PRODIS DOWN’S SYNDROME FOUNDATION | PRODIS MAILING | 2008
Open the Envelope, and the Words Stand Up / PRODIS "MAILING"
In 2008, a piece of direct mail arrived from PRODIS, a Down's syndrome foundation in Spain. Just a piece of paper landing in your mailbox - and yet it won gold. That's exactly the kind of thing I love.
The problem
PRODIS is a Spanish foundation that supports people with Down's syndrome. Around this time, a campaign called "Let Us Do It," also made by Vitruvio Leo Burnett Madrid, was widely known and praised for focusing on what people with Down's syndrome "can do." This mailing campaign was likely created in that same spirit.
The insight
There's something deliberate about choosing direct mail in the first place - a medium where, even in this age of information overload, you still have to open it with your own hands. I think this was a bet on a physical experience, something that doesn't just stay on a screen.
The idea
I couldn't track down, with my limited searching skills, exactly what kind of paper arrived or what trick it used. But true to the name "MAILING," there's no doubt that the mailed piece itself was the star of the creative work.
What happened
It won gold at Cannes Lions. The fact that it won an award is the only solid piece of information I have in hand right now.
Afterthought
Honestly, that's about all the facts I can share about this one. But flip it around, and there's something interesting in just this: in Spain in 2008, a big topic like Down's syndrome was recognized not through flashy video or social media, but through a single piece of mail. If anyone out there has actually seen the real thing, please, tell me about it.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2008
