WHAT HAPPENED ON THURSDAY?
As the final day dawns on us our Cannes delegates have now left the beach and are preparing to head back home. Among them, Pete Way didn't manage to catch Malala – I, on the other hand, managed to round up all the 6 Grand Prix winners in Creative B2B, Creative Data, Direct, Media, PR, and Social & Influencer!
LIONS OF THE DAY!
Today was one of my personal faves – EARNED! Here are the winners in Creative B2B, Creative DATA, Direct, Media, PR, and Social & Influencer:
- The Grand Prix in Creative B2B goes to Sherwin-Williams for Speaking in Colour by Wunderman Thompson Minneapolis. It's (allegedly) tricky to find the perfect colour for homeowners and architects. Sherwin-Williams decided to solve the problem by creating the world's first AI painting tool. Now all you need to say is 'crystal clear Caribbean beach or 'moody New York autumn night' to find the perfect colour for your next house project. I gave it a spin, inspired by my new temporary house mate Winnie, and said 'blue grey cat' – and was quite pleased with the colour outcome!
- The Grand Prix for Creative Data goes to Data Tienda for We Capital by DDB Mexico City. 83% of Mexican women cannot study or start businesses as they lack the credit history to apply for a loan. However, they've been using credit all their lives in their neighbourhood supermarkets. We Capital created Data Tienda – a site where women could enter the information of 5 neighbourhood creditors, who then put their references in via WhatsApp and generated a credit score. 1 in 4 women have now had their loan applications approved. Really cool work that has the opportunity to create real change!
- Less Talk, More Bitcoin by Accenture Song New York for Coinbase takes the Grand Prix in Direct. If you read my Pitchside by Petra round-up of the SuperBowl ads, you'll recognise this one. It was my absolute fave – when all the other brands spends MILLIONS on crafty crafty hero films, Coinbase put a bouncing QR code on the screen, reminiscent of the DVD logo when it went into standby (usually by the time you came back to watch the end of the film after being called down for dinner). GENIUS! To quote myself quoting John Hegarty – When the world zigs, zag.
- Sheba's Hope Reef by AMV BBDO adds another Grand Prix in their collection with Media. They found a way to regrow old dead coral reefs – over years they will form the word 'hope' and will become the first outdoor ad to be seen from space. There's so much 'space', 'coral reef' and 'regrowth' in this work, but very little Sheba. Please can we pitch for them?
- The Grand Prix in PR goes to another earlier mentioned campaign, Decathalon's The Breakaway: The First Ecycling Sport's Team For Prisoners by BBDO Belgium, which also won the Grand Prix in Creative Strategy yesterday. I still think this campaign is bang on brand for Decathlon, who wants to make sports accessible to everyone, but I'd be lying if I said it excited me more than the Bread Exam from last year.
- The Grand Prix for Social & Influencers goes to Vice for – you guessed it – The Unfiltered Audio Tour, the campaign's third Grand Prix and fourth Poolside by Petra shout-out! I love it but yes, this is getting quite repetitive – most objects in the British Museum are stolen from other cultures. Vice gave the people, from whom the objects were stolen, a chance to give their side of the story with the help of an AR scanner. I wouldn't be surprised if the strong Aussie accented 'you're looking at the Gweagal Shield, which was stolen from my people' will reappear in my dreams by this point.
And that my fans and friends, concludes this day's Cannes Lions harvest!
THINGS TO COME
- Lisa Story will give us insight into the cool events taking place by Amazon Port and if their LCD Soundsystem is fit for a proper Cannes rave.
- THE FINAL DAY IS HERE!!! THE BIG DOGS WILL BE REVEALED – WHO WILL WIN TITANIUM? WILL THE UNFILTERED HISTORY TOUR GET IT'S 4TH GRAND PRIX AND 5th POOLSIDE MENTION?
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE AT THIS STAGE FRIENDS, STAY GLUED TO YOUR PHONES – I PROMISE YOU, YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS!!!
