A Safe Space for Women & Girls in Sumy – League of Modern Women | Clapboard Ad Archive

SOS Rivers - WWF | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

SOS Rivers - WWF | Clapboard Ad Archive

WWF’s SOS Rivers campaign, executed by BBDO Bulgaria in 2019, delivers a masterclass in environmental advocacy through experiential design, situating the brand’s message firmly within the heart of communities directly impacted by river pollution and vanishing aquatic life. Confronted with the rapid degradation of Bulgaria’s rivers and the alarming disappearance of fish species, the agency conceived an innovation that transcends conventional cause-driven advertising: a fishing wobbler that physically dissolves in water, leaving behind only its skeletal frame, inscribed with the campaign’s web address. This harrowing symbol extends far beyond mere awareness, serving as a direct and tactile analogy for the cultural and ecological loss suffered when biodiversity collapses — an approach that sits firmly in what Clapboard’s taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#3—Symbolize the Problem. The disappearing wobbler is not a product for commercial use, but a meticulously crafted provocation aimed at stirring both empathy and urgency within Bulgaria’s fishing community. By deploying prototypes directly to fishermen — the constituency most acutely affected by plummeting fish stocks — WWF and BBDO transformed passive support into active participation: these first-hand recipients became conduits of organic discussion and early online traffic, effectively spreading the campaign’s call to action through authentic, trusted voices. The moment the wobbler vanishes before the user’s eyes, it bridges data and emotional reality, collapsing the abstractness of biomass trends into a moment of undeniable truth, with the skeletal frame as a stark prompt to engage with the underlying legislative mission. This communication choice not only achieves relevance for its target but harnesses the visceral power of experiential disruption to cut through message fatigue that plagues many public interest endeavours. It is a tactical blend of symbolism, direct response, and hand-to-hand seeding that demonstrates how environmental organizations can break through public apathy and digital noise, using creative formats as advocacy accelerants rather than mere awareness vehicles. By converting an ecological crisis into a deeply personal and shareable experience, SOS Rivers moves the conversation from the margins of policy debate into the immediate sphere of those most invested, cultivating a groundswell of petition signatures and media pickup that extends WWF’s influence well beyond Bulgaria’s borders. In the public service category, the campaign exemplifies how design innovation and deep audience empathy can deliver disproportionate impact for advocacy missions. Clapboard rates this 71/100. For communicators seeking to catalyze issue-driven participation, SOS Rivers signals that the future of public interest campaigns lies in transforming passive facts into lived metaphors, where the problem is not just explained but emotionally, physically encountered.

Missed Birthdays II - Campaign Against Living Miserably | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Missed Birthdays II - Campaign Against Living Miserably | Clapboard Ad Archive

Missed Birthdays II, the 2025 campaign from Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) in partnership with adam&eveDDB, picks up where its much-talked-about Westfield activation left off, shifting the UK’s approach to youth suicide prevention with a direct and emotive strategy grounded in lived experience. Supported by the Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation and executed across channels by ITV and the7stars, this second phase distills the magnitude of lost young lives into the true story of Evelyn, a 15-year-old whose home videos—full of laughter, birthdays, and ordinary family milestones—are reframed by her mother’s narration into a heartbreaking reminder of everything that future birthdays will never hold. It’s a creative choice that sits squarely in Clapboard’s FORMAT#7—Presenter Testimonial category, using the mother’s direct, unvarnished retelling to fuse personal grief with a universal call to action, and making the issue impossible to ignore. As statistics scroll and the film’s narrative reaches its abrupt and devastating end, the creative seamlessly reroutes viewers to the CALM C.A.R.E. Kit—an online toolkit for parents, carers, and trusted adults—delivering genuinely actionable advice and signposting a route to intervention for those previously unprepared or uncomfortable talking about suicide with the young people in their lives. In a crowded public interest landscape, CALM’s differentiation is marked by its focus on equipping adults with tools to act, not just raising general awareness, and by harnessing an omnichannel media plan that prioritises emotional cut-through via large-format cinema, TV, and platform-specific social assets. The campaign’s scale is matched by its intent: to correct a societal blind spot—just 15 percent of parents have ever addressed suicide directly with young people, despite the silent crisis outlined by the 6,929 youth deaths in the last decade—and to convert collective discomfort into grassroots engagement. Visually intimate and editorially bold, Missed Birthdays II resists abstraction and avoids glib messaging, instead leveraging the authority and empathy of personal testimony to open a window into private loss, thereby galvanising public conversation and action. The campaign earns 79/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. In a public service category often dominated by clinical, systemic, or awareness-led work, Missed Birthdays II demonstrates that credible advocacy for suicide prevention now relies on narrative intimacy, creative integration, and a real-world pathway to support.

Recruitment Campaign — archive collection thumbnail

Recruitment Campaign

In July 2024, Teach for Ukraine, in collaboration with linza agency, launched a powerful recruitment campaign aimed at attracting motivated young professionals to teach in small towns and villages across Ukraine. This Content, Digital, and Film media campaign, deeply rooted in education and public interest sectors, leverages emotional storytelling and authentic voices to inspire participation in a critical mission during a time of conflict. The campaign began with a compelling video manifesto designed to evoke the transformative sparkle in the eyes of students and teachers alike, capturing the heartfelt impact of teaching. Following this, four short Reels featured candid interviews with past participants, sharing their unique experiences and personal journeys, effectively humanizing the program’s influence with four distinct stories of change. To address common fears and misconceptions, the campaign included three stylized collage Reels-explainers that creatively debunked barriers to entry, each beginning with a powerful nod to the manifesto’s closing scenes, tracing the emotional shift from doubt to empowerment, culminating in the decision to apply. This narrative approach was praised for its completeness and relatability, making the application process seem like a natural and attainable step. High-quality social media targeting complemented the video assets, ensuring that the messages reached genuinely interested and motivated candidates. The campaign's impact was significant: over three months, more than 300 applications and approximately 1,500 registrations were received from individuals eager to contribute to educational change in Ukraine. The project was recognized not only as a recruitment drive but as a pivotal movement encouraging young people to expand their horizons, embrace a fulfilling and adventurous life, and become agents of change in uncertain times. Supported by the financial backing of WNISEF, Teach for Ukraine’s Teaching and Leadership Development Programme continues to champion equal educational opportunities for all children, regardless of their location, with linza agency’s creative communications proving essential in sustaining this vital mission for the new chapter of Ukraine’s future.

Carol for the Charity - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Carol for the Charity - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine | Clapboard Ad Archive

Carol for the Charity, created by Saatchi & Saatchi Ukraine for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in the Public Service category, reframed one of Ukraine’s most iconic cultural touchstones for urgent humanitarian impact in Year 2022 by transforming the globally cherished Shchedryk — known as Carol of the Bells — into an immediate digital donation channel for Ukrainian children caught in conflict. Launching on Christmas Eve with a high-profile broadcast before President Zelenskiy’s New Year speech, the campaign activated the collective emotional resonance of the carol at a crucial national moment, amplifying its call for support through a live recording even as Kyiv endured missile attacks, and further galvanizing audiences with performances from the Veryovka Ukrainian Folk Choir, Zernyatko children’s ensemble, and leading Ukrainian artists. The creative strategy anchored the carol within a seamless user journey by integrating Shazam technology: whenever listeners encountered the reimagined song — whether via National TV, radio, streaming, or viral media in 22 radio markets across 11 countries — a simple Shazam scan instantly enabled donations, lowering barriers to participation and embedding action in the flow of seasonal ritual. This approach, which Clapboard’s taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#12—Parody or Borrowed Format, subverted a familiar cultural artifact by repurposing it for mass charity, bypassing the equivocation of traditional advocacy in favor of direct technological empowerment rooted in the carol’s deep emotional capital. With over 110 million media impressions, more than 1 million streaming plays, viral syndication across international radio, and millions of hryvnias raised for children impacted by war, the campaign demonstrates how the synthesis of folk legacy, digital innovation, and live event strategy can animate truly global engagement for public good. Clapboard rates this 78/100. In successfully transforming a seasonal symbol into a living donation platform embedded within the rhythms of popular culture and national tradition, Carol for the Charity sets a compelling precedent for how creative agencies can mobilize identity and technology to forge direct support in times of crisis.

The Legacy - StopVEO | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

The Legacy - StopVEO | Clapboard Ad Archive

StopVEO’s The Legacy, developed by Publicis Conseil for the public service sector in Year 2024, delivers a courageous critique of the intergenerational transmission of violence within educational contexts, insisting that what is so often rationalized as discipline is in fact a cycle with profound developmental costs for children and society at large. Anchored by a powerful creative idea, the campaign makes the invisible weight of such violence chillingly tangible through the metaphor of a "big hand," a symbol that materializes inherited trauma and learned behaviors not as abstract forces but as a burden carried—visibly and palpably—by every new generation. In a market where much public-interest messaging relies on either shock tactics or documentary realism, this approach sits squarely in what Clapboard’s taxonomy identifies as FORMAT#3—Symbolize the Problem, using visual analogy to draw attention to the normalized violence that too often slips by unseen. Rather than depicting literal acts of abuse, the film invites viewers into the emotional reckoning of a man who must decide what legacy he will hand down to his own child, dramatizing the critical moment where awareness can catalyze change. By focusing on this intimate internal struggle, The Legacy sparks self-recognition and empathy, challenging caregivers to confront inherited narratives and ask if generational patterns should dictate future behaviors. Its release ahead of the International Day for Non-Violence in Education amplified its cultural relevance, while a coordinated campaign with strong presence on national broadcasters and sustained engagement on social channels widened the effort’s reach and pushed the conversation into mainstream consciousness. Complementary public events and the direct involvement of child-advocacy groups, including Enfance sans violences, further embedded the campaign’s message in the ongoing societal debate around children’s rights and the systemic work required to achieve non-violent education. In a landscape shaped by NGOs such as Fédération Enfance & Partage and SOS Villages d’Enfants France, which focus on prevention, intervention, and advocacy, The Legacy distinguishes itself through a creative format that externalizes psychological harm in a way that forces collective ownership of the problem. Clapboard rates this 68/100. This campaign matters because it proves that metaphor—skillfully realized—remains one of the most potent tools for piercing cultural denial around social issues when literal narratives risk being ignored.