The "Trillion Dollar Campaign" for the newspaper The Zimbabwean from TBWA Hunt Lascaris, Johannesburg, South Africa, plastered real Zimbabwean trillion-dollar banknotes onto billboards, murals and fliers, serving as a real-life symbol of the country's record inflation and economic collapse. The campaign ultimately aimed to raise awareness of Zimbabwe's suffering under the Mugabe regime and increase the newspaper's customer base elsewhere in the hopes of getting it back into the hands of Zimbabwe people.

The paper was exiled from the country for exposing the corruption of its government, which subsequently imposed a 55% luxury import tax on the publication, making it unaffordable for the average citizen.

'Dig Out Your Soul'
The campaign beat out the other front-runner for the honor, the "Dig Out Your Soul" campaign from Bartle Bogle Hegarty, New York, for NYC & Co. and Warner Bros., which featured not a single billboard but made innovative use of the outdoor arena, enlisting New York street musicians to perform unreleased tracks from Oasis' "Dig Out Your Soul" in the city's subway stations to promote the album's release. The campaign picked up a Gold Lion and earlier had earned the best of show Grandy award at the Andys earlier this year.

"The discussion for the Grand Prix reflects the larger discussions taking place in the industry," said outdoor juror Jose Molla, founder and executive creative director of La Comunidad. "The contenders were extremely different: one more traditional and the other more forward-thinking. We all agreed that both were good, but to me Oasis redefines what 'outdoor' is and could be, and that's a great thing. The lines are blurry and this could be the last year that a traditional format wins over something that is ground-breaking. Having said that, the actual Grand Prix is a very nice idea: to create awareness in South Africa about the economic crisis in Zimbabwe, they printed the whole campaign in real bills, because they are cheaper than paper. They managed to do something very interesting with a traditional format."

Mr. Molla said the jury was split between the two campaigns and the deciding vote came from the jury's president, Akira Kagami, executive officer-global executive creative director, Dentsu. - Advertising Adage