Communications agency McCann Bristol has received one of the global advertising industry’s most-coveted accolades – a Lion award – for its work with domestic abuse charity Refuge.
The team picked up a Bronze Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity – the industry’s prestigious global event – for its campaign Turn to us, which uses powerful reversible poetry to raise awareness of domestic abuse and provide a reminder that no one should suffer in silence. 
The poems were produced for Christmas, Valentine’s Day and most recently, Father’s Day – as reported by Bristol Business News.
Read from top to bottom they are a loving tribute, but when read from bottom to top, they reveal controlling and violent behaviour.
Around 800,000 children experience domestic abuse in the UK every year, and around 3,500 children access Refuge’s survivors on any given day – helping them escape violence and rebuild their lives.
The campaign was created by Zane Radcliffe and Ken Sara of McCann Bristol. Media for the advert was negotiated by Universal McCann, based in McCann’s Bristol office. FleishmanHillard and McCann Bristol provided PR for the campaign. Everyone involved donated their services to Refuge free of charge.
The Cannes Lions were launched in 1954 and winning one is seen as the ultimate achievement in creativity.
Refuge chief executive Sandra Horley CBE said: “We couldn’t be happier for our colleagues at McCann Bristol for this momentous achievement – but perhaps our biggest achievement with the Turn to Us campaign was the change we’ve been able to affect for the thousands of people that need our services every year.
“Domestic abuse is a life and death issue, the biggest issue affecting women and children in this country today. Refuge is here to provide support and sanctuary to those who need its services.
“The focus of the Turn to Us campaign was showing women and their children that at any time of year support is available and no-one should suffer alone – whether it be Christmas, Valentine’s Day or Father’s Day. Since the campaign’s launch we have seen an increase in the people coming forward. No one should experience violence at home. Help is available.”
In the initial four-week campaign period, more than 27,000 women contacted Refuge or visited its website. The December launch generated an uplift of more than 2,000% in web traffic and the poems have achieved a reach of 500m-plus.
The Cannes Lion has added to a number of accolades already won by the campaign, including from The One Show and a D&AD – one of the UK’s top creative and designed awards.
McCann Central group creative director Jon Elsom said: “Winning a Cannes Lion for our work with Refuge is a huge moment for us at McCann Central, but importantly it’s a first-ever win for our McCann Bristol team.
“It’s sobering to think that families across the country will be victims of violence in their home, even at the most festive of occasions. That makes the work that we’ve put into these carefully crafted poems all worth it. They really are a tribute to the often life-saving action Refuge undertakes every day.
“As the poems continue to have such a far-and-wide reaching effect, we are happiest with the awareness we’ve managed to raise amongst people who need Refuge’s services the most.”
The Bristol award contributed to a tally of 73 awards for parent group McCann Worldwide this year, including being named Network of the Year for the first time.
