It’s official. Klick Health is not to be ignored.
The Toronto office of the health-focused agency had already been making its name known on the awards circuit, but here in Cannes, it has proven to be a front-runner among Canadian agencies. On Monday, Klick earned second place in the festival’s Health Agency and Health Network Of The Year rankings, to go with its two Bronze medals and numerous nominations in Health & Wellness and Pharma.
Today, it got to leave the Palais with a Gold Design Lion and a Silver Digital Craft Lion.
As previously reported by strategy’s Justin Crann, its sudden appearance could be that “mainstream advertisers [are] increasingly wading into the health and wellness space, while shops traditionally known for health and life sciences are increasingly drawing newfound attention.”
For the Design jury, the reason a Gold-winning piece like “Congregation” for Podher stood out was because it was “novel, fresh and innovative” – the criteria for which jury president Quinnton Harris, co-founder and CEO of Retrospect, said was used when selecting each of the 34 Lion-winning pieces, culled from 985 entries from across 53 countries, making the category one of the more broad and diverse.
While Klick Health was the only Canadian agency to win a Gold at today/tonight’s show, which was focused on the craft-related categories, there were plenty of other Lions to go around for Canada.
Performance Art left with a Silver Design Lion for “The Greatest Guide to Jochos & Burgers” for Bimbo, while Rethink snagged a Bronze in Design for the “RGD Branding Awards.”
Meanwhile, in Digital Craft, BBDO took home a Silver for Muskrat Magazine’s “Missing Matoaka,” a Cannes darling that’s so far received a boatload of nominations and several trophies. In Film Craft, Ogilvy Toronto picked up a Silver (to go with its Gold) for Dove’s “The Cost of Beauty” and Broken Heart Love Affair left with a Silver for its “Immortal” film for the ROM. And finally, in Industry Craft, Rethink was the only Canadian shop to get picked for a Bronze, which it won for Heinz Ketchup’s “Ketchup Fraud” campaign.
All of these categories recognize and celebrate creative artistry within marketing and advertising. They are also categories that are primed for an over-indulgance in A.I., a topic that has been rampant among speakers, jurors, press and attendees alike. While many of the Craft cases (as much as 50%, an estimation by Digital Craft president Resh Sidhu, global director of Snap’s Arcadia Creative Studio) used machine learning and automation in some capacity, it’s use in brand work, for the most part, has been surface-level.
“As a team of jurors, we had to look at work [that integrated A.I.] with rigor, and put it under the microscope,” said Sidhu. “And often I think what happens is you can get dazzled with the technology, but when you look at it, what is it actually doing? Is it actually design? Is it even good design? A.I. is definitely here, but it’s a tool in your arsenal of toolkits, so use it wisely. The tool itself is not worthy of an award. The use of the tool with creativity, and with purpose, is what is going to drive great work.”
Design (3)
Gold
“The Congregation”
Podher
Klick Health
With reproductive rights under attack by legislators in the U.S., Klick and non-profit Podher sought to use the First Amendment to offer up a defense. The campaign involved creating a religion that, under the U.S. Constitution, had its beliefs protected. That new religion was organized around one belief: that abortion should be safe and accessible. As part of the effort, Klick created the religion’s first bible, which not only included material explaining why reproductive rights should be protected, but pages that could be turned into protest posters and interactive maps for where to locate legal, safe abortions.
Silver
“The Greatest Guide to Jochos & Burgers”
Bimbo
Performance Art Toronto / VectorB McCann Mexico City
Bronze
“RGD Branding Awards”
Association of Registered Graphic Designers
Rethink Toronto
Digital Craft (2)
Silver
“The Bridge”
Paws NY
Klick Health Toronto
Silver
“Missing Matoaka”
Muskrat Magazine
BBDO Toronto
Partners: Flare BBDO, Glossy PR, Hype PR
Film Craft (2)
Silver
“The Cost of Beauty”
Dove
Ogilvy Toronto / London
Silver
“Immortal”
ROM
Broken Heart Love Affair
Production: Scouts Honour / Alter Ego / Nimiopere / Rajakovic Electric / Tantrum Studio
Industry Craft (1)
Bronze
“Kitchen”; “QSR”; “Diner”
Heinz Ketchup
Rethink Toronto
