FINCH / Motion Sickness secures Cannes Lions Health and United Nations Grand Prix for Good for ‘The Best Place In The World To Have Herpes’
FINCH / Motion Sickness have won the Lions Health and United Nations Foundation Grand Prix for Good for New Zealand Herpes Foundation ‘The Best Place In The World To Have Herpes’.
The Lions Health and United Nations Foundation Grand Prix for Good is an award presented at Cannes Lions to recognise outstanding creative work for non-profit organisations and charities. It specifically honors campaigns that promote social good and address global health challenges.
In October last year, the New Zealand Herpes Foundation launched ‘Make New Zealand the best place in the World to Have Herpes’, aimed at healing the social stigma around the common and largely benign Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV).
Featuring a first-of-its-kind ‘Herpes Destigmatisation Course’, a global ranking system underpinned by live data, and plenty of irreverent humour, this campaign took an unusual approach to reducing herpes stigma – framing it as the key to restoring New Zealand’s diminished sense of national pride.
Jury President, David Ohana, Chief Communications & Marketing Officer, United Nations Foundation, said: “This year’s Lions Health Grand Prix for Good unabashedly uses humor to tackle a challenging subject and stigmatization. Forget doom & gloom, there’s enough of that already to go around. Our 2025 awardee took a taboo topic and turned it on its head – showing that with a great strategy, a big bold crazy idea (…can only imagine the pitch…), and humor for days, that anything is possible. Brilliant.”
Campaign sponsors:
Whānau Ora
Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa
Sexually Transmitted Infections Education Foundation
Agency: Motion Sickness
Executive Creative Director: Sam Stuchbury
General Manager: Alex McManus
Head of Strategy: Hilary Ngan Kee
Creative Director: Melina Fiolitakis
Senior Creative: Will Macdonald
Intermediate Creative: Freddy Riddiford
Social Content Editor : Jolin Lee
Social Lead : Roxy Allnutt
Head of Production: Joseph McAlpine
Senior Designer: Hamish Steptoe
Artworker: Moana Peterson
Strategy: Chelsea Knowles
Account Director: Joe Fraei
Media: Ella Liddell, Shannon O’Connell, Dom Meehan
Archive Sourcing & Radio Concepts – Sophie Douglas, Freddie von Trott
Production – FINCH
Director – Alex Roberts
Managing Director/Executive Producer – Corey Esse
Executive Producer – Rebekah ‘Bex’ Kelly
Producer – Duncan Bernard
DOP – Marty Williams
Production Designer – Joseph Leary
Wardrobe Stylist – Olivia Dobson
Post House – Atticus
Post Producer – Jadon Miller
Editor – Luka Turjak
Editor – Julian Currin
Colourist – Pete Ritchie
Lead VFX artist – Stu Bedford
Sound – Big Pop Studios
DOP (Ashley Bloomfield video): Devan Narsai
2D Animator: Marcin Sulewski
Web Development – ED
Creative Director – Elliot Schultz
Design – Jeremy Ward
Strategy – Chris Ames
Developer – Mike Wojo
Project Manager – Lucien Jankelson
Research – TRA
Head of Strategy – Carl Sarney
Managing Partner – Shaun Fitzgibbon
Account Lead – Alice Oliver
PR – DigPR
Leni Ma’ia’i
Daniel Smith
Media sponsors:
TikTok
VMO
Beacon
VAST
JCD
oOh!
Shout
Lumo
Giggle
Jolt
GoMedia
Phantom
Hyper
Cartel
Stuff
YouTube
NZME
Trade Me
MediaWorks