By Mary Maddever and Jennifer Horn
Today’s gloomy weather in Cannes is encroaching on Canadian creatives’ sun-worshipping plans… nothing like winning 18 Lions this afternoon to brighten the day.
The impressive awards haul was led by Rethink. Seven trophies (2 Silver and 5 Bronze) went to work the agency developed for clients Kraft Heinz, Coors Light and Molson. Second in line was Edelman, Courage and FCB, with all three shops bringing two more Lions (each) to Canada.
That’s not all. Dentsu, VML, Angry Butterfly, Ogilvy and LG2 each snagged Lions, helping to bring Canada’s total tally to 41. Not bad for the mid-way point of the competition. The number to beat is 51, a record set by Canada in 2023.
Touche!, Wavemaker, Mindshare and Initiative also share the honours with creative agencies in Media, a category where the country did particularly well, bringing in a total of eight Lions.
The country was shut out of the Creative Data category, but insights behind the Creative B2B jury room, as shared by jury president Andisa Ntsubane, managing executive brand marketing and communications Africa Vodacom Group, pointed to a new area of opportunity for the industry.
Ntsubane told reporters during the press conference that it’s the decade for B2B, which is gaining momentum for creative credibility. “We certainly saw that, and the strategic thinking also shone through across the board,” he said.
B2B work is emerging at the forefront of global social issues, added Ntsubane, and more innovative uses of content to engage audiences was another theme across the work. “We saw influencers, celebrities, and humor shining through in B2B and having a profound impact on emotional connections.” Cannes Lions CEO Phil Thomas added that the Titanium shortlist has a lot of B2B work this year.
One thing for anyone planning to enter work in the future, Ntsubane says “there is work to be done around metrics and outcomes in terms of results – more impact on the business.”
Catch the Gold and Grand Prix winners for these categories this afternoon (3pm EST), when the festival holds its third award show for the week. In the meantime, here are the Silver and Bronze winners from Canada.
Media (8)
Silver
“See My Name”
Molson
Rethink / Wavemaker
“Heinz Ketchup Fraud”
Heinz Ketchup
Rethink
“Inflation Cookbook”
SkipTheDishes
Dentsu
“Sans Emission”
Volkswagen
Touche Montreal / VML Toronto
Bronze
“Next to Stok’d”
Stok’d Cannabis
Angry Butterfly / Stryker Media
“Inployable”
Canadian Down Syndrome Society (CDSS)
FCB / Initiative
“Coors Lights Out”
Coors Light
Rethink
“Cost of Beauty”
Dove
Mindshare NY / Ogilvy London / Ogilvy Toronto
Direct (3)
Bronze
“SHT”
IKEA Canada
Edelman
“Inployable”
Canadian Down Syndrome Society
FCB
“Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch”
Heinz Ketchup
Rethink
PR (5)
Silver
“SHT”
IKEA Canada
Edelman
“Cost of Beauty”
Ogilvy
Dove
Bronze x2
“Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch”
Heinz Ketchup
Rethink
“Cost of Beauty”
Ogilvy
Dove
Social & Influencer (3)
Silver
“Have AI Break”
KitKat
Courage
Bronze
“Address Change”
Dans La Rue
Lg2
“KFC Finger Lickin’ Open Endorsement”
KFC
Courage
Creative B2B (1)
Bronze
“Heinz Ketchup Fraud”
Heinz Ketchup
Rethink
