Maynilad bags 3 Cannes Lions for anti-dengue bottle

MANILA, Philippines - West zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. bagged three awards from the 60th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France for the advertisements it produced for its Dengue Bottle project.

Maynilad, in partnership with the Department of Health and global marketing firm Y&R Philippines, won one Silver Lion and two Bronze Lion awards in what is considered as the Acedemy Awards of the advertising industry.

The Dengue Bottle is a do-it-yourself project against mosquitoes using a recycled plastic bottle with a mixture of clean water, brown sugar and yeast. The mixture emits carbon dioxide which attracts mosquitoes, trapping them and eventually killing them inside the bottle. Maynilad said the bottle can kill hundreds of mosquitoes in two weeks before requiring replacement.

“We are both honored and grateful for these awards. This is not only a win for us and our partners, but for the communities that have become safer because of this dengue-preventing device,” Maynilad President and Chief Executive Officer Ricky Vargas said.

Citing data from DOH's Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit Maynilad said that in the National Capital Region alone, there were 2,332 recorded cases of dengue from January 1 to April 13 this year. Dengue is the leading cause of child hospitalizations in the country.