Ban Ki-moon Brings Together Advertising’s “Big Six” in Cannes
24 Giugno 2016 - 1:00PM
Business Wire
UN Secretary-General calls on global
business to follow communication industry’s example as Dentsu,
Havas, IPG, Omnicom, Publicis and WPP pledge collective support for
Sustainable Development Goals
In an unprecedented step for the industry, the world’s biggest
advertising and marketing services groups will put aside
competitive differences at this week’s Cannes Lions Festival to
launch a major new initiative – “Common Ground” – in support of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted at the United Nations
last year.
At the suggestion of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, for the
first time rival parent company chief executives will take the
stage together to demonstrate their shared commitment to deploying
the power of the creative industries to help address the world’s
most pressing problems.
The Secretary-General will speak at the Cannes Debate at noon on
Friday 24th June in the Palais des Festivals, before being joined
by leaders of the different groups.
The Common Ground programme will begin with a global advertising
campaign, with space donated by key business and thought-leadership
publications.
Following the Cannes Lions Festival, each group will focus on a
specific area of the SDGs over the coming year, where possible and
necessary working collaboratively across parent companies. They
will also encourage other industries to find their own Common
Ground.
In addition, the six companies have agreed to provide a
development fund for each of the winning ideas in the Cannes Young
Lions competition, which this year is devoted solely to the SDGs.
These funds will be used to develop the concepts and give them the
strongest possible chance of being put into practice. This is the
first time the Young Lions have been given a development fund,
providing an opportunity to bring their ideas to fruition, directly
contributing to the achievement of the goals and continuing to
raise awareness of them.
The seventeenth and final SDG is based on the idea that
collaborative partnerships will be essential if all of the SDGs,
ranging from eradicating poverty to tackling climate change, are to
be achieved.
Speaking ahead of the Cannes Debate, Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon urged competing firms from other sectors to follow suit and
make their own Common Ground commitments to supporting the
SDGs:
“Common Ground is breaking ground. This initiative is not only
about the advertising industry’s considerable influence in
promoting the Sustainable Development Goals around the world. By
putting aside their differences, these companies are also setting a
powerful example for others to follow.”
In a joint statement, Tadashi Ishii, Chief Executive Officer and
President of Dentsu; Yannick Bolloré, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Havas; Michael Roth, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of IPG; John Wren, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Omnicom; Maurice Lévy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Publicis Groupe; and Sir Martin Sorrell, founder and Chief
Executive Officer of WPP, said:
“The Common Ground initiative recognises that the global issues
the UN has identified transcend commercial rivalry. By working in
partnership to support the Sustainable Development Goals, we want
to demonstrate that even fierce competitors can set aside their
differences in order to serve a wider common interest. We hope
others in and beyond our own business decide to do the same.”
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
In September 2015, UN Member States unanimously adopted the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development, focused on the three
interconnected elements of: economic growth, social inclusion and
environmental protection. With 17 Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) at its core, the Agenda is universal, integrated and
transformative and aims to spur actions that will end poverty,
reduce inequality and tackle climate change between now and
2030.
www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160624005212/en/
UNFrancyne Harrigan, +1 917-367-5414 / +1
917-428-7505harriganf@un.orgorWPPChris Wade, +44 (0)7740 595
563chris.wade@wpp.com
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