This year’s Grand Prix winner, where Channel 4 shone a light on Black talent, and dedicated a whole day of programming to Black lives and Black culture, was described by judges as ‘an idea of huge ambition, delivered expertly.’ They said it was ‘a self effacing and absolutely all-in campaign of dignity, bravery and epic proportions.’
Over the course of one day, Channel 4’s Black to Front campaign saw every programme line-up change so it was fronted by Black Talent – from Place in The Sun, To ‘Location, Location, Location...with new shows and new talent introduced. The whole day was also dedicated to solely Black-led adverts.
The campaign took five months to put together, with Channel 4 staging a collaboration with 70 campaigns from over 60 different brands across 55 linear ad breaks and countless All 4 breaks in programming, all dedicated to Black lives and Black culture. There was also a special collaboration with Google; the UK’s first all-black docuality TV show Highlife and a bespoke ad break using the vision of a new Black-led production partner to create a special spot celebrating The Joy of Black with HSBC, Direct Line and Tesco.
Judges commended the scale of the ambition, and the tenacity needed to complete it, and praised the huge commitment it showed to a very worthwhile cause.
They said: “When Channel 4 live and breathe their brand value in a way which is bang on for today, just look at the change and connection that comes too.”