Great Guns Wins Big at 2018 London International Awards

International production company Great Guns won big at the 2018 London International Awards (LIA). Director Chris Neal’s ‘Post Into Letters’ created by Area 23 won five awards including the Grand LIA and Duncan Christie’s ‘2050’ for Breast Cancer Now picked up Silver.

LIA honours and celebrates creative excellence and innovation across the world. ‘Posts Into Letters’ picked up the Grand LIA statue for Print, Gold awards for Print: Direct Marketing – Consumer and Print: Use of Typography categories, a Silver in Social Influencers: Innovative Use of Social, and a Bronze in Digital: Use of Social Media. ‘2050’ picked up Silver for Direction.

Produced in collaboration with advertising agency Area 23 and non-profit organisation Change the Ref, ‘Posts into Letters’ consisted of an online film, social placements and full-page ads in local papers. The moving campaign centered around the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida and the subsequent outpouring of social media posts calling for gun reform in America. ‘Posts into Letters’ urged audiences to turn these online pleas into handwritten letters featuring the handwriting of a victim of the shooting, which could then be sent to Congress to petition for stricter gun control laws.

Guns director Chris Neal comments: “It’s amazing to be recognised for creative work rooted in purpose. Getting the chance to meet and collaborate with powerful organisations that are having a real impact on the world is so special and eye-opening. I was personally able to meet Daniel and Jamal from March for Our Lives, and getting the opportunity to connect with them and exchange stories about their community and mission was an exceptional experience. The whole campaign left me with a sense of celebration, encouragement, and the drive to continue doing purposeful work.” 

‘2050’ is about a young girl on a secret mission to make a time machine. Over a series of days, we see the tiny trooper determinedly studying complex science textbooks, watching quantum theory videos, and raiding the house for objects to use in her special project. In the final reveal, the girl wakes up her mother, who has breast cancer - and leads her inside a ‘time machine’ that she has made from cardboard and household items. As mother and daughter sit in the makeshift machine together, the girl turns the dial from 2017 to 2050. The film closes with Breast Cancer Now’s aim that by 2050, everyone who develops breast cancer will live.