Worldwide Partners (WPI), one of the world’s fastest-growing networks of independent agencies, announced the winner of the 2024 Young Indies competition on May 16, 2024 at Comunidad24, the network’s global summit in Riviera Maya, Mexico. 

The Young Indies is a new creative competition this year, calling on employees at Worldwide Partners independent agencies around the world. The agencies assembled teams of employees with eight years of experience or less, who were tasked with answering a creative brief within 72 hours to solve a problem for a global nonprofit – charity: water.

Of the 23 total entries from 15 different WPI agencies in 11 different countries, and shortlist of the top five ideas revealed last month, the global panel of judges along with charity: water’s marketing team, agreed this was the standout idea:

The Dry Pledge

Submitting Agency: LG2 (Canada)

Submitting Team: Léa-Laure Bergeron, Art Director | Jean-Christophe Diaque, Copywriter | Roxanne Pelletier, Copywriter 

Dry January is a movement where people abstain from alcohol for the entire month of January. The popularity of the initiative among young professionals provides a unique opportunity to introduce the issue of clean water access to a socially conscious audience.

By aligning with an already widespread cultural movement, The Dry Pledge will offer a sustainable solution to expand the reach of charity: water, not just for a one-time splashy stunt but for many years to come. It will not only raise awareness but also create new avenues for fundraising.

The Dry Pledge, taking place during Dry January, encourages individuals to donate a portion of the money they would typically spend on alcohol to charity: water. 

Campaign expansion includes: billboards to raise awareness to encourage participation; a landing page providing a social media toolkit for individuals to showcase their participation; and PR push and partnerships with relevant celebrities and brands to announce their participation and/or donations.

Hear from the winning team at LG2 about their experience with the competition:

The Young Indies award was given out on the final night of Comunidad24 during an awards ceremony where 2024 Grand Indies winners were also announced. Roxanne Pelletier attended and accepted the award on behalf of the team. 

charity: water plans to execute this winning idea to support their efforts to bring clean and safe drinking water to communities around the world. Keep an eye out this coming winter to see how the world embraces The Dry Pledge.