"English Teacher", a one-minute public service announcement produced by Saatchi & Saatchi for UNICEF China's Girls Equality Campaign, reported China Central Television on December 22, snatched the gold prize at China's leading advertising award - the 4A Creative Golden Seal Award.

Dr. Yin Yin Nwe, UNICEF China Representative and Mr. Steven Cheng, Saatchi & Saatchi's Executive Creative Director received the honor together at the awarding ceremony held in Beijing on December 7th.

"The winning spot will undoubtedly help pave the way for the upcoming Girls Equality Campaign that UNICEF and All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) will officially launch next year." Dr. Yin Yin Nwe said. "We believe that given the chance, girls can make significant and meaningful contributions to families and society."

As one of the four spots for the theme 'Equality Creates Opportunity', the commercial featured a 14-year-old girl, as many of her peers in China's remote villages, reading English everyday in the morning with a dream to become an English teacher. The spot, with its realistic touch and seamless shots, won the golden award of the best "Public Service Messages". Earlier, it was short listed in the Cannes Lions 2008 international advertising festival.

The other three spots of the series, "22 Kilometers", "Girls Can", and "Little Teacher" also won bronze awards.

"The dreams and aspirations of common girls are portrayed in the series to show that they deserve equal chance for their success." Mr. Charles Sampson, Saatchi & Saatchi China Chief Executive Officer said. "We at Saatchi & Saatchi are very proud and honored to be part of UNICEF's campaign to promote equal rights and opportunities for girls."

A production team was sent to the rural villages during Chinese New Year to get the stories for the spots. Wayne Peng, a world renowned Film Director turned down other offers to concentrate on this project.

Back in 1999, Saatchi & Saatchi produced a TV commercial for UNICEF China called "Someone Else's Child" which received worldwide recognition.

Despite great progress China still faces entrenched gender imbalance, largely because of the age-old preference for boys and illegal prenatal sex selection. By 2008, the sex ratio at birth in rural areas stood at 123:100, higher than the national average of 120:100, as compared with the normal sex ratio of 103 to 107:100.

According to a recent baseline survey conducted by UNICEF and ACWF, about 18% of the parents said they prefer boys; 20% believed boys had greater potentials than girls; and 9% thought boys should eat better.

UNICEF has been working with ACWF in eight provinces to promote gender equality. Up to now, over 50,000 parents have received training in UNICEF-supported Parents Schools to help them change the attitudes.

(China.org.cn December 22, 2008)