Ideas We Love: Best in Show ποΈπ¦
Issue Number 22: A look at some of our favourite ideas from the Cannes Lions 2024
Hello hello. Itβs been a while. How are you?
The great and the good of the Marketing, Communication, Advertising, Media and Ad-tech world were down in Cannes last week. Neither Matt nor Tom made it to the South of France. But despite being chained to our desks in London, weβve been keeping an eye on all of the work that has been awarded over the course of the Festival.
Weβre sure someone will be writing a post about the broader themes on display at the festival. Hopefully theyβll also examine the reasons as to why βmetalβ is now commonly accepted as as a verb (to metal - winning either bronze, silver, gold or titanium lions for your work). Frankly there are too many gongs given out for us to be fully abreast of every piece of work, but we have been able to have a look nearly every campaign that was awarded the Grand Prix within itβs respective category.β¦. so just as we did with our round up of The Superbowl earlier this year in IWL#8 , here are a selection of our favourites β¦.
Disclaimers, caveats, healthwarnings etc: This is by no means meant as a definitive list. Nor does it mean weβre saying these are the best bits of work. Just our favourites. Largely this is driven by the fact theyβve used βmediaβ in one form or another and that in most instances, the media was central to their success. Enjoy!
#1 The First Edible Mascot by Pop Tarts & Weber Shandwick, New York
The winner of the Grand Prix in the Brand Experience and Activation category. At a time when weβre all worried about attention, ad avoidance and fragmentation, thereβs a lot to be said for ideas which βnativeβ within content and context rather than just placed around it. Itβs also really quite silly. Silly is good sometimes.
#2 Handshake Hunt by Mercado Libre & Gut, Sao Paolo
Weβre both suckers for this type of thing. For two reasons. One - Lots of winners within the media categories are just jazzy creative work on a big or premium media canvas. This is is an idea which is utterly reliant on the media to be successful. It couldnβt have happened without the media contexts they chose. Two, itβs a βfull funnelβ idea, that blends brand and demand, driving reach and sales at the same time.
#3 The Misheard Version by Specsavers & Golin, London
This won the big prize in both the Radio and Audio category but also the PR Category. βShould have gone to Specsaversβ is such an enduringly brilliant platform thought - and like weβve said before, brilliant platform thoughts not only give you great executional ideas but when committed to over time, youβd assume they land with the consumer with less effort too.
#4 Loewe x Suna Fujita by Loewe
There is so much to like about this winner from the Luxury and Lifestyle Category. Quite often we spend time in the newsletter thinking about how we could stretch ideas into new places, or new media opportunities. From the look of this case-study video, it appears that Loewe really went to town with their partnership with Japanese ceramics company Suna Fujita. A partnership chock-full of Loeweβs typical off-beat loveliness. We also like how the case-study video pokes fun at the case-study video genre. Having spent the last couple of days watching a lot of these videosβ¦ there is definitely a style.
#5 WoMenβs Football by Orange and Marcel, Paris
Winning the Grand Prix for Entertainment and Sport was this campaign from Orange in France. If we were betting men it would have been worth a flutter prior to the Festival starting, we think. Itβs got AI deepfaking imagery, itβs rooted in Sport and most importantly itβs attempting to deal with a chunky challenge around societal issues. A clever use of technology and a lovely dramatisation of some of the prejudice that exists unfairly around womenβs sport. The debate about βAI claiming victimsβ is a very live one. Here, we can see how the technology is used in service of human creativity, not instead of. Bravo.
And last, but by no means leastβ¦.. Door Dash All the Ads by Door Dash and Weiden and Kennedy, Portland
Around Spring time we typically see a raft of new campaigns breaking. The more cynical amongst you may feel like the timing of these campaigns is driven not by some deep-seated brand or business challenge, but by a desire βto metalβ come Cannes time. Not only is this piece of work by W+K for Door Dash a brilliant idea, with brilliant ties into media, but we know it ran for reals. We covered it alongside other Superbowl activity back in IWL #8; a brilliant use of the special stage that event provides, βcollaborationβ on steroids, and an idea which collapses the distance between βbrand and demandβ. Lovely.
Until Next Time
Have we missed one of your favourite pieces of work to be awarded at Cannes? Weβd love to know which ideas and thinking you have enjoyed the most from this yearβs Lions. As always, any thoughts or feedback you have are greatly appreciated! Normally service - namely, a deep dive on single idea - will resume shortly!
Until next time,
Cheerio
Tom & Matt