2026 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

One quarter of the world’s population – 2.1 billion people – lack access to safe drinking water. It’s a staggering statistic and its scale has led to unintentional apathy.

For the 75% of people who have the everyday luxury of getting clear water from a tap, the crisis feels abstract and distant. One Drop – an organization dedicated to water equity for all – was trying to bring attention and understanding to this enormous, but often ignored, issue.

The challenge was to break through indifference and recognize the importance of this issue. The agency needed to find a way to make an abstract global crisis feel personal, urgent and unignorable, transforming an overwhelming number into a tangible experience.

Their campaign objectives were to drive mass awareness and understanding of this issue, make an abstract statistic feel tangible and drive increase in donations to One Drop’s sustainable water projects.

Telling people about the problem wasn’t working. The agency’s insight was that to make people feel the weight of the crisis, we had to put it directly in their hands. They needed to move beyond abstract statistics and create a tangible, physical experience that was impossible to ignore. By disrupting a simple, everyday habit – taking a drink of water – they could force a moment of reflection and empathy to drive change.

“The Unfair Drinking Glass” – a data visualization you can drink from.

They stopped telling people about the problem and designed a way for them to experience it. They created a custom, double-walled drinking glass, where 1/4 of the volume was sealed and filled with murky, undrinkable water. It represented the 1/4 of the world cut off from safe drinking water.

The design was elegant, but uncomfortable. Every time you lift the glass, you feel the weight of the dirty water, turning a simple habitual act into a simple, but powerful reminder.

The campaign was built to amplify this provocative object. They launched on World Water Day with an influencer campaign that quickly spread the experience through social media. Global superstar DJ David Guetta took up the cause and amplified it through his social channels. And as the G7 leaders gathered in Alberta for their annual summit, they used targeted media – asking world leaders “G7 Leaders, would you drink this?”. They sparked a conversation that drove significant earned media. And every touchpoint drove to a donation page, turning awareness into meaningful action.

The design-led strategy delivered unprecedented results, proving a single, powerful idea can spark a global conversation.

“The Unfair Glass” generated over 54 million in earned reach, becoming a powerful, shareable symbol for the water crisis.

The campaign drove a 1200% increase in donations compared to One Drop’s average fundraising campaign.

Credits

Graham Lang, Chief Creative Officer, Canada, VML Canada
Antoine Becotte, Executive Creative Director, VML Canada
Frank Macera, Executive Creative Director, VML Canada
Logan Franklin, Associate Creative Director, VML Canada
Mike Butler - Head of Branding & Design, VML Canada
Coralie Adler, Senior Art Director, VML Canada
Élodie Collin, Art Director, VML Canada
Michaella Antony, Copywriter, VML Canada
Chloée Desjardins, Copywriter, VML Canada
Emmanuelle Bérubé, Senior Producer, VML Canada
Cristina Gardeazabal, Associate Director, Content- Strategic/Planning, VML Canada
Emma Toth, Chief Client officer, VML Canada
Louthiern Bonsart, Managing Director, VML Canada
Maxime Mercier, Managing Director, VML Canada
Gaëlle Paquet, Account Supervisor, VML Canada
Ronan Bourg, Account Supervisor, VML Canada
Florence Parent, Account Director, VML Canada
Gregory Fleurantin, Production Artist, VML Canada
Philippe Gelinas, Production Artist, VML Canada
Hugo Lambert, Production Artist, VML Canada
Maurice Beauchesne, Production Artist, VML Canada
Maxime Boivin, Integrated Studio Producer, VML Canada
Eric Aach, Senior Director, Strategy and Media Relations, National
Maude Samson, Senior Consultant, National
Emily Crane, Senior Consultant, National
Gabriella Pelosi, Consultant, National
Simon Richard, Associate, National
Carlos Tallarico – Account Manager, Camdem
Guillaume Dubois, Associate Producer, Parade
Cynthia Galarneau, Postproduction Project Manager, : Parade
Philippe Grenier, Editor, Parade
P.O. Rioux, Sound Engineer
Ernenek Duran, President and Chief Executive Officer, One Drop
Lisa Clowery, Former Co-Chief Executive Officer, One Drop
Marie-France Dos Santos, Director, Marketing Communications and Reputation, One Drop
Marie-Claude Savard, Interim Director, Marketing Communications and Reputation, One Drop
Valerie Nombo, Digital Communication Advisor, One Drop