The best socially responsible ads of 2015

The EthicMark® Awards, founded in 2004 by futurist Hazel Henderson FRSA, seek to transform advertising by demonstrating the power of media campaigns to inspire, focus on human potentials and further both public and private legitimate interests. Their awards go to advertising and media campaigns that “uplift the human spirit and society.”

The 2015 winners raise awareness about the desensitising effects of drone warfare, and the public health threat of iron deficiency in Cambodia. Both were honored by sustainable investors at the Conference on Sustainable Responsible, Impact Investing. 

The Not a Bug Splat campaign, a collaboration with Inside Out and the Foundation for Fundamental Rights, challenges the desensitised manner in which drone operators accept casualties of war.  The stark image of a local child, deployed in Pakistan and visible from hundreds of feet, has also captured the attention of social media worldwide. 

Lucky Iron Fish, a Certified B Corporation, has creatively introduced a means to address the chronic low levels of iron found in diets throughout Cambodia. The trial-and-error and clever marketing tools used by Lucky Iron Fish make it a model for other social enterprises.  

Unlike other advertising and marketing awards, EthicMark^® award-winning companies are recognised for the creativity of their message, the value of the product or service and quality of the company culture. This all-encompassing standard ensures the integrity of the Awards and the esteem accruable to winners’ reputations