Established in 1987, Epica is unique in the crowded awards sector as it is the only prize judged by journalists working for marketing and communications titles. The jury is comprised of more than 200 magazines and websites from across the globe.
On the award win, Lisel Daniels, Marketing Manager from National Geographic Kids magazine stated: “FoxP2 have once again shown true creative flair and understanding of the National Geographic Kids brand by winning Gold for the Life Beyond the Logo campaign at the EPICA Awards. We congratulate the team for always coming up with ingenious concepts, earning them invaluable recognition in both the local and international advertising sectors”.
The challenge from National Geographic Kids Magazine was how to keep people connected to nature in an in an increasingly consumerist society? The Cape Town based creative agency wanted to remind the readers that before the glut of consumer goods and brands that dominate consumers’ lives, there was and still is nature and National Geographic Kids Magazine is a way for children to stay connected to nature.
As our culture becomes commercialised and brands more ubiquitous, children are becoming increasingly influenced by brands. Their world has become smaller; brands have become bigger and the great outdoors is being replaced by shopping malls and screens.
Through subverting popular brand logos and replacing said logos with their equivalents in nature, FoxP2 set out to remind parents that the wonder of nature will last far longer than the latest trends in footwear, gaming or energy drinks. The key visuals were enhanced with captions such as “Before sneakers, there was Nature, before mobile games, there was nature and before energy drinks, there was nature”, National Geographic Kids Magazine can help their children develop an obsession with nature that could last a lifetime.
Michael Lees Rolfe, creative director for FoxP2 Cape Town stated: “We’re very proud to have won Gold for South Africa with a brand that’s been in our FoxP2 stable for over a decade. I suspect the message of this campaign resonated with the judges as much as it did with readers. We’re in danger of losing that all important connection with nature as we rush around caught up in the frenetic activity of modern day living, often placing importance on the wrong things.”
