The One Show
The One Show is the world's most prestigious award show in advertising and design. For over 50 years, the Gold Pencil has been regarded as one of the top prizes in the creative industry. The One Show has a rich legacy of honoring some of the most groundbreaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity.
Category
Popular Culture Impact
Annual ID
OS23_CD004S
About the Work
According to a recent PEN America report, book banning in U.S. schools and libraries has reached unprecedented levels, with some elected officials even suggesting burning books deemed “inappropriate.”
As one of the world’s largest publishing houses and the publisher of one of the most banned books of all time — Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale — Penguin Random House needed to make a strong statement.
So Penguin created The Unburnable Book: a one-of-a-kind edition of The Handmaid’s Tale made entirely from fireproof materials and designed to be impossible to burn.
The single, special edition of The Handmaid’s Tale was intentionally designed to look and feel exactly like the original, but to be fireproof up to 2600 degrees fahrenheit. It was printed on Cinefoil pages using heat-resistant inks, bound with nickel copper wire, and hand sewn with stainless steel. All materials were thoroughly tested at a range of temperatures and using a variety of flame sources to ensure the book would not burn.
Then, it was tested by 82-year old author Margaret Atwood – with a flamethrower – in a video that was shared everywhere from major news outlets like The Washington Post to Late Night with Seth Meyers.
The book itself launched at the PEN America Gala in Manhattan and was auctioned off at Sotheby’s NY, selling for a whopping $130,000 with all proceeds going to support PEN America, an organization that fights censorship and promotes freedom of literary expression.
Most importantly, the campaign ignited a global conversation about censorship and was covered around the world – garnering more than 12 billion impressions and over $35 million in earned media.
As one of the world’s largest publishing houses and the publisher of one of the most banned books of all time — Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale — Penguin Random House needed to make a strong statement.
So Penguin created The Unburnable Book: a one-of-a-kind edition of The Handmaid’s Tale made entirely from fireproof materials and designed to be impossible to burn.
The single, special edition of The Handmaid’s Tale was intentionally designed to look and feel exactly like the original, but to be fireproof up to 2600 degrees fahrenheit. It was printed on Cinefoil pages using heat-resistant inks, bound with nickel copper wire, and hand sewn with stainless steel. All materials were thoroughly tested at a range of temperatures and using a variety of flame sources to ensure the book would not burn.
Then, it was tested by 82-year old author Margaret Atwood – with a flamethrower – in a video that was shared everywhere from major news outlets like The Washington Post to Late Night with Seth Meyers.
The book itself launched at the PEN America Gala in Manhattan and was auctioned off at Sotheby’s NY, selling for a whopping $130,000 with all proceeds going to support PEN America, an organization that fights censorship and promotes freedom of literary expression.
Most importantly, the campaign ignited a global conversation about censorship and was covered around the world – garnering more than 12 billion impressions and over $35 million in earned media.
2023 Awards
Total Points: 21
Silver Pencil
Credits
Agency
Rethink
Client
Jared Bland
Client / Brand
Penguin Random House / Toronto
Production Company
Asymetric / Toronto
Music / Sound Production Company
Oso Audio / Toronto
Post Production Company
Darling VFX / Toronto
Saints Editorial / Toronto
Art Director
Caroline Friesen
Copywriter
Robbie Percy
Chief Creative Officer
Aaron Starkman
Creative Director
Caroline Friesen
Robbie Percy
Director
Brooks Reynolds
Director of Photography
Kiel Milligan
Editor
Christopher Chang
Executive Creative Director
Mike Dubrick
Executive Producer
Emily McKay
Evan Landry
Mackenzie Goodwin
Nick Burry
Producer
Hannah Graham
Morgan Campbell
Strategist
Sean McDonald
Developer
Steve Lam
Engineer
Daenen Bramberger
Harry Knazan
Printing
Club Ink / Toronto
Broadcast Producer
Alex Butt
Digital Designer
Dustin Gamble
Digital Producer
Kyle Hicks
Director of Broadcast Production
Steph Walker-Wells
Director of Client Services
Marie Lunny
Director of Digital Content
Todd Harrison
Director of Print Production
Aj Merrick
Editorial Lead
Lianne George
Grading
Kassi Bellamy
Graphic Design
The Gas Company Inc. / Toronto
LINE PRODUCER
Iseault McNamara
On-line
Alexa Salsberg
On-Line Assistant
Russell Hanson
Print producer
Agnes Gilchrist
Printing & Fabrication
Doug Laxdal
Jeremy Martin
Printing & Props
Joe Scout
Pyrotechnics & VFX
Gustavo Franco
Studio Artist
Todd Bennett
Studio Director
Brad Kumar
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