Worthless Zim bank notes win top advertising award

By Alex Bell
24 June 2009

An advertising campaign for the UK based newspaper The Zimbabwean, has won top awards at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival currently underway in France.

The campaign titled “Fight the Regime” used real Zimbabwean dollar bank notes to create posters, billboards and even wallpaper in South Africa, not only to promote the newspaper, but also to raise awareness about the dire state of the country under Robert Mugabe’s rule.

Printed over the banknotes were various taglines including: “Thanks to Mugabe this money is wallpaper”, “It’s cheaper to print this on money than on paper”, and “Fight the regime that has crippled a country”.

The campaign, developed by Johannesburg ad agency TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris, was awarded the internationally recognised Cannes Lion Grand Prix award for outdoor advertising, as well as a gold lion award in the media category. The agency said one of the most ‘eloquent’ symbols of the state Zimbabwe is in was to use the local currency, as rampant hyperinflation has crippled the once powerful country.

The Zimbabwean’s founder and editor Wilf Mbanga expressed his delight about the award, telling SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that the purpose of the ad campaign “was to make as many people as possible aware about the Zimbabwe situation.”

“I am thrilled!” Mbanga said, adding, “The message has obviously reached many people around the world.”

Mbanga now lives in Britain after being forced to leave Zimbabwe when he was branded an enemy of the people. The newspaper carries the slogan “A Voice for the Voiceless”.