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Today, ‘One House To Save Many’ — a weather-resilient housing project and accompanying ad campaign created by Leo Burnett Sydney for Australian insurance provider Suncorp Group — clinched the Innovation Lions Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The prize is given for “groundbreaking innovation, technology and problem-solving,” per the festival’s website. The project was selected among 117 category entries. Each year, Australia sufferers extreme weather events and natural disasters that leave homes decimated and lives uprooted. Rebuilding efforts can often run into the billions of dollars. Suncorp set out to break the cycle — by developing a new, safer kind of home, by design. It tapped experts at James Cook University, Room11 Architects and Australian government agency the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation to prototype housing that is fundamentally resilient — not only to fires, but also to floods, storms and cyclones. Leo Burnett came in to develop a 60-second TV spot to kick off the ‘One House To Save Many’ campaign. It followed up the hero spot with social and outdoor product ads for Suncorp’s insurance services. The campaign directed viewers to an online portal where they could explore the resilient design features behind the ‘One House’ prototype and learn how to incorporate similar features into their own residences. A documentary that aired on Australia’s Nine Network was made to augment the effort. “Working with Suncorp, we wanted to do something that makes a tangible difference — that prompts changes in the way homes are built and encourages people to see that more needs to and can be done to withstand the inevitable impacts of climate change,” said Andy Fergusson, executive creative director at Leo Burnett Sydney, on the agency’s website. “‘One House to Save Many’ aims to make more homes as robust as Australians themselves.” The campaign, which was previously shortlisted for the Innovation Lions, was lauded by Innovation Lions jury president and Wunderman Thompson US chief technology officer Cleve Gibbon, who said: “The ‘One House’ set out to achieve something never done before — it democratizes access to resilient housing materials to protect homes against tropical cyclones, floods and fires. This housing solution was brought to life through a creative brand-agency partnership backed by the Australian government to deliver a commercially viable transformative product. As a jury, we were blown away by the boldness of the idea, the creative bravery of the execution, and the massive societal, environmental and economic impact. One House innovation has started a movement."