Paris attacks: Victim wins advertising award without judges being told of his death

A victim of the Paris attacks, one of three advertising industry veterans killed by Islamic State (Isis) terrorists on 13 November, was awarded a prestigious advertising award following his death. Judges at the Epica Awards, however, named the celebrated French copywriter as the winner without knowing that he had been killed in the terror attacks.

On 17 November, Fabrice Dubois and his team won the gold medal for animation on a Renault advertisement produced by Publicis Conseil. According to AdWeek, the spot entitled "Go Anywhere, Go Everywhere" took the top honours in the international award show's animation category due to its high energy and usage of Sexx Laws by Beck.

One of the judges, consisting of two dozen global ad journalists, told AdWeek that they were not told until after they had cast their votes that the spot was written by Dubois. "In other words, the ad won on its merits and not as an act of sympathy from the judges," wrote David Griner, a judge at the awards.

According to Mashable, Dubois worked for Publicis Conseil for nearly 13 years and was mourned by the company in a touching Facebook post. "It is with a mixture of sadness and pride that we learn [we] have won gold in the Epica Awards in category animation film, with our new Renault twingo. Thanks Adweek for this tribute to Fabrice Dubois. Congratulations to our teams."

Dubois was killed at the Bataclan concert hall after terrorists stormed in the middle of an Eagles of Death Metal concert. Several coordinated attacks on the Stade de France, Bataclan and several restaurants left at least 129 dead and 352 injured. Mashable reported that a crowdfunding campaign for Dubois's family has already raised €27,710 (£19,425/$29,699).