2011 Platinum PR Awards: Wow! Award

Winner: Centers for Disease Control & Prevention – Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse

In 2010, the CDC took a very different spin on its usual personal safety message about preparing for any emergency—hurricanes, tornados and even a Zombie Apocalypse—all for $87 in stock photography. On May 16, 2010, a blog post described what to include in an emergency kit and how to develop a plan to find shelter from or floods, tornadoes—or zombies. The message was posted to Twitter and Facebook and quickly went viral, as 30,000 visitors crashed the blog site by May 18. A media evaluation estimated a reach of 3.6 billion combined viewers, in part thanks to national and international media coverage. —RD


Honorable Mentions:

Barb Clapp Advertising & Marketing – FOP/IAFF Billboard: To raise awareness on slashed benefits for police and firefighters, BCA&M set up a billboard stating: “Welcome to Baltimore, home to a Mayor and City Council who turned their backs on our Police and Firefighters.”

Cone Inc. – Yesterday’s News Do-Gooder Design Challenge: Cone found a way to combine cat litter, newspapers and fashion through a challenge celebrating cat owners who make green choices for their cats and homes.

Deloitte – Greening the Next Generation: Launched on Earth Day 2010, the Next Generation Web site helped spread the green message, and a YouthEco event united 600 young people worldwide.

Deloitte – Planet Saver Programs: The Planet Saver initiative encourages Deloitte employees to swap screensavers, thereby cutting energy consumption.

GE – GE ecomagination “Powering the Grid”: Created to find and fund clean energy ideas, GE’s ecomagination Challenge—held in clean-tech savvy San Francisco—generated 4,000 ideas over 10 weeks.

Henson Consulting – “Hearts in Bluhm” in Chicago in February 2011: Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute teamed up with Henson Consulting to educate consumers about the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese – Project CHEDDAR EXPLOSION: The Launch of KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese CHEDDAR EXPLOSION: With Kraft looking for an “explosive” campaign, Hunter PR aligned the product launch with another “explosive” event—the implosion of the Dallas Cowboys’ Texas Stadium.


Back to the 2011 Platinum PR Awards

September 14, 2011