On October 1, 2008, at the Green Media Show™ the Academy presented its 2008 EthicMark® Award for "advertising that uplifts the human spirit and society" to the Alliance for Climate Protection and the Martin Agency for their "Unlikely Alliances" campaign.

The Alliance for Climate Protection is a nonprofit, nonpartisan effort founded by Nobel Laureate and former Vice President Al Gore.  The goal of the Alliance is to build a movement that creates the political will to solve the climate crisis by persuading people of the urgency and feasibility of adopting and implementing comprehensive solutions for the climate crisis.

"Building public support for a complex issue like solving climate change is a challenging task," said Cathy Zoi, CEO of the Alliance.  "The team at The Martin Agency helped create a memorable and iconic image with the "Unlikely Alliances" campaign and conveyed a strong message that it will take Americans of all political stripes to tackle the climate crisis."

Academy President Rinaldo Brutoco called the winning campaign "a new benchmark for the role of advertising in highlighting creative options for our global future."  Hazel Henderson, founder of the Award, added, "This 'Unlikely Alliances' campaign was selected from entries from all over the world and points the way for advertising to achieve its true potential as an agent for creating positive futures for the human family."

The 2008 EthicMark® Award was presented by its founder, global futurist Hazel Henderson, co-chair with Rinaldo Brutoco of the World Business Academy's EthicMark® Advisory Board, and by Tim O'Connor, President of the Pythagoras Group, and Martha Shaw, President of Earth Advertising, both also members of the EthicMark® Advisory Board.

Matt Williams, Senior Vice President and partner of The Martin Agency, accepted the Award on behalf of the Alliance for Climate Protection and The Martin Agency.  "The Martin Agency and the Alliance for Climate Protection are honored to receive the 2008 EthicMark® Award," said Williams.  "It's a privilege for us to be involved with the Alliance's 'WE' campaign, and to use our creativity to mobilize people all over America to meet the challenge of solving the climate crisis" (shown above with Martha Shaw).

In 2004, Dr. Hazel Henderson founded the EthicMark® Award and the not-for-profit EthicMark® Institute. She is the author of Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy, winner of the Bronze Award of the 2008 Axiom Business Books Awards. She is also the Founder and Producer of Ethical Markets Media, LLC and the creator and Executive Producer of the Ethical Markets television series.