Five brands have been announced as winners of the £2 million sustainable advertising initiative
This year, Ecosia, Homethings, Royal Mail, Serious Tissues and WUKA have been selected by an esteemed judging panel to win £250,000 each in media value, helping fast-track their sustainable initiatives
The five brands will now move into ad production and the final stage of judging in December, which will see the most compelling creative securing a total of £1 million in media value.
Established by Sky, the Sky Zero Footprint Fund supports brands committed to a more sustainable future by helping to amplify their positive environmental messages using the power of TV and advertising
Sky has announced the five winners of its Sky Zero Footprint Fund, a £2 million advertising fund which uses the power of TV advertising to amplify business initiatives that are driving positive behavioural change for a more sustainable world.
The campaign champions the adoption of tangible steps towards a sustainable future. The five winning brands were selected because of their pitch’s display to inspire change, with each one demonstrating sustainable values that align to Sky’s own. Sky Zero‘s pledge is to go net zero carbon by 2030 and inspire others to join the journey.
Each of the winning businesses has been awarded £250,000 in media value. They will now move into ad production, ahead of a final stage of judging in December, which will see the most compelling creative securing a total of £1 million in media value.
Fiona Ball, Group Director of the Bigger Picture at Sky, said: “Last year, the Sky Zero Footprint Fund resulted in five great adverts and brought disruptive brands to TV for the first time. It’s exciting to see this year, yet again, so many inspiring brands are committed to making a difference. Each of the winning brands from this year’s Sky Zero Footprint Fund delivers a critical message that aligns with ours; that sustainable can be attainable. And, with the opportunity to use the power of TV advertising, this message is amplified, ultimately driving positive change.”
A panel of respected industry experts, with credentials in advertising, creativity and sustainability, assessed 15 live pitches from the shortlisted brands on Wednesday 10th August at the Thinkbox headquarters in Chancery Lane. Each brand was judged on the merit of their creativity (ability to capture the attention of the nation), impact (the potential to drive real, tangible behavioural change) and sustainable credibility (their authentic commitment as a business to improve future sustainability).
Sarah Jones, Director of Planning at Sky Media, said: “It has been such a privilege to discover so many brands who are helping pave the way to a more sustainable future. The standard of pitches we saw on judging day was excellent – with inspiring origin stories, shocking statistics and brilliant business ideas. Thank you to all the brands who took part and to our fantastic judging panel for their expertise and guidance. We believe our final 5 have a huge opportunity to make an impact within their categories and beyond through the power of TV.”
This year’s judging panel included three new additions with Tara Chandra, Co-founder of Here We Flo who won the Grand Prix £1 million ad spend last year; Bruce Crouch, Executive Creative Director of Hatch London and the creative behind Here We Flo’s award-winning period drama concept; and Marianne Matthews, Sky’s Head of Responsible Business.
The panel also included the return of advertising legend Sir John Hegarty, Stephen Woodford (Chair of the Advertising Association), Karen Blackett OBE (Country Manager at WPP & GroupM UK CEO), Jo Fenn (Founder of AdGreen) and Sarah Jones (Director of Planning at Sky Media)
Sophie Dembinski, Ecosia’s Head of Policy & UK, said, “We’re thrilled to have been selected as one of the winners of the Sky Zero Footprint Fund. With Sky’s support, Ecosia will be able to reach and enable millions more people across the UK to fight the climate emergency by planting millions more trees and regenerating forests around the world at a crucial time for the planet.”
Tim Keaveney, Founder of Homethings, said, “We’re fizzing with excitement to be in the final 5 of the Sky Zero Footprint Fund. This campaign will be a game-changing step on our journey to change the way the world cleans, helping us to educate consumers that shipping water is bonkers for the planet whilst refilling with tap water makes sense.”
Sonia Sudhakar, Managing Director, Marketing and Digital at Royal Mail, said, “We’re thrilled to be shortlisted by Sky’s Zero Footprint Fund. As the UK’s greenest delivery company*, we are committed to raising awareness about the real carbon impact of our parcel deliveries. Now, with the help of the Sky Zero Footprint Fund and AMV BBDO, we’ll campaign for our entire industry to do the same, thereby empowering customers to help tackle climate change – today!”
Chris Baker, Founder of Serious Tissues, said, “We’re seriously excited to be one of the Sky Zero Footprint Fund winners and especially amongst the amazing company of the other brands on the shortlist. TV has the power to make sustainable switches mainstream, showing how something as small as changing your toilet roll to Serious Tissues can have a massive impact. Fingers heavily crossed for the final in December.”
Ruby Raut, CEO and Co-Founder of WUKA, said, “We believe the future is girls and the future of periods is sustainable period underwear so having the Sky Zero Footprint Fund team believe our vision is an incredible start on our journey. Supporting our campaign means supporting generational impact, a lasting positive impact for both women’s health and reducing our collective footprint on the planet.”
All five winning ads will be produced using insights, tools and learnings from AdGreen. Part of the Advertising Association, AdGreen supports the ad industry shift towards net zero, eliminating the negative environmental impacts of production. Established by Sky, the Footprint Fund is part of the Sky Zero campaign to be net zero carbon by 2030.
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