'Second Life Notebooks' campaign by Ogilvy Sri Lanka records historic award run

THE 'Second Life Notebooks' campaign by Ogilvy's Geometry Global Sri Lanka for ProMate (PrintXcel) has become the most internationally awarded single campaign in Sri Lanka's advertising history.

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Its latest recognition comes from the coveted Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity held in France, where it earned four shortlist nods.

The campaign, in total, has garnered 17 awards and shortlist honours at some of the world's most respected creative and advertising festivals between 2024 and 2025, including Dragons of Asia, EPICA, Spikes Asia, AdFest, Clio Awards, D&AD, and Cannes Lions.

The need for the campaign arose from a sudden 300% surge in paper prices, a consequence of Sri Lanka's recent economic crisis. This sharp increase made Braille writing books unaffordable for many families and schools.

Ogilvy's Geometry.

Global team conceptualised a simple yet powerful idea: to give used notebooks in Sri Lanka a second life, and, in doing so, offer visually impaired students a fairer chance at education.

The campaign invited the public to donate gently used notebooks, which were repurposed into Braille writing books.

'Second Life Notebooks' was a deeply human creative campaign, and it resonated with the Sri Lankan public, garnering unprecedented community support and donations.

As a result, it was able to provide Braille notebooks to visually impaired students in every Government school across the country.