Call it a gold rush for Skittles and BBDO. Their winning streak continued with a Gold Lion campaign win in the Film category. It brings their total Lions tally to two Gold, one Silver and one Bronze, with Proximity nabbing three Bronze and being home to half of the Cyber-winning Young Lions team. Cossette was the next most Lion-worthy Canadian agency, taking two Golds and one Bronze. In total, Canada took home 18 Cannes Lions this year.
The Skittles online effort features three spots that prompt users to interact with characters in the ads by placing their fingers on their computer screens. In “Cat,” viewers have their fingers licked by a cat and then by its very feline-friendly owner. That spot had already earned Skittles and BBDO a Gold Lion in the Cyber category earlier in the week.
Canadian Film juror Christina Yu, EVP/CD at Red Urban in Toronto, said that the jury’s decision to award Skittles with Film gold was unanimous, a rare feat to have accomplished.
“The interactivity and the idea of ‘Touch the Rainbow,’ which has always been a part of it, the fact that you can actually touch the rainbow really resonated with everybody in [the jury],” says Yu.
It was a successful year for Canada in Film as three other Lions were awarded to Canadian work. Pfizer and Taxi took home a Bronze for “Golf,” an ad featured in Viagra’s “Apologies” campaign; BBDO took home another Lion, winning Bronze for a spot it crafted for FedEx called “Change” promoting non-rush shipping; and finally, and John St. took home Bronze for the viral sensation “Pink Ponies,” despite its non-traditional nature, which was produced for strategy’s Agency of the Year event last October.
“It was made for the industry and it was accepted that way,” says Yu. “Even if it was made for the industry it was still so brilliantly done that everyone liked it a lot and gave it a Bronze.”
The Grand Prix went to Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam’s “Write the Future” spot for Nike, promoting its soccer products. Jury president Tony Granger, global CCO Y&R, said the spot won in large part because of the meticulousness with which it was crafted.
Skittles found some favour in the festival’s most prestigious category, Titanium. Canadian Titanium juror Paul Lavoie, global chairman and founder of Taxi, noted that not only did it make the shortlist, but it came in third overall after the vote. The Titanium awards ultimately went to Droga5 and Bing’s Decode Jay-Z (which also won the Integrated Grand Prix), BV McCann Erickson Bucharest’s unpatriotic effort for Romanian candy bar Rom and DDB Stockholm’s ‘The Speed Camera Lottery’ effort promoting Bluemotion Technologies for Volkswagen.
Droga5 also took home a Grand Prix in the Film Craft category for its “After Hours Athlete” spot for Puma, produced by Smuggler New York.
Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO London won the Grand Prix in Cannes’ newest category, Creative Effectiveness, for its “Sandwich” effort for Pepsico’s Walker product, which positioned Walkers as chips that can make lunchtime sandwiches more exciting even in the town of Sandwich in England’s Kent county. Surprise celebrity-led events “woke up” the sleepy town and buzz was extended throughout the country via PR, TV and online channels, leading to a 26% revenue spike.
Canada had two entries in contention among the 31 qualifying for the new Grand Prix for Good. Because non-profit/charitable entries are ineligible for the Grand Prix in the regular categories, any that win Gold in any Lion category are eligible for a Grand Prix for Good, which is judged by the Titanium & Integrated jury.
The two Canadian Gold Design Lion winners from Cossette, “I am One Thousand” for Enablis and “Cenakovski” for Theatre Du Nouveau Monde, were both in the running and the inaugural Grand Prix for Good went to Leo Burnett Melbourne for “See the Person” for Scope.
Holding Company of the Year went to WPP. Network of the Year went to BBDO, with BBDO Sao Paulo taking Agency of the Year.
Canada’s total Lion tally – six Gold, three Silver, nine Bronze – breaks down like this:
BBDO – One Gold Cyber Lion, one Gold Film Lion, one Silver Media Lion, one Bronze Film Lion.
Proximity – Two Bronze Promo Lions, One Bronze Media Lion, plus a Cyber Gold-winning Young Lion team member.
Cossette – Two Gold Design Lions, one Bronze Design Lion.
Sid Lee Architecture – One Gold Design Lion.
Leo Burnett – One Silver Press Lion, one Silver Promo Lion.
Taxi – One Bronze Film Lion.
John St. – One Bronze Film Lion.
DDB – One Bronze Radio Lion.
Grey Canada – One Bronze Radio Lion.
