2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Cultural / Context information for the jury

Situation: Lebanese people are very patriotic, especially when it comes to their flag and the cedar within - their national tree and symbol of the country’s pride. It is seen across all governmental and national institutions, and paraded at festivals, sports matches, national holidays and even during elections. It is a distinctive symbol that unites citizens of Lebanon with the larger Lebanese population living outside the country. Ironically however, Lebanese people aren’t very aware about how their cedar is threatened by deforestation. Brief: The Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB), a national organisation dedicated to representing the country’s interests, wanted to create awareness about cedar deforestation. Objectives: While campaign objectives were to deliver message about the threat of cedar deforestation, it was important that the message was powerful, and its reach was wide.

Please tell us about the social behaviour and / or cultural insights that inspired your campaign

The Lebanese people are very patriotic citizens. Their flag and the cedar tree within it is celebrated, worn proudly and is represented across everything from street art and governmental buildings to clothing and accessories. However, the physical cedars of Lebanon were experiencing a steady, year-on-year decline in the nation’s forests. We wanted to leverage the patriotism of Lebanese citizens to help protect, conserve and contribute to the reforestation of their national pride – the cedars.