‘Evolution’, Ogilvy & Mather Canada’s Grand Prix-winning ad for Unilever’s Dove brand, first launched as a viral video, becoming a hit on YouTube before moving to TV. The film jury says the ad, part of Dove’s ‘self esteem’ drive to inspire girls to think about a wider definition of beauty, epitomises how brands should be talking to consumers.
Unilever’s win, however, was clouded with controversy after judges — including jury chairman and DDB Worldwide chairman and CCO Bob Scarpelli — moved the ‘Evolution’ entry out of fund-raising into the corporate image category, making it eligible for a Grand Prix. Winning film entries in public service and charities are traditionally excluded from competition for the top award.
“We moved it from one category to another because we felt so strongly about it… the work is so powerful, a simple idea,” explains Scarpelli.
Overall, entries in the film category were down about eight per cent at 4,470, continuing a three-year decline. Asia pulled in seven Lions, including a silver for McCann Erickson India’s Happy Dent TVC and bronze for JEH United’s second Smooth E campaign, while Australia and New Zealand won another six.
While Asia’s creatives expressed disappointment, Scarpelli stresses that the quality of ideas the region produces is excellent. “The rest of the world is looking to Asia for creativity but we can only make a judgement on the work that’s in front of us,” he notes. “Happy Dent, people felt, deserved a silver but the device of shiny teeth had been done before. Smooth E, last year, broke the convention of TV ads and turned the category upside down. There’s a difference of opinion whether the second series is better or not.”
Press and outdoor, on the other hand, were particularly strong for Asia. While Saatchi & Saatchi New York was the frontrunner in press with work for Procter & Gamble’s Tide — the FMCG giant’s first Grand Prix — Asia-Pacific received four golds, nine silvers and 13 bronzes out of a total of 12 golds, 24 silvers and 26 bronze Lions presented in a category where just one per cent of more than 7,000 entries were converted into metal.
“Asia did well this year across both print and outdoor,” says press jury member Tham Khai Meng, co-chairman Asia-Pacific and regional ECD of Ogilvy & Mather. “There is a sense of confidence with the work, a sense of humour and a willingness to experiment,” he adds.
Asia-Pacific, claimed 27 Lions in outdoor meanwhile, including six golds, 10 silvers and 11 bronzes, of nearly 90 handed out in Cannes, with Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore leading the way. “But some of the regional markets are still lacking what we were looking for in a Grand Prix, and are producing one-dimensional work that’s not making the full use of the medium,” points out JWT regional ECD for Southeast Asia Tay Guan Hin, who sat on this year’s outdoor jury, pointing to breakthrough ideas such as OMD New Zealand’s media Grand Prix winner for its ASB Bank ‘Money goes digital’ campaign, which festival judges acclaimed as “inspirational and innovative”.
According to media Lions jury president David Verklin, CEO and chairman of Carat Americas and Asia-Pacific, the campaign was selected as much for being ahead of the game as for how well it integrated media. “When you see advertising stickers on real bank notes, it’s indicative of some phenomenal negotiating ability. On top of that, the web, ambient and legacy-media components were superb.”
The campaign also featured a mural made up of 30,000 Post-Its resembling a large pixilated banknote, on an outdoor site at a train station, allowing commuters to take the message away with them.
Japan bagged both the region’s media golds, for Dentsu Tokyo’s Hitachi and Asatsu-DK Tokyo’s Ikea, leading a regional haul of 13 Lions on top of the Grand Prix.
The region also picked up the Promo Grand Prix, for TBWA\Whybin’s Bonded by Blood campaign for adidas, in which blood from each member of the adidas-sponsored All Blacks rugby squad was incorporated into a limited-edition poster.
The Radio Grand Prix — chaired by David Guerrero, chairman and CCO of BBDO Guerrero Ortega — went to Australia’s Clemenger BBDO Melbourne for a two-minute Snickers spot entitled ‘Hoedown’. “The length of the spot shows great commitment to the creative idea,” says Guerrero, adding that it was a tightly-fought race, with up to five others in contention for the top prize.
The region also performed relatively well in direct, with 17 Lions, and promo, with 12 Lions, although, predictably, Japan was the cyber star — picking up nine of the 12 cyber Lions handed out to Asia-Pacific.
Crispin Porter & Bogusky’s Burger King Xbox campaign and VegaOlmos-Ponce’s Unilever Axe work picked up the Titanium and Integrated Grand Prix respectively, with Leo Burnett’s Earth Hour among three Titanium winners. Crispin Porter ECD Alex Bogusky, who chaired the Titanium and Integrated jury, explained that while there had been confusion about defining the three-year-old category, it was “innovation in its purest form, as you can see from the winner”.