5 Surprising Winners From Cannes Lions

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Cannes-LionsThe creative world’s equivalent of the World Cup, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, has wrapped up its 2014 edition.

As always, the event involved a flurry of press, celebrity appearances, and fantastic parties (we hear). But by now the spectacle as subsided and Cannes, the French town of 72,000 people, has returned to its natural state of seaside serenity on the Cote d’Azur. That’s quite a feat when you consider these stats:

  • 12,000+ people attended from 94 countries
  • Of those attendees,
    • 312 were jury members who judged 35,765 entries
    • 574 journalists
    • And 25% were marketers

The Winners

Over seven days, 1,173 of those 35k+ entrants walked away with a Lion. That’s a lot of winners of which to take note. Therefore, we pulled together a few of the most interesting. Start prepping for your future trip to Cannes and have a read.

Project Name: Guilt Trips
Client: V/Line (Regional public transportation in Victoria, Australia)
Agency: McCann Melbourne
Award: Grand Prix for Creative Effectiveness

Guilt is a powerful tool, isn’t it? In this application, the result was a campaign that significantly exceeded KPIs. And made us laugh.

Product: Points, The Most Advanced Sign on Earth
Agency: BREAKFAST NYC
Award: Gold for Innovation

BREAKFAST is one of those niche agencies that defies categorization. They consider themselves inventors. But inventors who can create an ad campaign for TNT using electromagnetic signs.

Product: Trash & Recycling Receptacles
Client: Central Park Conservancy
Agency: Landor Associates
Award: Gold for Product Design

Thanks to a grant from the Alcoa Foundation in 2012, the Central Park Conservancy tasked Landor with redesigning waste receptacles. Landor saw this as an opportunity to change the behavior of park visitors and raise awareness of the Conservancy. No reports yet as to how the park’s squirrels feel about the new additions.


Project: Pharrell – 24 Hours of Happy
Client: Universal/Iamother
Agency: Iconoclast Paris
Award: Grand Prix for Cyber (Interactive)

Pharrell’s single “Happy” was originally released as part of the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack in July 2013. The song didn’t really take off, motivating Pharrell to seek some promotional help. The song, and the celebration of happiness behind it, pushed past airwaves to an interactive level, hitting a new high of social and digital engagement.


Project: Sorry I Spent It On Myself
Client: Harvey Nichols
Agency: adam&eveDDB
Award: Grand Prix for Integrated

We’ve all done it: spent on ourselves when we should’ve bought other gifts. You try to make up for the loss, writing a heartfelt card or baking cookies. The campaign for Harvey Nichols, the British luxury department store, helps relieve some of your guilt. Although we’d prefer to receive cookies over rubber bands.

Capture Your Lions

The candidates for Cannes Lions 2015 are out there right now, on billboards, in tweets, and in retail windows. Have you spotted next year’s shoo-ins already? It’s not too late to find the innovation studio or interactive agency that can help your brand walk away with multiple Lions in 2016. Jump start your search on Agency Spotter—we help you find your next great creative partner, faster. Which means more champagne for you!

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Claire Wallace
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