2018 Winners & Shortlists

COLOR REHAB

BrandCOLORTEK
Product/ServiceCOLORTEK PAINTS
EntrantY&R DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryOnline: Fiction & Non-Fiction
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

Colour Rehab was implemented in Ebbé Prison, Tripoli – Lebanon. As the result was highly encouraging and positive, we are planning (together with Mr Pierre Bou Assi, the Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs), a second phase in which we will paint every prison in Lebanon. We brought colours to the walls of Ebbé prison in November 2017, when even the weather was gray and cold. We subsequently launched the online video in February 2018.

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 power of colours and created awareness about the situation of prisons in Lebanon. The Minister of Social Affairs is supporting the initiative and wants every prison in Lebanon to be painted by the end of 2018. He also hopes this initiative will be replicated in the Middle East and all over the world. 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 Colortek grew by 13 percent.

Colour Rehab is original content created for a brand which engages viewers by allowing them to enter a place that is usually inaccessible: a prison. The content creates awareness on a topic which is rarely discussed and further leverages the brands’ positive impact on people’s lives.

There is extensive research proving that colours can change people’s mood. As we wanted to show the power of colours, we used them as a therapy to improve prisoners’ psychological conditions, feelings and mental health. 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 and is reminiscent of nature, while yellow conveys inner warmth. We worked with a colour therapist and the prisons’ psychologist in order to determine the perfect hues which could help prisoners feel better. Colour Rehab targets government officials, as well as the general public, to create awareness about the situation of prisons in Lebanon and advocate their improvement.

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