Leo Burnett wins Sri Lanka’s first D&AD Yellow Pencil

Leo Burnett Solution Inc Chief Creative Officer Trevor Kennedy shares useful insights into the key achievement

This year, Leo Burnett Sri Lanka, the local office of the global advertising agency Leo Burnett Worldwide, made history for the country, by bringing home Sri Lanka’s very first Yellow Pencil at the D&AD Awards for the ‘Soap Bus Ticket’ campaign.

A D&AD Pencil is revered as the most prestigious creative accolade in the marketing communications industry. It is possibly one of the most difficult global awards to win. Trevor Kennedy – Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett Solutions Inc., in this interview shines a light on his journey at the agency and the creative process behind this iconic win. 

Trevor worked at AMVBBDO, which is still ranked as the No.1 creative agency in the UK. Since 1980, Trevor has been at the forefront of the bustling and rapidly evolving advertising industry. He joined Leo Burnett in Sri Lanka in 2006 for a three year stint and returned once again to helm the company’s creative team in October 2013. Today, he and his team of 27 of the country’s brightest and best creative professionals comprising Sinhala, English and Tamil copywriters, art directors, graphic designers and visualisers are spearheading the agency’s creative journey and paving an exciting path for Leo Burnett’s growth in Sri Lanka.

Commenting on his time and achievements at the agency to date, Trevor said: “When I first arrived at Leo Burnett, we hadn’t won a 7+ for any of our work at the network’s internal quality control program – the international GPC. The GPC evaluates every quarter the work from every office in the network in accordance with global standards of creativity. Our first 7+ gave the entire team a renewed sense of confidence and an optimistic outlook. Our next big win came at AdFest 2007, where we won the first international metal for Sri Lanka. Since then the agency has won awards at every global awards programs. Our most recent win at the D&AD Awards is a new milestone we have achieved for our creativity and for the country’s creative reputation. The D&AD Yellow Pencil has helped to strengthen our position as a creative force in the international industry.” 

Trevor added that for many professionals in the international advertising industry, including himself, the D&AD Awards program is still perceived as the ultimate international awards show. He said the significance of this global win was summed up in an e-mail which the team received from Mark Tutssel, the Global Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide in which he said: “This is incredible my friends. You’ve made history. The first-ever iconic D&AD Yellow Pencil for Sri Lanka. The best in the world –bar none. An incredible achievement. I am so very proud of you all.” 

Reflecting on the win, Trevor said: “In 2006, I don’t think anyone in the industry thought we had a chance of winning a D&AD Pencil. We shocked everyone by first winning a Graphite Pencil last year and by bringing home a Yellow Pencil and two Wood Pencils this year. This success has simply been unbelievable and an amazing testament to our creative reputation. Seeing Sri Lanka listed amongst other global D&AD winners gave every one of us immense pride.” Leo Burnett’s Yellow Pencil, was won for the ‘Soap Bus Ticket’ campaign, an idea developed for the Asiri Hospitals, to encourage members of the public to embrace the all-important habit of washing their hands regularly. 

Commenting on the idea and how it was executed, Trevor said: “As with almost all great creative work, the ‘Soap Bus Ticket’ was a very simple solution to a real problem. Washing one’s hands can prevent the spread of anything from the common cold to serious illnesses such as hepatitis. Our client Asiri Hospitals, wanted not only to educate people on the importance of this habit, they also wanted to solve the problem and do something about it.” 

Trevor added: “In Sri Lanka, the majority of people ride several buses throughout the day and use them as their primary source of transport. This typically makes buses the ideal place for the spreading germs. However instead of just telling people to wash their hands, the ‘Soap Bus Ticket’ campaign encouraged them to actually wash their hands and embrace the habit. We used paper infused with soap to create special ticket rolls that could be used in all commercial and public buses. Anyone riding a bus didn’t just receive a disposable ticket, they were given a ticket that they could actually use to protect themselves against germs that they might have come into contact with on their journey.  The campaign was further supported by posters, notices and PR activities, which increased awareness amongst passengers on the importance of proper hygiene and encouraged them to actually wash their hands regularly.”

Highlighting his plans for the future, he concluded: “Every year, we try to raise our creative output and put Sri Lanka on the global map. We have now been ranked as the 175th most creative agency in the world, which is an incredible achievement when you think about the budgets and teams that we are up against. Patrick Collister, Editor of Directory magazine, went as far as to say that Leo Burnett Sri Lanka produced some brilliant work and with a larger awards budget, the agency would have certainly secured an even higher ranking than No. 175 on the worldwide agencies list.”

When he’s not sailing the high seas every Sunday afternoon and boosting the agency’s creative prowess, Trevor can be found encouraging his team members to reach for new heights and nudging them to explore fresh new concepts and ideas. He is on a constant quest to ensure that the entire team collectively builds the brands that are under Leo Burnett Sri Lanka’s purview, whilst making their mark in the local and global creative communications industry.

As Leo Burnett celebrates its 17th year of operations in Sri Lanka and looks ahead to the future, the agency will continue to focus on its HumanKind approach to help build powerful brands and meaningful partnerships with its clients, whilst delivering gratifying results and gaining peer recognition in the industry.