WHAT HAPPENED ON MONDAY?
In short – LOTS! Our UK BCW-delegates watched an amazing talk from everyone's favourite leader ZELENSKY and winners were announced no less than 6 winning categories. Scroll down to find the winners in Outdoor, Print & Publishing, Radio & Audio, Pharma, Health & Wellness, and the Lion's Health Grandprix for Good.
OUR CANNES DELEGATES MEET WITH ZELENSKY
The highlight of the day (apart from the beach...) for our flying Cannes reporters Bex Grant and Pete Way was “Creativity Under Bombs” with, YOU GUESSED IT, Zelensky. Almost 4 months since Russia invaded, Zelensky (remotely) and 4 Ukrainian creatives (in person) discussed the horror of the war, how to work on briefs during shelling, but also how the resistance sparked creativity and became a driving force for Ukrainian culture and resilience. The talk gets literally all the stars and is probably in the running for the most goosebumps-inducing at the festival.
LIONS OF THE DAY!
What a day! We kick off with the classics; Outdoor, Print & Publishing, Radio & Audio, before we move on to Pharma Lions, the Health & Wellness Lions, and, of course, the Lion's Health Grand Prix for good. No less than 32 golds (!) were awarded in these categories.
- The Outdoor Grand Prix goes to Adidas' Liquid Billboard by Havas Dubai – one of my faves as my colleagues know that I love an interactive billboard (but sadly our clients don't love executing them). Generally, 32% of women feel uncomfortable wearing swimwear in public. In Dubai, that number is almost 90%. Adidas made every woman a model by turning a billboard into a swimming pool and inviting athletes and consumers to go for a dip. I'd love to splash my pasty legs and bumpy bikini line (sadly beyond the help of a TikTok-tutorial) in that pool!
- Grand Prix for Print & Publishing goes to AnNahar Newspaper for The Elections Edition by Impact BBDO Dubai. It's no exaggeration to say Lebanon is far from thriving with hardly any infrastructure left. There were even talks about cancelling the elections due to a lack of ink and paper. For the first time in its 90-year-old history, AnNahar didn't go to print – instead, they donated the supplies to the election. Could be accused of a cheap 'Cannes case study trick', but still pretty moving.
- MY PREDICTIONS WERE 100% CORRECT because the Grand Prix for Radio & Audio goes to The History Tour for Vice by Dentsu Bengaluru. Pretty much everything in the British Museum is stolen. This campaign uses AR to let people to whom the artifacts really belong give their side of the story, and how the object ended up in a place where they shouldn't be.
- The Grandprix for Pharma goes to a campaign I feel like I've pitched 3 times – I will always be me by VMLY&R New York for Dell Technologies & Intel. Losing your voice is emotional. Dell let people diagnosed with different voice-threatening conditions bank their voice by reading a book about how they will remain the same inside even if they can't speak. This recording was then used to recreate their voice, meaning they will never have to rely on a robotic voice. Seriously, I deserve a pay rise!
- The Killer Pack for Maxx Flash by VMLY&R Mumbai snatches the Grand Prix in Health & Wellness. Over the last 50 years, dengue cases have increased 30 fold. India's big garbage piles provide the mosquitos with the perfect breeding ground. We can't get rid of tonnes of litter – but we can somewhat control what goes in it. Maxx Flash created a compostable and biologically safe dengue killer – after you've put the coil in your home to protect your family, you make sure you DO NOT recycle the packaging so the cardboard box ends up in a landfill and kills all the larvae. A great example of why you should keep your enemies closer!
- The Lions Grand Prix For Good goes to Lil Sugar – Master of Disguise for Hip-Hop Public Health by Area 23. It features an animated tooth spitting rhymes about fructose and corn syrup. It's bizarre apparently great, but I'd personally like my 2 minutes back, please. But then again, I also stress-ate cake for dinner when the Lion's award Livestream wouldn't play ball.
THINGS TO COME
• We get CRAFTY as the craft awards are upon us! Every creative who identifies as an 'artist' will be teary-eyed and a few emperors will probably be naked – I will do my best to unveil them!
• Our flying reporters will leave their sun lounges for some time to check out the best talks at the festival before they hit the after-parties. Can anything beat a virtual Zelensky?
Stay tuned and you will soon be in the know!
