APAC agencies score 12 Gold Lions, Ogilvy Shanghai claims Outdoor Grand Prix

"China’s second consecutive Grand Prix at Cannes means it’s no longer an emerging force but a real creative powerhouse," Outdoor jury member Heok Seong Ng, executive creative director with Euro RSCG Malaysia, told Campaign Asia-Pacific via email.

Cannes Lions 2012: Full coverage

The 'Coke Hands' execution (pictured) was famously created by a Hong Kong design student after his visual tribute to Steve Jobs went viral and caught the attention of Graham Fink, O&M China's chief creative officer. The work won in the Billboards & Street Furniture and Posters category.

"Nurturing young talent is hugely important to me and I want Ogilvy & Mather China to be a place that attracts them and gives them opportunities of doing famous work on famous brands," Fink said. "Jonathan Mak Long is a prime example of young talent and it’s great that he will be here in Cannes to go up on stage to receive his first Lion—before he has even finished studying.”  

Outdoor

Asia-Pacific agencies won a total of 28 awards out of 112 Lions awarded in the Outdoor category, including nine out of 25 Golds, as well as five Silvers and 13 Bronzes.

The APAC-based winners of Gold Lions are:

• DDB Group Singapore for Life Cycle bicycles (two Gold Lions)
• Clemenger BBDO Sydney for Virgin Australia flights to USA
• McCann Worldgroup India Mumbai for Western Union money transfer
• Ogilvy Shanghai for 'Coke Hands' for Coca-Cola
• Lowe Singapore for Unilever's Breeze washing detergent
• JWT Shanghai for Maxam Toiletries 
• Colenso BBDO Auckland for DB Breweries' Monteith's Crushed Cider
• Ogilvy & Mather Syndey for 'Share a Coke' for Coca-Cola

Tallying the metal haul for the category by country, China took top honors with the Grand Prix plus two Golds, one Silver and two Bronzes, followed by Singapore with three Golds and two Bronzes and Australia with two Golds, one Silver, and two Bronzes. New Zealand agencies claimed one Lion of each color, while Malaysia brought home one Silver and one Bronze. South Korea garnered one Silver. Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong each won Bronzes.

"There were close to 5000 entries in the Outdoor category that 19 people had to judge in 4 days," Ng said. "It meant that we could not spend too much time on any entry. Word of advice for future case study videos, stick to the 2-minute rule! What it also meant was that the work had to be really good to stand out. In the end only 10 per cent survived to make the shortlist, and of that only 112 managed to get a Lion. So if you won a Lion of any colour, trust me it’s a big deal."

The country-by-country breakdown in this category:

Asia-Pacific agencies won a total of five awards out of 54 Lions bestowed, including two Golds (out of 11), two Silvers and one Bronze. The Gold Lions both went to Japanese agency Party Tokyo for its 'Backseat Driver' app for ToyToyota:

The country-by-country breakdown for the Mobile category:

Creative Effectiveness

The jury awarded six Creative Effectiveness Lions, one of which went to Leo Burnett Sydney for 'Watermark' for Diageo Australia's Bundaberg rum:

"Brands that truly care about people, understand them and have a very clear purpose are able to act when the time comes," said Jarek Ziebinski, president, Leo Burnett Asia Pacific. "Watermark is the idea which proves effectiveness of humankind marketing philosophy and approach in the best possible way. We are proud of this work and ready to do more for the client who, like us, believes that creativity impacts behavior and drives business results.” 

Media

In the media category, Asia-Pacific agencies earned 29 total Lions out of 107 awards, including one Gold, 10 Silvers and 18 Bronzes. The Gold went to George Patterson Y&R Melbourne, for its 'Mobile Medic' campaign for Australian Defence Force, adding to prior wins in the Promo & Activation and Direct categories.