The Good Report celebrates creativity that promotes sustainability and social responsibility, and this year BBDO was awarded as the #1 Network for Good.

1. GET ADVERTISING
SMART
More Good News: The
Good Report

2. GET ADVERTISING SMART
The Good Report
Having recently been ranked #1 on the Creative 100 list, as well as in WARC’s inaugural
‘Best of the Best’ rankings; BBDO continued on a winning streak as we were recognised #1
Network for Good, with BBDO New York taking the throne as the #1 agency. A hat-trick
was achieved with AMV BDDO ranked #2 and Colenso BBDO ranked #3. Overall, we had 4
BBDO agencies in the top 10 “good agencies” as Energy BBDO was ranked #9. We should
be truly proud.
The Good Report, compiled by WARC and ACT Responsible, is ‘a unique ranking of the
world’s best use of creative communications to promote sustainability and social
responsibility to raise awareness of major social and environmental issues’1
.
“Whilst purpose-driven campaigns are playing a key role in
today’s brand marketing, Act Responsible, together with
Gunn Report, have been shining a light on communications
for good causes for nearly two decades. Following the recent
rebrand of the Gunn Report to WARC Rankings, WARC is
delighted to continue this collaboration.” David Tiltman, Head
of Content at WARC
In the latest Good Report, a total of 827 campaigns produced by 534 global agencies, for
685 advertisers from across 74 countries were evaluated. The ranking was determined by
amalgamating the best performing campaigns (as awarded by WARC Creative 100) with
votes cast by the general public, hosted by ACT Responsible.2
Only 40 campaigns
featured in the 2018 Good report and we had three in the top 10.
Two BBDO campaigns – AMV BBDO’s ‘Trash Isles’ and Energy BBDO’s ‘Prescribed to
Death’ – were voted #1 & #2 campaigns for good and the clients behind these initiatives -
Plastic Oceans Foundation and National Safety Council – occupied successive positions at
#5 and #6 respectively as most successful brands promoting good causes.
1
https://act-responsible.org/the-good-report
2
https://act-responsible.org/the-good-report

3. GET ADVERTISING SMART
The Good Report
TRASH ISLES, AMV BBDO
AMV BBDO’s ‘Trash Isles’ campaign came out on top, securing the #1 most successful
campaign promoting good causes. The collaboration with LADBible and The Plastic
Oceans Foundation was dedicated to highlighting a colossal environmental problem often
overlooked by governments and unknown to many people: plastic in our oceans. AMV
BBDO was tasked with creating a campaign to raise awareness of the Pacific Ocean’s
plastic pollution, particularly with the younger generation. Turning the issue on its head,
AMV BBDO figuratively transformed 8 million tons of self-governing plastic into an official
country called “Trash Isles”, with LadBible and The Plastic Oceans Foundation submitting
an application to the United Nations on World Oceans Day in 2017 to recognise Trash Isles
as an official country; in the hopes that “real” countries” would be compelled to help clear
up the ocean’s plastic.3
AMV BBDO created an identity for the country and called for the public to show support
by becoming official Trash Isles citizens. The campaign garnered enormous success,
reaching over half a billion people; over 200,000 signatures were collected in the petition
phase and former US vice-president Al Gore became the first honorary citizen of Trash
Isles. With a cohort of celebrity friends including David Attenborough, Sir Mo Farah and
Dame Judi Dench – who crowned herself as “Queen of the Isles” – all becoming official
citizens, AMV BBDO’s Trash Isles achieved what it set to do, become a major discussion
point across the globe. 193 countries pledged to tackle the ocean’s plastic crisis at a UN
conference in 2018 and Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the Secretary General,
acknowledged the campaign as “a very innovative and creative way to bring attention to
a problem that is often not seen".4
PRESCRIBED TO DEATH, ENERGY BBDO
In second place amongst the most successful campaigns promoting good causes was
Energy BBDO’s ‘Prescribed to Death’, shining a light on the worst drugs crisis in American
history. The National Safety Council’s campaign was hailed a travelling tribute to families
hard-hit by a national epidemic, as it uncovered that prescription opioids, and not illegal
substances, were in fact the root of the country’s drug problem.5
The reality is that
prescription drugs could make the average person fall victim to opioid abuse; with 92
million Americans on prescription opioids on a yearly basis, education and awareness
became a simple matter of life and death.6
3
https://www.amvbbdo.com/en/work/5aabcef2f1e61db355c8260f
4
https://www.amvbbdo.com/en/work/5aabcef2f1e61db355c8260f; https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/trash-isles-
creators-founded-country-rubbish-tackle-global-crisis/1486119
5
Prescribed to Death
6
https://creativepool.com/energy-bbdo/projects/prescribed-to-death-for-national-safety-council-256727

4. GET ADVERTISING SMART
The Good Report
The reason ‘Prescribed to Death’ was so effective was that it found a dramatic way to
humanise little known opioid abuse epidemic, by confronting the public with 22,000
victims’ stories. The campaign was seen by prominent politicians and over 3,000 global
health professionals in Chicago at various launch events and achieved stellar social results:
12,990,351 million video views; 2,455,606,809 billion earned media impressions which in
turn led directly to U.S. policymakers and the White House acting, and Congress pledging
$4 billion to tackle the crisis head on.7
CREATIVITY AS A FORCE FOR GOOD
This all goes to show how creative minds within our agencies and The Work The Work The
Work have the power to make the world a better place. As emphasised in The Good
Report, “Advertising is often confined to its commercial side; we tend to forget the other
part of its role: informing, raising awareness and educating.” 8
Involvement of
communications professionals is crucial to helping shine a light on important societal
issues that people typically are underinformed on and help make “good causes … known
to the majority.”9
7
https://creativepool.com/energy-bbdo/projects/prescribed-to-death-for-national-safety-council-256727
8
https://act-responsible.org/the-good-report
9
https://act-responsible.org/the-good-report

5. GET ADVERTISING SMART
The Good Report
If you are interested in learning more about the subject of this article, please contact
Lauren Adeyemi, Network Co-ordinator, adeyemil@bbdoknows.com
ABOUT BBDO KNOWS
BBDO KNOWS is a planning resource for the BBDO network.
BBDO KNOWS offers thinking, strategy, insights and inspiration on key categories, key
themes and consumer segments.
If you are interested in learning more about the way BBDO thinks please contact Melanie
Norris, Global Planning Director, norrism@bbdoknows.com.
DISCLAIMER
The information and materials in this article are for general information purposes only. Whilst we try to ensure that
all information and data in this article is accurate, complete and up to date, it is not intended to be relied upon to
influence business decisions, and you should seek independent professional advice before taking any steps in
reliance upon any of the insights or data contained in this article. This article must not be shared, downloaded,
copied or distributed for commercial purposes without the prior approval of BBDO. © BBDO 2019 All rights
reserved