Written by Anita Issar, Vice President of Marketing, Sandy Hook Promise
Ahead of this year’s Festival of Media Cause Campaign Awards we caught up with one of our 2025 Gold winners, Anita Issar, Vice President of Marketing for Sandy Hook Promise to reflect on winning last year at the Festival of Media Cause Campaign Awards.
In our interview, she shares her thoughts on what the Festival of Media Cause Campaign Awards mean to her and her team and why she believes it is important for companies to enter the Festival of Media Cause Campaign Awards and showcase how media can be used as a force for good.
1. What did winning a Gold award at the Festival of Media Cause Campaign Awards mean to you and your team?
It mattered because the work matters. Our organization is focused on preventing gun violence before it happens. This campaign focused on a critical piece of that work: making warning signs impossible to dismiss as “just a joke.” Winning the Gold award reinforced that this message broke through.
It also recognized the incredible talent that came together to bring this work to life – our team, BBDO New York and Omnicom, director Henry-Alex Rubin and Smuggler, and the comedians who used their platforms to make warning signs impossible to ignore. We are grateful for their partnership, and to Festival of Media for shining a light on work that exists to keep kids safe.
2. Why do you believe it is important for companies to enter the Festival of Media Cause Campaign Awards?
These awards do more than celebrate creative excellence. They give purpose-driven work a platform to reach a bigger audience, spark conversation and, ultimately, move culture. That’s why entering matters. It puts marketing in service of humanity in the same conversation as the best creative in the industry. We’re proud this work belongs in that conversation.
