the Minister of Social Affairs of Lebanon, His Excellency Mr. Pierre Bou Assi. With online content, we are targeting other government officials in order to create awareness of the current situation in Lebanese prisons and advocate their improvement. We are also communicating to the general public to start a conversation which can push the authorities to further commit to ensuring the physical and psychological health of prisoners.

Credits

Name Company Role
Kalpesh Patankar Y&R Executive Creative Director
Fabio Tridenti Y&R Art Director
Elisa Binda Y&R Copywriter
Jihad Ramandan Y&R Creative Director
Toufic Traboulsi Independent Productions Chairman
George Barsoum Y&R CEO
Sam Eid Y&R Head of Production
Prathyush Kumar Y&R Editor
Links
Video URL