HIGHLIGHT THE REMARKABLE

Silver eurobest Award
TitleHIGHLIGHT THE REMARKABLE
BrandSTABILO INTERNATIONAL GMBH
Product/ServiceSTABILO BOSS HIGHLIGHTER PEN
Category B03. Posters
Entrant DDB DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY
Idea Creation DDB DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY
PR DDB DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY
Credits
Name Company Position
Dennis May DDB Group Germany Chief Creative Officer
Kristine Holzhausen DDB Group Germany Executive Creative Director
Stefan Rehne DDB Group Germany Executive Creative Director
Vera Ickert DDB Group Germany Senior Art Director
Teresa Berude DDB Group Germany Senior Copywriter
Mona Elobeid DDB Group Germany Managing Director
Philipp Starck DDB Group Germany Account Director
Malte Kraft DDB Group Germany Junior Account Manager
Kathrin Stenger DDB Group Germany Art Director
Stefan Kranefeld Stefan Kranefeld Imaging Post Production

Background

Highlighter pens are used to mark important things; usually words or passages in printed and written texts. Everyone is aware of the benefit of such pens – even if they only remember them from their time as a student.​ For our client Stabilo we wanted to turn this rational benefit into an emotional benefit. By making it about more than just a pen, but about an attitude and purpose.​ ​ The debate on gender equality reached a new global climax. Discrimination is one half of the narrative, disregarded female triumphs are the other. All too often in history women were upstaged, their work and success not mentioned. So, they never appeared in the collective awareness – unlike their male counterparts. That's why we thought about how we could rightfully participate in order to add something meaningful to the gender equality debate.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

Now is the time to rewrite history with Stabilo Boss. We wanted to give women and their success stories the stage they deserve. And this we did by, in the truest sense of the word, highlighting them.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

In the campaign the yellow stroke of the Stabilo Boss representatively highlights two women: Hedy Lamarr and Bertha Benz. The Stabilo Boss is a tool for highlighting written or printed passages and words. This is the analogue heritage we wanted to stay true to. Therefore, a print execution was key. To emphasize the storytelling, we decided to not just write about the women and then highlighting the crucial copy parts, but to use what already existed: photographs. These show group shots, where men are in forefront or in the centre of the visual. Thanks to the stroke’s bright color the previously unremarkable women now become the focal point in the monochromatic visuals. That creates contrast and ties the design together by effectively drawing the eye to the product, the women and the copy that tells the story of their remarkable accomplishments.

List the results (20% of vote)

What started as ads in Germany turned into a global conversation. The campaign reinvigorated the equality debate and created a buzz. Not only did the campaign achieve this in the classical media but significantly so amongst millions on social media. People shared and discussed the ads or even suggested and celebrated other remarkable women on their social media accounts. What’s even more noteworthy, is the fact that not only did this campaign go viral for a short duration but has stayed extremely relevant on multiple channels across the internet. So, Stabilo Boss has inspired people to change the narrative of history by doing what it can best – highlighting the remarkable.