The ‘Second Life Notebooks’ campaign by Ogilvy’s Geometry Global Sri Lanka for ProMate (PrintXcel) has become the most internationally awarded single campaign in Sri Lanka’s advertising history. Its latest recognition comes from the coveted Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity held in France, where it earned four shortlist nods, said a release from Ogilvy Friday.
The campaign, in total, has garnered 17 awards and shortlist honours at some of the world’s most respected creative and advertising festivals between 2024 and 2025, including Dragons of Asia, EPICA, Spikes Asia, AdFest, Clio Awards, D&AD, and Cannes Lions.
The need for the campaign arose from a sudden 300% surge in paper prices, a consequence of Sri Lanka’s recent economic crisis. This sharp increase made Braille writing books unaffordable for many families and schools.
Commenting on the campaign, Sri Lanka’s first visually impaired MP Sugath Wasantha de Silva, a well-known advocate for the rights of visually impaired communities in the country, said: “This initiative is truly a social service, a programme launched from a deep understanding of social responsibility.”
From a creative standpoint, Nadeera Warawita, Creative Group Head at Geometry Global Sri Lanka and the ideator of the campaign, said: “We set out to solve a real problem. The recognition the campaign has received is humbling, but the true reward, as a creative, was seeing children use these books and being given the opportunity to continue their learning. Knowing our work made a meaningful difference, that’s what mattered most.”
Commenting beyond the campaign’s creative merit, Lalith Sumanasiri, Managing Director, Ogilvy Digital, Ogilvy Media & Geometry Global, noted that the most powerful ideas are born at the intersection of deep consumer insight and a clear understanding of a client’s business.
He notes that, “With ‘Second Life Notebooks’, we identified a critical need in society and connected it to what our client could uniquely offer. This campaign demonstrates how creativity, when grounded in purpose and strategy, can deliver not just awards, but real, measurable impact.”