How an Indonesian agency tapped local know-how to make an impact

Under stiff competition from more affordable and local paint brands, Dulux engaged the Indonesian office of Innocean with a Corporate Social Responsibility brief. Their response was to look at how to use the products on a direct issue, extremely close to home.

In the hot, humid climate of South-East Asia, flies are a major problem. Most schoolchildren eat their lunches in the open air – where they are at risk from these spreaders of disease. Having researched the problem, the team discovered scientific data that suggested flies disliked bright colours. The result was the Yellow Canteen – a series of school eating areas painted in order to prevent disease-spreading flies.

The project won a Yellow Pencil in the Spatial Design category, as well as two Graphites in Use of Budget and Local Solution. But Yellow Canteen was never meant to end at the school gates. Rather, the creative team at Innocean created a digital component from the start, with a website where other schools could apply to be painted. The simple effectiveness of the project led to it being covered widely on traditional and social media. At the time of writing, Dulux are considering taking the project region-wide.