Cannes Lions 2012: APAC wins 6 Gold for Promo & Activation, 3 for PR, 2 for Direct

George Patterson Y&R Melbourne and Cheil Worldwide Seoul led Asia-Pacific agencies with three Gold Lions each across the three categories, while Colenso BBDO Auckland and Whybin TBWA Tequila Sydney each won two and Naked Communications Sydney won one.   

Cannes Lions 2012: Full coverage

Promo & Activation

Out of a shortlist of 251 entries in the Promo & Activation category, a total of 86 Lions were awarded: 18 Golds, 26 Silver and 42 Bronze. Agencies from Asia-Pacific took home a total of 22: six Gold, seven Silver and nine Bronze.

The six Gold Lions were won two apiece by three agencies. Cheil Wordwide Seoul earned two Gold Lions for its ‘Insight’ campaign on behalf of Samsung, and George Patterson Y&R Melbourne also brought home two Gold Lions for its ‘Mobile Medic’ campaign on behalf of the Australian Defence Force. Likewise, Colenso BBDO Auckland brought home two Gold Lions for ‘Donation Glasses’ on behalf of Mars Pedigree and ‘Sorry About the Twigs Folks’ for Monteith's Crushed Cider.

PR

The region also took home 12 of 69 PR Lions, with Australian agencies dominating the list by winning all three Gold Lions earned by the region, along with two Silver and four Bronze. Whybin TBWA Tequila Sydney won two Gold Lions with its ‘MJ Bale Grazed on Greatness’ campaign, and Naked Communications Sydney won a Gold Lion for its innovative ‘Steal Banksy’ Art Series Hotel promotional campaign. 

Direct

In the Direct category, 84 Lions were awarded from 227 shortlisted entries: 15 Gold, 25 Silver and 44 Bronze. Asia-Pacific agencies won a total of 23: two Gold, seven Silver and 14 Bronze. Cheil Worldwide Seoul claimed another Gold, this time for 'Sunny Sale' on behalf of Emart, while George Patterson Y&R Melbourne added to its haul for 'Mobile Medic' with another Gold award.

"This year in the Direct Lions, the entries from Asia-Pacific were all based on very strong ideas," Direct jury member Edmund Choe, co-president and chief creative officer of TBWA\Greater China, told Campaign Asia-Pacific. "But the case studies, the way the stories are told, need to be stronger. Asia-Pacific focuses on the hard sell or showing off the campaign, but we need to tell the story of the idea. We need to highlight what is the simple, powerful, transformational idea that inspires the whole campaign. Sometimes it can begin with something very small."