Cheil Centrade Romania Wins Grand Prix at IAB MIXX Awards Europe

Cheil Centrade Romania has scooped the Grand Prix and two Golds at the 2022 IAB MIXX Awards Europe for its stunning Guilt Gifts Puppetry campaign combating domestic abuse, created to support the ANAIS Humanitarian Association. 

The Bucharest-based agency used the powerful image of guilt gifts - offered by domestic abusers to buy the silence of their victims - and gave the gifts themselves a voice to speak out about domestic violence. 

Using puppetry to animate guilt gifts donated by abuse survivors, Cheil Centrade created eight experimental theatre pieces telling stories of domestic abuse. In one, a teddy bear relates to being gifted to a little girl by an abuser who was violent towards her mother. In another, a plush toy giraffe tells the story of its owner’s domestic abuse. The aim of the campaign is to highlight the issue of domestic violence in Romania and encourage women in abusive relationships to reach out for help. 

Centrade’s first ever Grand Prix in an international show

This is Cheil Centrade’s first ever Grand Prix in an international show, and it is Romania’s first ever Grand Prix in IAB Europe. The campaign was garlanded with two Gold awards in Branded Content and Non-Profit and Corporate Social Responsibility categories, respectively. 

Launched during the Covid lockdown, as domestic abuse worldwide rocketed, the Guilt Gifts campaign succeeded in triggering a conversation across Romania about the plague of domestic violence against women, an issue that had received little coverage previously. The campaign eventually helped change legislation about domestic abuse in Romania. 

To create the campaign, ANAIS asked abuse victims to donate the guilt gifts given by their abusers and then turned them into puppets.

Choreographers, puppeteers, directors, screenwriters, actors and dancers came together pro-bono to produce the theatrical works. The first play launched on International Women’s Day 2021 and garnered widespread media coverage. Viewers were invited to watch the plays online, and each episode was covered on prime time news. In addition, leading Romanian auction house, Artmark auctioned off the toys and raised further funding. 

ANAIS received a 790% increase in donations. The shows were viewed 2.1 million times and received nine million media impressions

Mihai Gongu, executive creative director Cheil Centrade said: “The Guilt Gifts Puppetry, the first theatre series featuring actual guilt gifts from victims of domestic violence and their real stories, contributed to changing the legislation about recidivist abuse in Romania. We are grateful to see it recognised with the highest accolade at IAB MIXX Awards Europe, one of the top creative competitions on the continent. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the hundreds of volunteers and our pro-bono media partners who have stepped in to support our cause.”