WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY: "INTEGRATION DAY [image]" Outdoor Advert by Saatchi & Saatchi Milan

Type of entry: Best Integrated Campaign
Category: Best Integrated Campaign Led by Direct Marketing
Advertiser: COORDOWN ONLUS
Product/Service: WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY
Agency: SAATCHI & SAATCHI Milan, ITALY
Advertiser COORDOWN ONLUS
Product WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY
Entrant SAATCHI & SAATCHI Milan, ITALY
Type of Entry: Best Integrated Campaign
Category: Best Integrated Campaign Led by Direct Marketing
Title: INTEGRATION DAY
Advertiser/Client: COORDOWN ONLUS
Product/Service: WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY
Entrant Company: SAATCHI & SAATCHI Milan, ITALY
DM/Advertising Agency: SAATCHI & SAATCHI Milan, ITALY
Director: Luca Maroni/Bosi E Sironi/Nadia de Paoli/Xavier Mairesse/Jose Pratt/Leone Pompuc ()
Photographer: Davide Bodini/Mecanique Generale/Matteo Cremonini/Platinum/Boudwjin Smit/Lorenzo ()
Post Production: Balalò/Rebelicon/Matteo Tranchellini ()
Producer: Erica Lora Lamia/Silvana Gabelli/Sabrina Sanfratello/Ella Elliot/Alberto Greco/L (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Web Development: Silvio Coco/Dario Cataldi (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Press Office: Rachele Dottori (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Executive Creative Director: Agostino Toscana (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Creative Director: Agostino Toscana (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Creative Director: Alessandro Orlandi (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Creative Director: Luca Lorenzini (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Creative Director: Luca Pannese (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Copywriter: Luca Lorenzini (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Art Director: Luca Pannese (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Head Of TV: Raffaella Scarpetti (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Art Buyer: Rossana Coruzzi (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Supporting Creative Team: Antonio Gigliotti/Micaela Trani/Nico Marchesi/Riccardo Catagnano/Davide Vismara/ (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Account Manager: Silvia de Lalla/Maria Virginia Faedo/Michele Calvo/Francesca D'Anselmo/Raffaella ()
Production Company: Akita / Made / Mercurio / Catsound / Sing Sing / Networks / Castadiva Pictures / ()
Describe the brief from the client
The goal of the campaign was to take full advantage of World Downs Syndrome Day to attract the attention of the public to the importance of integrating people with Down Syndrome into society. In particular our target was made up of all those companies in the country that could offer them a job opportunity. This because ensuring people with Downs Syndrome a higher level of self-sufficiency would mean ensuring a more serene future especially when, once they reach a certain age, there might be no relative capable of helping them out.

Creative Execution

Since the most effective way to communicate something is to not say it, but actually do it, we decided to realise in our own way an exceptional though substantial example of the kind of integration we wanted to promote. Therefore we decided to focus our communication on a single day. We were absolutely positive it would attract enough attention and reaction to get people talking about it on the one hand and generate substantial action by companies on the other. And so it did.


Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

On the 21st of March, on World Downs Syndrome Day, alternative versions of the commercials of some of the most well known national and international brands (Illy Coffee, Averna Liqueur, Cartasi Credit card, Toyota, Pampers) were broadcast on TV. During filming, we had shot alternative scenes in which the original actor was substituted by an actor with Downs Syndrome. These alternative versions appeared 334 times. The same happened with print campaigns (by Enel, Carrefour, Toyota). And in the same vein, on the 21st of March, people with Downs Syndrome appeared in some of the most famous Italian television programmes, replacing the usual stars.


Describe the results in as much detail as possible.

The operation attracted the attention of all the national media, including TV, newspapers, magazines, radios, social media and blogs and in the following days it opened a debate all around the country.
We generated the equivalent of nearly €5.5m worth of coverage and we reached around 18m people, a third of the Italian population.
And, most important of all, in the week following the communication event, enquiries to CoorDown from companies interested in integrating people with Downs Syndrome into their organisations went up 600%.
Not even one euro was spent by the CoorDown association for the operation 'Integration Day'.
All the costs for production and media slot acquisition were paid entirely by the project partner brands. After all, on the 21st March, their campaigns were the ones broadcast, the only difference was that, for that day, amongst the actors there was one who was special.