Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics and Agency Sid Lee Win the First-Ever Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity in Advertising (IDEA) Competition

Cheekbone Beauty awarded $1 million worth of media inventory for its "Right the Story" campaign in support of Indigenous communities

TORONTO, June 10, 2021 /CNW/ - Bell Media announced today, from its Upfront 21 presentation, that Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics and its agency Sid Lee have won the Institute of Communications Agencies' (ICA) inaugural Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity in Advertising (IDEA) competition, held in partnership with Bell Media. This year's focus was on campaigns highlighting Indigenous communities with the winner awarded $1 million worth of inventory on Bell Media platforms. This year's winner is the Indigenous-owned Cheekbone Beauty, whose mission is to help  Indigenous youth see and feel their impact in the world while creating sustainable colour cosmetics.

Featuring a positive news "smear campaign", the award-winning creative blocks out negative headlines about Indigenous communities, focusing audience attention on good news championing positivity and defiance, seeking to "right the story" of Indigenous people in the media.

In addition to the creative excellence and ingenuity behind its winning proposal, Cheekbone Beauty's entry excelled across all competition criteria, including its commitment to promoting an inclusive culture and diverse representation throughout the entire campaign execution.

"The purpose and ambition shown in the entries made judging very hard and at times emotional, which is exactly what we wanted – the agencies and brands put everything into it," said Scott Knox, President & CEO, ICA.  "I have no doubt that seeing the final campaign delivered by Sid Lee and Cheekbone Beauty will set a new standard, not only for diversity in marketing but excellence in authentic brand building. I'm also sure we'll see the other entries come to life too."

"Congratulations to Cheekbone Beauty and Sid Lee on this well-deserved win, which magnifies the essence of the campaign's double entendre "Right the Story". Behind this positive headline is an Indigenous-owned beauty brand that celebrates and supports diversity, inclusion and equity in every aspect of its business," said Brandon Moonrei, Director, DSP Partnerships & Client Strategy, Bell Media. "Bell Media proudly salutes all of this year's outstanding participants for their excellent entries, and for modeling a diverse and inclusive blueprint for the Canadian media industry."

This year's winning entry was selected by a specially curated jury comprised of 12 diverse, established talent from the Canadian media sector, bringing a breadth of creativity, experience and vision toward increasing diverse and inclusive representation in advertising and within the media industry as a whole.

Open to national and international brands and their agencies, the IDEA Competition seeks to create meaningful change in the media industry and to encourage greater representation of diverse communities in Canadian advertising campaigns while also encouraging diversity and inclusivity in the creative process.

About the Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA)

Since 1905, ICA has been the recognized, not-for-profit association for Canadian advertising, marketing, media, and public relations agencies. ICA's mission is to Amplify, Protect and Transform the agency sector through advocacy, awards, community, consultancy, insight, networking, research and training. ICA membership and board of directors represent some of the most recognized and influential businesses in our industry, both in Canada and internationally. Learn more at www.theica.ca  

About Bell Media

Bell Media is Canada's leading content creation company with premier assets in television, radio, out-of-home advertising, digital media, and more. Bell Media owns 35 local television stations led by CTV, Canada's highest-rated television network, and the French-language Noovo network in Québec; 27 specialty channels, including leading specialty services TSN and RDS. Bell Media is Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 215 music channels including 109 licensed radio stations in 58 markets across the country, all part of the iHeartRadio brand and streaming service. Bell Media owns Astral, an out-of-home advertising network of 50,000 faces in five provinces. The country's digital media leader, Bell Media develops and operates websites, apps, and online platforms for its news and entertainment brands; video streaming services Crave, TSN Direct, and RDS Direct; and multi-channel network Much Studios. The company owns a majority stake in Pinewood Toronto Studios and a minority interest in Montréal's Grande Studios; is a partner in Just for Laughs, the live comedy event and TV producer; and jointly owns Dome Productions Partnership., one of North America's leading production facilities providers. Bell Media is proud of its role in fostering diversity and inclusion with equity-seeking groups within the company and across Canada's media industry. Bell Media is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. Learn more at www.BellMedia.ca

SOURCE Institute of Communication Agencies