2026 Winner

Penguin conservation struggles for attention and funding, despite most species being at
risk, leaving Penguins International competing not just for donations but for relevance.

The strategy seized a timely cultural moment – public outrage over new US tariffs
targeting Canada that also extended to the McDonald Islands, a remote, uninhabited
territory populated only by penguins – to insert conservation into an already heated
conversation. “Protest March of the Penguins” positioned the animals’ real migratory
journey as a live protest, launching with an organic social film and expanding into a PR-
led campaign anchored by a YouTube Live broadcast narrated in a news-style format.
The idea blurred the line between real-world political protests and conservation
messaging, even equipping Canadian demonstrators with penguin-themed signs to
extend the concept into the streets. With no paid media, the campaign generated 1.2B
earned impressions, more than 3.4M video views and a 453% increase in donations.

Credits

Chief Creative fficerO: Aaron Starkman, Mike Dubrick
Chief Strategy Officer: Sean McDonald
Executive Creative Director: Xavier Blais
Creative Operations Director: Joel McCurdy
Creative Director / Writer: Jordan Darnbrough
Creative Director / Art Director: Nick Noh
Copywriter: Tessa Warburton, Sadiya Bano
Art Director: Juun Moon, Jaclyn McConnell
Strategy: Emma Bayfield
Designer: Mark Mabey
Managing Director: Marie Lunny
Head of Public Relations: Meredith Burns
PR Account Director: Sara Lemmermeyer
Head of Broadcast Production: Laura Rioux
Group Production Lead: AJ Merrick
Senior Integrated Producer: Narine Artinian
Post Production Supervisor: Shannon Ing
Senior Editor: Tyler Erdelac, Thais Maranho
Editor: Alijah Monckton
Client:
Executive Director: David Schutt
Co-president: Alexa Mehos
Co-president: Mike Rueb