Taking Bangladesh’s name forward, this time in the field of creativity and invention, advertising agency Grey Dhaka was awarded with the prestigious Gold Lion award at this year’s  Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity held in France. Grey Dhaka has been awarded in the product design (solution) category for ‘zero-electricity air cooler’ made from discarded plastic bottles. Gousul Alam Shaon, managing director of Grey Dhaka and creative director Jaiyyanul Huq received the award on June 21.
This is the very first Cannes Lion award for Bangladesh. By winning the award, Grey beat the other 538 nominees that have been submitted in the same category from various parts of the globe. Ashis Paul, creative supervisor of Grey Dhaka, came up with the idea of the Eco-Cooler, which has the capacity to reduce the room temperature up to five degrees celsius and contribute towards reducing the heavy demand for electricity which becomes a norm during intense heat waves that Bangladesh experiences and where many are yet to gain access to electricity. Bottleneck-sized holes, placed in a grid pattern on a board, and the narrow end of cut up plastic bottles are placed. Depending on wind direction, and airflow pressure, hot air enters the open end side of the bottle and then cool air is experienced as it comes out from the other end, cooling the room. Trial runs to examine the product were implemented  in a number of slums in Dhaka in April last year including Grey carrying out  a project in Nilphamari and Rajbari in August that year.
Then it paired up with Grameen Intel Social Business, which is a joint collaboration between Grameen Trust and US-based technological giant Intel Corporation and officials from the organisation  taught many locals in the northern Bangladesh  about making Eco-Coolers with discarded plastic bottles, and as of February, the cooling system has been in use in more than 25,000 households. This is a cost-friendly solution for many people who cannot afford air coolers. The blueprint for making the Eco-Cooler was put up online for everyone to download for free.
Gousul Alam Shaon wrote on his Facebook page, “The first ever Cannes Lion for Bangladesh. Grey Dhaka has done it. I wish the whole Grey Dhaka was here. We have done it. We are as good as anybody in the world. We have made Bangladesh proud for another reason.” The comment came with a picture of him proudly holding the award with a smile.
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (formerly the International Advertising Festival) is a global event for those working in the creative communications, advertising and related fields. It is considered the largest gathering of worldwide advertising professionals, designers, digital innovators and marketers. The seven-day festival, incorporating the awarding of the Lions awards, is held yearly at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France each June.  l