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
Craft / Art Direction
Annual ID
OS26_HW044M
Background
PEOPLE WITH STRONG SOCIAL SUPPORT HAVE A 50% HIGHER CHANCE OF SURVIVING CANCER. (Plos medicine, 2010)
A key but often overlooked issue is how to support people undergoing cancer treatment, especially in the workplace, where taboos remain strong. There are still barriers between personal struggles and professional life. Many people don’t know how to react when a coworker is diagnosed with cancer, even though research shows that support is vital to recovery.
THOUGH, WITH MEDICAL PROGRESS, MORE AND MORE PEOPLE CONTINUE WORKING WHILE LIVING WITH CANCER. WORKPLACES MUST ADAPT.
According to a 2024 study published in the JNCCN, Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 47% OF CANCER PATIENTS CONTINUE WORKING THROUGH TREATMENT. However, while many cancer patients and survivors return to work, they face challenges due to the physical and emotional toll of treatment. This highlights the crucial role of workplace support in helping cancer survivors not only maintain their careers but also heal from the disease.
Cancer and Careers and Cancer@Work provide essential resources and support to both employees and employers, helping them navigate cancer treatment in the workplace. Cancer and Careers reaches over 540,000 employees through its partners, while Cancer@Work includes more than 150 companies in its network.
In a world where we often separate professional and personal life, health should no longer be treated as a taboo, or a purely private matter. Every supportive gesture can significantly impact a cancer patient's recovery, enabling them to thrive both at work and in life.
A key but often overlooked issue is how to support people undergoing cancer treatment, especially in the workplace, where taboos remain strong. There are still barriers between personal struggles and professional life. Many people don’t know how to react when a coworker is diagnosed with cancer, even though research shows that support is vital to recovery.
THOUGH, WITH MEDICAL PROGRESS, MORE AND MORE PEOPLE CONTINUE WORKING WHILE LIVING WITH CANCER. WORKPLACES MUST ADAPT.
According to a 2024 study published in the JNCCN, Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 47% OF CANCER PATIENTS CONTINUE WORKING THROUGH TREATMENT. However, while many cancer patients and survivors return to work, they face challenges due to the physical and emotional toll of treatment. This highlights the crucial role of workplace support in helping cancer survivors not only maintain their careers but also heal from the disease.
Cancer and Careers and Cancer@Work provide essential resources and support to both employees and employers, helping them navigate cancer treatment in the workplace. Cancer and Careers reaches over 540,000 employees through its partners, while Cancer@Work includes more than 150 companies in its network.
In a world where we often separate professional and personal life, health should no longer be treated as a taboo, or a purely private matter. Every supportive gesture can significantly impact a cancer patient's recovery, enabling them to thrive both at work and in life.
Creative Idea
THE METAPHOR OF A PUPPET, WHOSE STRINGS SYMBOLIZE SUPPORT IN FACING CANCER, to foster and provide both personal and operational support within the workplace.
To go beyond traditional corporate communication, we blended art, emotion, and intimacy with a social dimension. The puppet as the central character offers a fresh departure from typical portrayals of illness, especially in the workplace.
The film’s transition to real life maintains the emotional depth and intimacy of the puppet scenes while grounding the story in the office, making it more relatable and connecting directly with the audience’s daily experiences.
Strings seeks to drive a shift in corporate culture, urging companies to make empathy an instinctive part of their environment, not just a program. Its goal is to spark lasting change within organizations, making support & empathy a new norm.
To go beyond traditional corporate communication, we blended art, emotion, and intimacy with a social dimension. The puppet as the central character offers a fresh departure from typical portrayals of illness, especially in the workplace.
The film’s transition to real life maintains the emotional depth and intimacy of the puppet scenes while grounding the story in the office, making it more relatable and connecting directly with the audience’s daily experiences.
Strings seeks to drive a shift in corporate culture, urging companies to make empathy an instinctive part of their environment, not just a program. Its goal is to spark lasting change within organizations, making support & empathy a new norm.
Insights & Strategy
LET’S REMOVE THE BARRIER BETWEEN PERSONAL STRUGGLES AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE.
47% of cancer patients remain active in their jobs. However, supporting an employee with cancer isn’t instinctive for most organizations, not only at the corporate policy level but also among employees themselves. Yet, no source of support should be overlooked, as we know that:
PEOPLE WITH STRONG SOCIAL SUPPORT HAVE A 50% HIGHER CHANCE OF SURVIVING CANCER. (7 out of 10 survivors say workplace support helped their recovery.).
Strings challenges the silence, stigma, and detachment surrounding illness in the workplace. By weaving poetry into the corporate world, it creates a "poetical corporate" film, a deliberate oxymoron that calls for empathy in the professional sphere.
This isn’t just about raising awareness; it’s about sparking a genuine cultural transformation within businesses to make support and understanding a natural part of the work environment, ensuring that empathy becomes a core professional skill.
47% of cancer patients remain active in their jobs. However, supporting an employee with cancer isn’t instinctive for most organizations, not only at the corporate policy level but also among employees themselves. Yet, no source of support should be overlooked, as we know that:
PEOPLE WITH STRONG SOCIAL SUPPORT HAVE A 50% HIGHER CHANCE OF SURVIVING CANCER. (7 out of 10 survivors say workplace support helped their recovery.).
Strings challenges the silence, stigma, and detachment surrounding illness in the workplace. By weaving poetry into the corporate world, it creates a "poetical corporate" film, a deliberate oxymoron that calls for empathy in the professional sphere.
This isn’t just about raising awareness; it’s about sparking a genuine cultural transformation within businesses to make support and understanding a natural part of the work environment, ensuring that empathy becomes a core professional skill.
Execution
THE METAPHOR OF A PUPPET, WHOSE STRINGS SYMBOLIZE SUPPORT IN FACING CANCER.
Strings is a 2’30 film shot on 35mm, featuring a puppet crafted in the likeness of an actress and animated by skilled puppeteers. Addressing a sensitive topic, the film allows the puppet to carry the message, using precise gestures and movement to convey her nuance and emotion.
With 7 out of 10 survivors declaring workplace support helped their recovery, Strings highlights the vital role of workplace support. Supported by Cancer@Work (France, UK) and Cancer and Careers (U.S.), the film drives viewers to learn how they can support those facing cancer. Both organizations offer tools and advice for cancer patients and colleagues who want to provide support.
The film first aired on social media and TV on World Cancer Day, February 4th, 2025, urging both employers and employees to recognize that any supportive action matters.
Strings is a 2’30 film shot on 35mm, featuring a puppet crafted in the likeness of an actress and animated by skilled puppeteers. Addressing a sensitive topic, the film allows the puppet to carry the message, using precise gestures and movement to convey her nuance and emotion.
With 7 out of 10 survivors declaring workplace support helped their recovery, Strings highlights the vital role of workplace support. Supported by Cancer@Work (France, UK) and Cancer and Careers (U.S.), the film drives viewers to learn how they can support those facing cancer. Both organizations offer tools and advice for cancer patients and colleagues who want to provide support.
The film first aired on social media and TV on World Cancer Day, February 4th, 2025, urging both employers and employees to recognize that any supportive action matters.
Results
MAINSTREAM IMPACT: 25M+ impressions ; $676K in pro-bono media value.
BRAND IMPACT: +85.63% increase in users for CancerandCareers. +2 new Cancer@Work sign-ups: URSSAF (SocialContributionsCollectionAgency) & BPCE-IT, France's second-largest banking institution.
PEOPLE IMPACT: The film has been shared across both networks. CancerandCareers reaches over 540k employees +470k independents per year. Cancer@Work, with 150 member companies, covers 10% of France’s workforce.
EDUCATIONAL TOOL: Strings is used as a sensibilization video within CancerandCareers' partners, including L’Oréal, Pfizer, and Procter&GambleBeauty.
WORKPLACE IMPACT: Strings has shifted how companies view support at work, providing access to key solutions through Cancer@Work and CancerandCareers.
CONVERSATION STARTER: The film sparked impactful discussions at the 2025 Cancer@Work conference, across its network of engaged companies, including MaisonMoët&Chandon, CANAL+Group, DassaultSystèmes, and TheEstéeLauderCompanies.
MEDICAL ENDORSMENT: Strings has been positively received by healthcare professionals, including Gustave Roussy, Europe’s leading cancer center, and Hôpitaux de Paris. Confirming support at work has a real healing impact.
BRAND IMPACT: +85.63% increase in users for CancerandCareers. +2 new Cancer@Work sign-ups: URSSAF (SocialContributionsCollectionAgency) & BPCE-IT, France's second-largest banking institution.
PEOPLE IMPACT: The film has been shared across both networks. CancerandCareers reaches over 540k employees +470k independents per year. Cancer@Work, with 150 member companies, covers 10% of France’s workforce.
EDUCATIONAL TOOL: Strings is used as a sensibilization video within CancerandCareers' partners, including L’Oréal, Pfizer, and Procter&GambleBeauty.
WORKPLACE IMPACT: Strings has shifted how companies view support at work, providing access to key solutions through Cancer@Work and CancerandCareers.
CONVERSATION STARTER: The film sparked impactful discussions at the 2025 Cancer@Work conference, across its network of engaged companies, including MaisonMoët&Chandon, CANAL+Group, DassaultSystèmes, and TheEstéeLauderCompanies.
MEDICAL ENDORSMENT: Strings has been positively received by healthcare professionals, including Gustave Roussy, Europe’s leading cancer center, and Hôpitaux de Paris. Confirming support at work has a real healing impact.
2026 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit
Credits
Agency
Publicis Conseil / Paris
Production Company
ICONOCLAST / Germany
Music / Sound Production Company
Studio Cardinal
Post Production Company
Cabin Edit
Art Director
Filip Gonzacenco
Chief Strategy Officer
Sarah Lemarié
Copywriter
Justine Dupont
Director
Niclas Larsson
Director of Photography
Matyas Matyas Erdély
Editor
Carla Luffe
Executive Producer
Alexis Delanoue
Vivien Lászlóffy
Music Creative Director
Christophe Caurret
1st AD
Alan Finlay
Account Manager
Lyne Abinader
Colorist
Sofie Friis Borup
Global CCO/CEO Leo - CEO/CCO Publicis Conseil
Marco Venturelli
Head of Art
Maud Robaglia
international Business Director
Samira Maarouf
Local Production Designer
Ágnes Bobor
Janka Erdely
Location Manager
Bendegúz Körmöczi
Make-up Artist
Orsi Petrilla
Managing Director
Nils Schwemer
Marionette Builder
Alice Gottschalk
Original Music Composer
Amine Bouhafa
Production Coordinator
Flora Marriott
Balint Csutak
Production Designer
Mikael Varhelyi
Production Manager:
Balasz Harmati
Puppeteer
Bence Sarkadi
Karin Schäfer
Puppeteer manager
Peter Hauptmann
Set Dresser
Cintia Bor
Sound Producer
Emmanuel Desmadryl
Stylist
Diana Marton
Ildikó Andó
Talent
Emily Viviane
Related Awards
