June Campaigns of the Month – Cannes Lions Special.

It’s that time again when we round up all the best weird and wonderful ads of the month. But this time, it’s a little different. And that’s because the Lions are in town, or more specifically, in Cannes. The yearly event held on the French Riviera showcases and rewards the crème-de-la-crème of the advertising world, and we’ve been fortunate enough to win one. So, for one month and one month only (until next year), we’re taking a look at the winners so far from the prestigious festival. Enjoy!

British Airways – Reason to travel

Winner – Outdoor

What is the reason we fly? Business? Leisure? Or is it something else? This was the question posed by Uncommon in its award-winning campaign for British Airways.

The campaign is centred around a common question travellers are frequently asked when they land in a new destination, except the reasons are much more relatable and meaningful rather than the generic tick-box answers we normally see. The campaign includes more than 500 unique print, digital and outdoor executions utilising time of day, weather conditions and location to make the ads even more engaging.

Partners Life – The Last Performance

Winner – Health & Wellness

This is absolutely brilliant and something you don’t see all that often. New Zealand life insurance company Partners Life seamlessly integrated itself with the country’s most popular whodunit television series, ‘The Brokenwood Mysteries’. At the end of each episode, the victim awakes in the morgue for their last performance to talk about their life and the importance of life insurance.

As one of the most under-insured countries in the world, the goal was to get people watching the series, talking about life insurance and making a proactive effort to plan ahead.

Skinny – Lawyer, Ad Agency & Strip Club

Winner – Audio

Another Lion going to New Zealand in the same week with this brilliant campaign by telecommunications company Skinny. The campaign takes ‘doing it on the cheap’ to a whole new level, allowing passers-by to call in and record the ads by reading out a script on a billboard, avoiding expensive celebrity voice talent and pricey recording studios. It works across multiple channels with the interactive OOH billboards creating a radio ad once audiences engage with it.

Eurofarma – Scrolling Therapy

Winner – Pharma

Brazilian-based multinational pharmaceutical corporation Eurofarma and global creative agency Dentsu Creative US teamed up to create an AI-powered facial expression recognition tool, which enabled patients with Parkinson’s disease to control their social media engagement using facial expressions.

One symptom of Parkinson’s is facial masking, where a patient loses the ability of expression. Statistically only 3% of patients practice facial expression exercises, largely because they’re time-consuming and tedious. The purpose of the campaign was to better engage and encourage people with Parkinson’s to exercise their facial expressions to stall the effects of this awful disease.

AnNahar – Newspapers Inside the Newspaper

Winner – Print & Publishing

The AnNahar newspaper used its pages to provide a voice for journalists who’ve seen their papers vanish over the years through political pressure. The ‘Newspapers Inside the Newspaper Edition’ featured six Lebanese newspapers that no longer exist, with the original journalists from the papers returning to write again, sending a strong message to strict regimes about freedom of speech.

So there you have it, our favourite winners from this year’s Cannes Lions Festival. We feel they’re all very worthy winners, with some seriously good creative thinking involved. But what about you? Do you think your brand could pick up a Lion with award-winning creative? Get in touch to see how we can help make your brand Lion worthy.