Cartoon Network Africa, Africa’s leading animated, kid-focused channel has walked away with two notable accolades at the first ever African SABRE Awards, which were held as part of the African Public Relations Association’s annual conference in Morocco on 11 May 2017.
Turner’s Cartoon Network bagged the African SABRE Gold Award in the Public Education category for Cartoon Network’s anti-bullying campaign – Be a Buddy, not a Bully with CN Buddy Network and an African SABRE Certificate of Excellence in the Marketing an Existing Product to Consumers category for creating some local flair for the relaunch of the all-new, reimagined animated series of The Powerpuff Girls with local ambassador, Toya de Lazy.
Cartoon Network’s CN Buddy Network is a global anti-bullying campaign that started with Cartoon Network US and was then picked up by the EMEA region. CN Buddy Network was rolled out in Africa for the first time in 2016 in partnership with Childline and gold Olympic medallist and world record holder, Wayde van Niekerk.
The aim of the campaign was to deliver a credible and informative message through the use of animation, video content and storytelling to raise awareness and inform kids about bullying, empowering them to speak out about their experiences and to be a buddy, not a bully.
In 2016, Cartoon Network created some local flair with the re-launch of Cartoon Network’s most enduring original series The Powerpuff Girls. The launch was executed through the channels strategic collaboration with South Africa’s dynamic jazz-electro-hip-pop phenom, Toya Delazy, to represent the Powerpuff Girls on the African continent. In true Toya style, she added a bit of rock and hip-hop with a sweet undertone creating a hard yet playful local version of the Powerpuff Girls theme song, which got all African viewers in the mood for the brand spanking new show.
To top it off, Turner scooped up another prestigious award at the 2017 African Excellence Awards winning a Gold African Excellence Award in the Content Marketing category for Cartoon Network’s anti-bullying campaign – Be a Buddy not a Bully with CN Buddy Network.
Pierre Branco, vice president and managing director of Turner Africa says: “We are so pleased with the results! We here at Turner strive for excellence in everything that we do and constantly try to break boundaries in order to achieve great things. Our collaboration with Burson-Marsteller Africa, has been amazing and together we were able to create local, relevant content that is not only captivating and motivational but, relatable and exciting to our audience. To be recognised for our work is one thing but to walk away with three prestigious awards and accolades … What an honour!’
