It’s only the first official day in Cannes and things are already heating up. And we don’t just mean the very real effects of climate change that could be used as a case to move the conference to a cooler climate – it’s opressively hot and humid in Cannes this year.
No, we’re talking about the sheer number of awards that Canadian agencies oh-so casually picked up on Monday – a thumping 16 of them – as well as recognition as one of the top healthcare agencies at this year’s festival.
The industry can pat Ogilvy, FCB, Klick Health, Rethink, Citizen Relations, BBDO and Taxi on the back for showing what Canada is made of. These seven agencies collected three Gold medals, nine Silvers and six Bronzes this afternoon/evening (depending on where you’re reading this).
Of these shops, Rethink – having the most shortlist mentions so far, giving it the best odds of winning a coveted Lion – won the most of the night. First, its Kraft Heinz “Fraud” campaign won one Gold and one Silver Outdoor Lion, as well as a Bronze Print & Publishing Lion. And then it’s IKEA “Window Shopping” campaign picked up a Silver Outdoor Lion, while the “Unburnable Book” for Penguin Random House took home a Silver Print & Publishing trophy.
Interestingly enough, Gold and Bronze winner “Missing Matoaka” by BBDO for Muskrat Magazine was one of the few campaigns in the Radio & Audio category that joined the Grand Prix discussions. The jury president and CCO at FCB South Africa, Tseliso Rangaka, admitted that the campaign was just short of being crowned the top winner. While it pushed the boundaries of radio, what led the jury to award “Lawyer” by New Zealand telco Skinny and agency Colenso BBDO were its better business results.
For the campaign, Skinny created radio ads that talked about how the brand printed and placed the scripts for said radio spots outside of actual strip clubs, lawyer’s offices and ad agencies, in the hopes that someone would record the ad and save the company costs, just as it does for its customers, being a discount carrier (does this one scream “Less for Less” by Public Mobile and Cossette to anyone else?).
Klick Toronto’s performance in the health-focused categories – a Bronze in Health & Wellness and a Bronze in Pharma, alongside a boatload of shortlist nominations – earned it second place in both the Health Agency of the Year and Health Network of the Year rankings. Between the two categories, only 50 Lions were given out in the awards’ health track.
When speaking with the only Canadian jury member in the room, Neill Brown, president at IPG Health Canada (who sat on the Health & Wellness panel and is pictured top left in the image on the right) told strategy that Dove and Ogilvy’s “The Cost of Beauty” was a clear Gold (and double Silver) winner for it’s impact. The campaign followed the lives of women who are currently in treatment for issues like eating disorders, depression, and body dysmorphia, thanks to the negative and toxic effects of media. “It was an opportunity to get the message out that communications in the industry needs to support rather than critique or find fault in how people [look],” he said. “There was a cautionary insight for the whole industry to continuously audit ourselves in terms of how people are depicted [in creative].”
Other Silver winners include Adidas and FCB Toronto for “Runner 321” and Cheetos and Citizen Relations for “Cheetle in Cheatle (which also nabbed a Bronze and so happens to be a fixture outside the Palais this year). Bronze Lions were also given to “The Bridge” by PAWS New York and Klick Health; “Lifesaving Radio,” also by Klick Radio for NextMed; and “Change The Bill” by Native Women’s Association of Canada and Taxi Canada.
Tuesday will kick off with yet another batch of morning shortlists for Creative Business Transformation, Creative Commerce, Creative Effectiveness, Creative Strategy, Film, and Mobile Lions. Then, the Entertainment Lions, Entertainment Lions for Gaming, Entertainment Lions for Music and Entertainment Lions for Sport, Design, Digital Craft, Film Craft, and Industry Craft Lions winners will be announced in the afternoon.
THE WORK
Health & Wellness Lions (5)
Gold
Silver (2)
“The Cost of Beauty”
Dove
Ogilvy Toronto / London
Silver
“Runner 321”
Adidas
FCB Toronto
Adidas | Runner 321 from Oso on Vimeo.
Bronze
“The Bridge”
Paws
Klick Health
Pharma (1)
Bronze
“Lifesaving Radio”
NextMed
Klick Health
To help surgical teams to operate and focus at peak precision, NextMed created the first album and AI radio station to optimize surgical performance. Research showed the tempo of music from artists like ACDC actually improved medical precision and efficiency. So the company and Klick analyzed songs from the band that would provide peak surgical performance and reimagined them with medical terms in mind. Songs like “highway to heal” and “shoot to drill” were devised to keep surgical teams “sharp as a scalpel.”
Outdoor (5)
Gold Campaign
Silver Campaign
“Kitchen”; “QSR”; “Diner”
Heinz Ketchup
Rethink Toronto
Silver
Bronze
“Cheetle in Cheadle”
Cheetos
Citizen Relations
Did you know that the dust you get on your fingers when you eat Cheetos is called “cheetle?” No? Well, perhaps you are familiar with the small town in Alberta called Cheadle, which sounds the same? Even if you didn’t know these two bits of trivia, the PepsiCo snack brand looked to make people aware of both when it erected a monument to those obscure bits of knowledge, taking the form of a statue shaped like a hand that is lightly dusted with cheetle, while holding a Cheetos puff.
Silver
“IKEA Window Shopping”
IKEA
Rethink Toronto
Radio (2)
Gold
Bronze
“Missing Matoaka”
Muskrat Magazine
BBDO Toronto
Partners: Flare BBDO, Glossy PR, Hype PR
The audio is available at the Missing Matoaka microsite.
Print & Publishing (3)
Silver
“The Unburnable Book”
Penguin Books Random House
Rethink Toronto
Bronze
“Heinz Ketchup Fraud”
Kraft Heinz
Rethink Toronto
Bronze
“Change The Bill”
Native Women’s Association of Canada
Taxi Canada
