The six Engagement categories at Cannes Lions are among the Festival’s most-entered, and that volume of entries brought two dozen more shortlist spots for Canadian agencies.
The ever-popular Direct Lions earned Canadian agencies six more shortlist spots. Two of those were for BBDO Canada’s “Para Expansion Pack” for the Canadian Paralympic Committee, fresh off of a Gold Lion win on Tuesday. Rethink also added a nomination for “The Hot Dog Pact,” while FCB Canada picked up two more shortlist spots for its “Dream Drop” campaign for Lotto Max and the OLG, which turned a capsule collection of merch into lottery tickets.
FCB Canada also earned a shortlist spot in the exclusive Creative Data Lions for its research work on the Canadian Down Syndrome Society’s “The Mindsets Paper.”
That category also brought four more shortlist spots for Performance Art and “The Black Elevation Map” for Black & Abroad. The campaign was based around an online travel planning site that uses things like population data, historical markers, Black-owned businesses and social media activity, and visualizes it as points of interest on a dynamic, searchable elevation map for Black travellers.
In Media, Rethink and media agency Carat teamed up for a pair of shortlist spots: another nomination for Heinz Ketchup’s “Draw Ketchup,” as well as the first for IKEA’s “The Cristiano Bottle.” When soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo pushed bottles of Coca-Cola aside and requested water during a press conference, an impromptu campaign was launched with IKEA’s Korken reusable glass bottle, renaming it “Cristiano” and proclaiming it was for “water only.”
Zulu Alpha Kilo also earned a Media nomination for Harry Rosen’s “Green Screen Shirt,” an effort to help dads stay up-to-date on fashion during their Zoom calls.
In PR, Rethink and Middle Child got a nods for “The Hot Dog Pact,” while Zulu Alpha Kilo and Select PR picked up one of their own for “The Tough Turban.”
The Social & Influencer Lions also brought with them six more Canadian shortlist spots. Rethink got two more for “The Hot Dog Pact,” with a third for “The Love Collab,” a co-marketing campaign featuring the two brands “flirting” with each other in the lead-up to Valentine’s Day.
Zulu Alpha Kilo also earned three more shortlist spots in Social & Influencer for “The Micropedia of Microaggressions.”
Two Canadian agencies also earned their first shortlist spots in this year’s festival. DDB Canada had a nomination each in Direct and PR for Ontario Black History Society’s “Blacked Out History,” which blacked out the non-Black history in textbooks to draw attention to just how little it is covered in the province’s curriculum. In Media, DonerNorth had a shortlist spot for Interval House’s “Bruised Fruit,” which turned stickers on bruised produce into educational resources about domestic violence during COVID-19 lockdowns.
None of the 15 Canadian entries in the new Creative B2B Lions received a shortlist spot.
Lions in these categories will be given out during Thursday’s awards gala.
Creative Data (5)
FCB Canada
Canadian Down Syndrome Society, “The Mindsets Paper”
Creative Data Collection & Research
Partners: Fuel Content, Grayson Music, Radar Studios, Bliss Interactive
Performance Art
Black & Abroad, “The Black Elevation Map”
Data-enhanced Creativity
Data Integration
Data Storytelling
Data Visualization
Partners: Initiative, Glossy PR, Kinesso, Meta, Reprise Media, Alfredo Films, Vocal Type Co., Alter Ego, TA2 Sound + Music
Direct (6)
BBDO Canada
Canadian Paralympic Committee, “Para Expansion Pack”
Breakthrough on a Budget
Not-for-profit/Charity/Government
DDB Canada
Ontario Black History Society, “Blacked Out History”
Single-market Campaign
Partners: Alfredo Films, Sauce Digital, Vapor Music Group
FCB Canada
Lotto Max (OLG), “Dream Drop”
Use of Ambient Media: Small scale
Local Brand
Partners: Mediacom, Hill + Knowlton Strategies, Common Good, Cruel, Grayson Music, Mr. Saturday
Rethink
Heinz Ketchup (Kraft Heinz), “The Hot Dog Pact”
Social Behaviour
Partners: Carat Toronto, Middle Child, The Colony Project, The Kitchen, Grayson Music, PrintPro Services
Media (4)
DonerNorth
Interval House, “Bruised Fruit”
Best Use of Ambient Media: Small scale
Partners: CJ Graphics, Married to Giants, Wingman VFX, Jumpstart Communications
Rethink
IKEA, “The Cristiano Bottle”
Breakthrough on a Budget
Partners: Carat Toronto
Heinz Ketchup (Kraft Heinz), “Draw Ketchup”
Food & Drink
Partners: Carat Toronto, Starcom Chicago, Salt XC, The Colony Project, Vapor Music Group, R+D Productions
Zulu Alpha Kilo
Harry Rosen, “Green Screen Shirt”
Retail
Partners: Zulubot
PR (3)
DDB Canada
Ontario Black History Society, “Blacked Out History”
Brand Voice & Strategic Storytelling
Partners: Alfredo Films, Sauce Digital, Vapor Music Group
Rethink
Heinz Ketchup (Kraft Heinz), “The Hot Dog Pact”
Food & Drink
Partners: Middle Child, The Colony Project, Carat Toronto, The Kitchen, Grayson Music, PrintPro Services
Zulu Alpha Kilo
Pfaff Harley-Davidson, “The Tough Turban”
Social Behaviour
Partners: Select PR, Zulubot, Nelson Connects, Spark Innovations
Social & Influencer (6)
Rethink
Heinz Ketchup (Kraft Heinz), “The Hot Dog Pact”
Co-creation & User Generated Content
Multi-platform Social Campaign
Partners: Middle Child, The Colony Project, Carat Toronto, The Kitchen, Grayson Music, PrintPro Services
Heinz Ketchup & McCain Fries (Kraft Heinz, McCain Foods), “The Love Collab”
Sponsorship & Brand Partnership
Partners: Carat, UM, Middle Child, Salt XC, Wave Productions, Pro Model Builders, Strategic Lift
Zulu Alpha Kilo
Black Business and Professional Association, et. al., “The Micropedia of Microagressions”
Social Purpose
Social Behaviour
Cultural Insight
Partners: Zulubot, Pirate, Black Business and Professional Association, Canadian Congress on Inclusive Diversity and Workplace Equity, Pride at Work Canada, Ryerson University
