It's almost that time of year when adland makes its annual pilgrimage to the French Riviera, where rosé flows freely, conversations spill from beachfront terraces, and the industry's best work battles for global recognition.
With the Cannes Lions shortlist now in full swing, Campaign Asia has seen everything from emotionally strong storytelling and sharp product demos to bold design thinking and brilliantly simple ideas vying for attention across categories.
Today, Gut Asia associate creative director Ernest Chin shares the campaigns he believes have what it takes to roar all the way to a coveted Lion. Take a look at his picks below.
Campaign 1: If You Can Take It, It’s Yours
Brand: Selleys
Category: Outdoor
Annoyingly simple in the best way. A brief like this could’ve easily gone a hundred ways that wouldn’t stick. Instead, we got the ultimate product demo, wrapped up in an engaging, entertaining idea. A single OOH-sized spectacle that dared you to prove it wrong.
Campaign 2: Build to Move
Brand: Lego
Category: Design/Brand Experience & Activation
Everyone knows Lego stands for play and imagination. This was a fresh take on that, in a culture led by rote and rigour, no less. No sets, no instructions, no right answers. Just a couple of bricks and enough room for imagination to run. It's an idea that's true to Lego, accomplished without relying on a single conventional brick.
Campaign 3: Giant
Brand: Krungsri First Choice
Category: Film
Mentioning 'Krungsri First Choice' telegraphs a certain brand of work. The type where absurd punchlines greet you as unexpectedly as those briefs that hit whenever you think “it's kind of a slow day”. Delightful individually but a riot as a series, each spot is a lesson in comedic timing, rhythm and restraint. The fact that one of its best moments is a product shot says everything about the brand’s unsurprising knack for surprise. Another year, another creatively bold and wacky showing.
