New Zealand Herpes Foundation wins Lions Health and United Nations Grand Prix for Good

The Lions Health and United Nations Grand Prix for Good went to the New Zealand Herpes Foundation’s The Best Place in the World to Have Herpes effort. 

The work, which was awarded on Monday, came from Finch in Sydney and Motion Sickness in Auckland, New Zealand.

The Lions Health and United Nations Grand Prix for Good is a specialist award, which is a category that work can’t be entered directly. However, the work becomes eligible if it’s awarded a Gold Lion — or an equivalent Lion such as a Titanium Lion — and is created for a nonprofit organization or charity.

David Ohana, chief communications and marketing officer at the United Nations Foundation, presented the award and noted that the decision was unanimous among the judges.

He said the idea for the campaign took a particularly taboo topic and flipped the perception on its head. 

“They showed that with great strategy, great insight, a big, bold, crazy idea, just what’s possible,” he noted.

The work aimed to destigmatize herpes in New Zealand by talking more openly about the subject and using the country’s dry and somewhat wacky humor to get the job done.

It utilized Sir Graham Henry, a former rugby coach, as the spokesperson for the movement. He pointed out that New Zealand has lost its purpose, so he challenged people to make New Zealand the “best place in the world to have herpes.”

Through its efforts, the country actually achieved its goal, topping something called the Herpes Stigma Index. 

In the process, through news posts and social efforts, the foundation provided some much-needed education about infections, helping further destigmatize herpes to its populace.

Ohana relayed thoughts from the jury, including that the campaign was different from the doom and gloom of other charity campaigns, underscoring the need for a bit of levity in our lives. 

He said that one juror stated that the work “gives us an opportunity to let brands know it’s okay to lean into the ridiculous for a good cause.” 

Meanwhile, another said that doomscrolling needs to be replaced by some lightness and levity right now – perhaps even fun. 

“It turns out that leading with joy is better than ruling with fear, and awareness is making way for its cooler, more action oriented cousin, education,” he said.

For the campaign, the creative teams watched 10,776 hours of videos about herpes, according to Ohana. 

For Ohana and the UN Foundation, fighting misinformation and disinformation has become a constant, so the organization is trying to flood the zone with true, verified, fact-based, smart and funny information.

“That’s why we need this industry now more than ever to help us tell stories in new and unexpected ways—some big, bold, crazy ideas to try to help get things back on track,” he said.

This story first appeared on MM+M.