República: We’re Very Proud to be on the PR Shortlist

During the third day of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, the multicultural agency Republica was shortlisted for the first time with Broken Crayons for Amigos for Kids in the subcategory Use of Events & Stunts. The campaign aims to raise awareness of early signs of child abuse, which are rarely detected.

Agency Co-founder and CEO Jorge Plasencia said they are very proud of being shortlisted for the first time at Cannes. “Over the years we have won many very important awards, but I think this is something else. As an independent agency, getting on a shortlist here really fills us with pride.”

He said the Broken Crayons campaign is a very important piece because it was created for an organization that he has been working with for more than 26 years, and which fights child abuse and provides help for its young victims, as well as for families in need. “Presenting the organization and its message to more than 60 countries is very powerful,” Plasencia added.

CCO Milton Lebron and Creative Director Michael de Jesus, both from Republica, shared their impressions about the festival.

“I’ll always remember this incredible exhibition of work from many parts of the world, and the many changes to the festival this year, especially with the narrowing of categories so you feel it’s now even more complicated than ever. And you have to have a lot of context for your work because they evaluate everything,” de Jesus said.

For Lebron, it has been an excellent festival. He agreed that this year it has been more demanding with the entries. “The changes of categories have made it harder to win at the festival. We can’t take anything for granted, because the cases are very good and we should continue to improve accordingly. Creativity is the most important element in everything we do, even in the presentation of case histories, and I think that also helps. This year I noticed many experiential cases, people expect more empathy from brands.”