A media campaign launched in 2022 by consumer packaged goods giant Procter & Gamble was recognized as a top “World Changing Idea” by Fast Company, while a Cincinnati startup, fresh off its largest distribution deal to date, also earned a coveted nod on the newly released list.
Downtown-headquartered P&G (NYSE: PG) and R/GA, a New York-based advertising company, were the lone finalists in the marketing and PR category for their release of “The Name,” a spot celebrating Asian American and Pacific Island, or AAPI, heritage.
Fast Company said the honor recognizes projects “making the world more equitable, accessible and sustainable.”
“The Name,” released by P&G and R/GA in May 2022, centers around a Korean American girl named Yeung Joo [yUHng-ju].
The spot traces her relationship with her name – meaning “strong and resilient” – from birth to adolescence. Along the way, she struggles with feeling isolated, including when she must correct her soccer coach's pronunciation.
“Your name will make you feel different. Like they don’t want to get to know you,” her mother says in a voiceover, but she promises Yeung Joo there will be those who try, as a new friend sits next to her on the bus. The story comes full circle with a flashback to Yeung Joo’s birth, when a nurse compliments the name and asks how to say it. It closes with the message: “Belonging starts with a name.”
P&G said the film aims to “spotlight the honest realities of the AAPI experience” and address rising levels of bias and violence against the AAPI community, which increased during the pandemic.
The project was led by AAPI cast and crew members.
“The Name” has received more than 4 billion impressions, P&G said May 4.
Elsewhere on the list, local startup Clean Earth Rovers, which is developing a Roomba-like device to clean plastic and pollution out of waterways, earned an honorable mention in the water category, which included nine projects designed to increase access to clean water, fight drought, protect oceans or otherwise help solve water-related issues.
Clean Earth’s Rover AVPro collects physical and chemical pollutants that have flowed into harbors, supporting immediate disaster relief and the restoration of ocean health.
The mention comes as Clean Earth Rovers, launched by Xavier University grad Michael Arens in 2019, celebrates a slew of recent good news.
Last month, Clean Earth announced it signed a distribution agreement with Naples, Fla.-based B&B Services, in which the Sunshine State company will sell a minimum of 20 of Clean Earth's product to partners in South Florida and along the Gulf Coast – the company’s largest deal yet.
The first five rovers are being built at the University of Cincinnati's 1819 Innovation Hub.
Clean Earth is also in the midst of a $1.2 million raise via crowdfunding site Wefunder, an efforts that's garnered more than $55,000 in funding from 15 investors. The company has raised $250,000 in capital and grant funding overall.
Fast Company’s complete "World Changing Ideas" list included 45 winners and hundreds of honorees. Additional categories included agriculture, AI, climate, consumer products, finance, food, health and software.
Texas-based Dell Technologies was named “Company of the Year” for a series of projects including solar-powered shipping containers that bring digital tools to the developing world and a laptop designed to be easily disassembled and repaired or recycled.
