Ogilvy & Mather Vietnam returns two Lions for Rhino Rescue Project

Ogilvy & Mather Vietnam returned the two Lions it received for the Saving Africa’s Last Wild Rhinos, by Poisoning them campaign, for the Rhino Rescue Project, after determining that some elements of the campaign material did not run in-market as stated in the submission video.”We determined that some elements of the campaign material created to support the NGO’s efforts to reduce Vietnamese consumer demand for rhino horns did not run in-market as stated in our submission video” explained the agency in a statement. The creative shop added that they believe deeply in the cause and have committed to continue working on a pro bono basis to help any and every NGO that shares this belief. Towards that goal, the agency will be hosting a roundtable on the topic, to which it will invite interested NGO’s and other stakeholders to discuss the ongoing problem of rhino horn consumption in Vietnam.This action by Ogilvy totals three agencies that return Lion awards. One case was Grey Group that returned a bronze Lion they had obtained for a refugee-locating app, I Sea, which Apple pulled from iTunes not long before the prize was awarded at the Cannes festival. And the other was the bronze Outdoor Lion for Bayer that Sao Paulo shop Almap BBDO had won in the Print & Publishing category, apparently because the ads were creepily suggestive and had implications of sexual violence and invasion of privacy against women.