As Cannes Lions officially kicks off for 2022, five Canadian agencies are off to a strong start, combining for 11 shortlist mentions in two of the festival’s longest-running categories.
Between the Outdoor and Print & Publishing Lions – part of the festival’s “Classic” track of awards – Rethink led Canadian agencies with five shortlist mentions, three of which came for its work on Heinz Ketchup.
“The Hot Dog Pact” was among those shortlisted in the Outdoor Lions, where the agency was also nominated for YWCA Metro Vancouver’s “Wall For Women,” which hid a QR code in an attention-grabbing mural to spread resources for victims of domestic violence.
In the Print Lions, Rethink earned a pair of nominations for the “Draw Ketchup” campaign, adding to its earlier nomination in the Titanium Lions. The agency also picked up a shortlist mention for “Colours of Pride,” a campaign for Fondation Émergence that made a Pride flag out of close-up images 0f bruises and other signs of struggle in the ongoing fight for 2SLGBTQ+ rights.
Additionally Outdoor, Publicis Toronto was nominated for “Jeep Code,” a campaign that took the vehicle’s highly recognizable grill and essentially turned it into a QR code: By scanning the front of a vehicle they liked in Snapchat, a user could be shown the exact model, its price and dealerships nearby with inventory, as well as launch the buying process. The agency’s Montreal office was also shortlisted for its competition-skewering ads promoting Burger King’s delivery services.
Taxi was also shortlisted for “Uncomfortable Truth,” a campaign that hijacked an ad for Kanye West’s Yeezy brand and instead gave people information about the fashion industry’s use of forced labour of Uyghur and Turkic Muslim peoples in Xinjiang. Wunderman Thompson rounded out the Canadian nominations with “Lifegiving Light,” an out-of-home ad that utilized a specific spectrum of light to help nearby plants grow as part of client HSBC’s sustainability goals.
The other Canadian work shortlisted in Print & Publishing came from Cossette, which picked up a pair for pieces in the “Grand Opening” campaign. That campaign used hundreds of balloons to create sculptures that were nine feet tall and resembled different McDonald’s menu items – such as the Big Mac or fries, the two pieces recognized by the Cannes jury.
There was no Canadian work among those shortlisted in the Radio & Audio Lions.
Lions in these categories, along with the Health & Wellness and Pharma Lions, will be awarded at the first awards gala of the year on Monday.
Outdoor Lions (6)
Publicis
Burger King, “Ron”
Retail
Partners: Illusion CGI Studio
Jeep (Stellantis), “Jeep Code”
Immersive Experiences
Partners: Snapchat, Starco, GoSpooky, Nurun, Punch Audio
Rethink
Heinz Ketchup (Kraft Heinz), “The Hot Dog Pact”
Market Disruption
Partners: Carat Toronto, Middle Child, The Colony Project, The Kitchen, Grayson Music, PrintPro Services
YWCA Metro Vancouver, “Wall For Women”
Not-for-profit/Charity/Government
Taxi
Human Rights Foundation, “Uncomfortable Truth”
Not-for-profit/Charity/Government
Wunderman Thompson
HSBC, “The Lifegiving Light”
Animated Digital Screens
Print & Publishing Lions (5)
Cossette
McDonald’s Canada, “Balloons – Grand Openings – Big Mac”
Retail
McDonald’s Canada, “Balloons – Grand Openings – Fries”
Retail
Rethink
Fondation Émergence, “Colours of Pride”
Social Behaviour
Partners: Grayson Music
Heinz Ketchup (Kraft Heinz), “Draw Ketchup”
Market Disruption
Social Behaviour
Partners: Carat Toronto, Starcom Chicago, Salt XC, The Colony Project, Vapor Music Group, R+D Productions
