COLUMBUS, Ga., June 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- More than just
humans will grace the speaker dais of the annual Cannes Lions
Festival of Creativity in France
this year. Aflac today announced that My Special Aflac
Duck®, an innovative robotic version of the
well-known U.S. insurance company's famous mascot duck that
helps children cope with cancer, has a spot in the
health care track. My Special Aflac Duck was developed with
the input of children, their families, medical professionals and
child life specialists. Featuring naturalistic movements and joyful
play, My Special Aflac Duck helps soothe and distract
children while receiving cancer treatments. It was unveiled at the
2018 Consumer Electronics Show, where it won the prestigious Tech
for a Better World Innovation Award. It later was named the
People's Choice Award winner at SXSW, and TIME Magazine named it
one of the 50 Best Inventions of 2018. Aflac is aiming to
distribute 10,000 ducks this year, free of charge, to children with
cancer via children's hospitals throughout the U.S.
The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, taking place
June 17-21 in Cannes, France, is a global celebration of
creative communications where brands, agencies and media companies
convene to learn about the latest trends in marketing. Every
festival features notable speakers from a variety of industries.
This year, My Special Aflac Duck will share the bill with
such creative luminaries as Jeffrey
Katzenberg, Lorne Michaels,
Arianna Huffington and Shonda
Rhimes.
My Special Aflac Duck, dubbed the chief comfort officer,
is booked for the Cannes panel
"The Intersection of Purpose, Brand, Technology: Finding a Mascot's
Purpose" on the "Healthcare and Insights" stage Tuesday, June 18, along with Aflac Senior Vice President, Chief ESG and
Communications Officer Catherine
Hernandez-Blades and the duck's inventor, Sproutel CEO
Aaron Horowitz. Carol Cone ON
PURPOSE Founder Carol Cone will
moderate the discussion.
"I speak for Aaron, Carol and myself when I say that we delight
in being upstaged by a social robot, who helps children with
cancer, and we welcome the opportunity," Hernandez-Blades said. "We
expect the sophisticated My Special Aflac Duck to intrigue
and touch the audience in unprecedented ways, while capturing their
hearts."
My Special Aflac Duck has been entered in several
categories for a Cannes Lion, including Technology, Health and
Wellness, Creative Strategy and Public Relations. Health care
professionals who treat children with cancer and would like to
register to order My Special Aflac Ducks can go to
AflacChildhoodCancer.org/MyDuck. All ducks are delivered to
hospitals, completely free of charge and available to any child in
the United States, age 3 and
older, diagnosed with cancer. To date, more than 4,300 ducks have
been delivered to children in more than 200 facilities in 47 states
in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
About Aflac Incorporated
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:
AFL) is a Fortune 500 company, helping provide protection to more
than 50 million people through its subsidiaries in Japan and the U.S., where it is a leading
supplemental insurer by paying cash fast when policyholders get
sick or injured. For more than six decades, insurance policies of
Aflac Incorporated's subsidiaries have given policyholders the
opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. Aflac Life
Insurance Japan is the leading provider of medical and cancer
insurance in Japan where it
insures 1 in 4 households. Through its trailblazing One Day
PaySM initiative in the United
States, for eligible claims, Aflac can process, approve and
electronically send funds to claimants for quick access to cash in
just one business day. For 13 consecutive years, Aflac has been
recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most Ethical
Companies. In 2018, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the
100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the 20th consecutive
year, and in 2019, Fortune included Aflac on its list of World's
Most Admired Companies for the 18th time. To find out more about
One Day PaySM and learn how to get help with expenses
health insurance doesn't cover, get to know us at aflac.com.
Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of
Columbus and American Family Life
Assurance Company of New York.
WWHQ | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus,
GA 31999.
Aflac media contact: Kristen
Fraser, 706.580.3813 or kfraser@aflac.com
Aflac analyst and investor contact: David A. Young, 706.596.3264 or
dyoung@aflac.com
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cannes-speaker-is-a-duck--and-a-robot-300866340.html
SOURCE Aflac