| Title | WHITE CANE DAY |
| Brand | THE SRI LANKA EYE DONATION SOCIETY |
| Product / Service | SRI LANKA EYE DONATION SOCIETY |
| Category | B01. Use of Screens |
| Entrant | LEO BURNETT SOLUTIONS Colombo, SRI LANKA |
| Idea Creation | LEO BURNETT SOLUTIONS Colombo, SRI LANKA |
| Media | STARCOM WORLDWIDE SRI LANKA Colombo, SRI LANKA |
| Production | 24 FRAMES Colombo, SRI LANKA |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Trevor Kennedy | Leo Burnett Solutions Inc | Chief Creative Officer |
| Eraj Wirasinha | Leo Burnett Solutions Inc | Creative Director |
| Athula Kathriarachchi | Leo Burnett Solutions Inc | Senior Creative Director |
| Mehnaz Ilhamdeen | Leo Burnett Solutions Inc | Head Of Operations |
| Chamari Priyabarshini | Leo Burnett Solutions Inc | Senior Executive - Broadcast Production |
| Caryll Van Dort | The MSL Group | Director |
| Prasad Chathuranga | Leo Burnett Solutions Inc | Illustrator / Art Director |
| Dilshard Ahamed | Leo Burnett Solutions Inc | Creative Consultant |
| Firzan Mulafer | Publicis Solutions | Account Director |
| Malaka Samith | Leo Burnett Solutions Inc | Copywriter |
| Nishat Omar | Leo Burnett Solutions Inc | Editor |
| Nadeera Warawita | Leo Burnett Solutions Inc | Art Director |
| Muditha Tharanga | Leo Burnett Solutions Inc | Art Director |
| Chandika Samaraweera | Leo Burnett Solutions Inc | Art Director |
| Jayana Silva | Leo Burnett Solutions Inc | Visualiser |
| Neelanie Goonetilleke | Starcom Worldwide Sri Lanka | Media Director |
| Nilusha Wanasinghe | Starcom Worldwide Sri Lanka | Senior Media Manager |
| Chandani Abeyratne | Starcom Worldwide Sri Lanka | Media Manager |
| Rameez Fazal | Publicis Solutions | Account Supervisor |
| Izky Faiz | Publicis Solutions | Account Manager |
| Nayanananda Perera | Leo Burnett Solutions Inc | Copywriter |
| Dileep Kulathunga | Leo Burnett Solutions Inc | Associate Creative Director |
‘Temporarily’ removing sight from the sighted public to create empathy for the blind. Thereby, drawing attention to the cause, and generating response.
We negotiated with the Media to hijack the most watched Teledrama in the country –‘Mey Adarayai’- with a viewership of over 80% of the total TV audience. We then picked the most intense 30 seconds in the actual Tele-drama, and removed the visual component, leaving just the audio. As we took away the sight from the audience, and as they became irritated by the visual impairment, the TV screen read ‘if 30 seconds of blindness is this unbearable to you, imagine those who have to live with it for the rest of their lives. Please give them sight, when you don’t need it anymore’.
The day after the activation, the organization received the highest number of ‘eye donation pledges’ they have received in a day. Since then, the number of call-ins and the walk-ins at Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society has tripled on average.
There is a cult following that surrounds the category of Tele-dramas in Sri Lanka. Sirasa TV leads this charge, with what is called the ‘golden hour’ of entertainment, everyday, which imprisons almost the entire nation’s TV audience (over 80%). The obsession is so intense during this time, interruptions are unheard of – on and off the screen. Our activation, therefore, was a one-of-a-kind media innovation, that totally changed the belief of what was considered possible on media.
Sri Lanka is predominantly a staunch Buddhist country. Lord Buddha firmly advocated the act of Dåna or giving, not just of material things but of one’s own self. Yet without a national donor registry, organ donation is usually a forgotten practice. Therefore we needed a disruption that could jolt the sighted Sri Lankan public into understanding that their privilege of sight could be shared with another. The fanaticism for Tele-dramas in Sri Lanka is the widest spread national obsession. So in it we found our medium for disruption.