Ocean Outdoor and Perfect Fools Win Bronze Pencil at The One Show Awards NYC

Ocean Outdoor and the creative agency Perfect Fools have won a bronze pencil in the health and wellness category of The One Show Awards in New York for their immersive out of home campaign Bullying Out of Home.

Created for the not-for-profit Friends, the campaign was streamed to more than 2,000 out of home screens across Sweden to expose the ugly face of online bullying.

The One Show awards were announced on May 20th.

Jesper Albansson, Ocean Outdoor Nordics chief marketing officer, said: “This campaign is a masterclass in how to leverage the technical capabilities of DOOH to deliver an important message.

“Ocean has long believed in using the extraordinary broadcast power of DOOH to help charities and causes who rely on public awareness. DOOH’S very nature, and its ability to prime other media, made for a compelling solution. Our campaign was a tremendous success resulting in high engagement and demonstrative results. We are delighted this has been recognised with an award.”

Earlier this week Bullying Out of Home was nominated for the Campaign of the Year award by the Swedish Media Agencies Association, and it is shortlisted in the D&AD Awards which are announced next week.

The One Show Awards honour ground-breaking ideas and creativity in advertising, design and digital marketing. 

Friends x Ocean

Social media isn’t all memes and funny dances. It’s also a place of intense bullying. The bullying that once happened in the schoolyard, where adults could see it, has moved to mobile phones and computers where it happens out of sight.

The non-profit Friends conducts a vast amount of research about bullying every year. Their 2020 report found that 40% of all children and teenagers in Sweden had been bullied online. And, nearly half of them had never told an adult about it. Years of research has also shown that adults taking action is absolutely essential if bullying is to be prevented. But, for that to happen, adults actually need to be aware of it. Awareness is the first step towards action.

Friends sought to reveal the hidden cyberbullying to all adults. Authentic notifications from bullied children’s personal mobile screens were streamed to thousands of Ocean screens in cities, malls and stations across Sweden. The notifications popped up on top of the regular adverts, giving adults a glimpse of an unknown reality, and the awareness needed to act.

The campaign was picked up by Sweden's biggest TV station (SVT), Sweden's biggest radio network (SR) and by several newspapers. Interaction on Friends social media channels increased by roughly 400% and traffic on their website by 242%. Most importantly, the new Friends Annual Report shows that awareness of cyberbullying among adults has increased by 14%.