Leo Burnett

Leo Burnett Malaysia picked up a Gold Effie at the Malaysia Effie Awards for its Earth Hour effort on behalf of the World Wild Fund for Nature.

Launched during a period when the country faced political and social turmoil, the campaign to bring awareness to global warming carried an appropriate theme: “Who Says Malaysians Are Not United?”  By urging all citizens to set aside differences to come together as “One Malaysia,” the effort inspired more than six million people to pledge support and switch off their lights this past March.

The campaign was executed across multiple channels, spanning TV, radio, print, OOH and digital, and included an interactive microsite and a Facebook group that became the largest country-specific Earth Hour group in the world.  Further, the agency secured 100% of the ad space for free… according to WWF Malaysia, TV and radio value alone totaled more than (U.S.) $2.7 million.

From Tan Kien Eng, CEO of Leo Burnett Group Singapore and Malaysia:

“We are most honored to get a Gold Award for our first time entering Effies. This is the best testimony of our ability to conceptualize and implement creative campaigns that are relevant, engaging and effective for our clients. The award is not ours alone. It belongs to all Malaysians who played a role in making it a success. I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of WWF and Leo Burnett to thank all Malaysians, the Prime Minister and Prime Minister department, the various ministries and government bodies, celebrities, media partners, corporations and building owners for making Earth Hour Malaysia a success.  I would also like to send our tribute to Yasmin Ahmad, the late Executive Creative Director of Leo Burnett. The campaign this year would not have been so successful without Yasmin as the ambassador. She was the true idol of One Malaysia, and a true idol of all Malaysians.”