Being a selfish Xmas scrooge can have its benefits as evidenced by U.K. retailer Harvey Nichols’ “Sorry, I Spent It On Myself,” which was rewarded with the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity’s Promo & Activation Grand Prix.
The gist of the initiative from agency adam&eveDDB, London, was conveyed in a short directed by James Rouse of Outsider (who is handled stateside by Station Film). The film is a tongue-in-cheek 180-degree departure from the yuletide spirit, encouraging folks to be unreasonably selfish and spend less on their loved ones in order to spend as much as possible on themselves at retailer Harvey Nichols. Towards that end, adam&eveDDB, conceived and designed a new Harvey Nichols gift collection consisting of a range of Ultra Low Net Worth presents such as neatly packaged paper clips, wooden toothpicks and a sink plug. The film consists of vignettes in which people open their Ultra Low Net Worth presents as the gift givers enjoy the lavish gifts they bought themselves.
In total 20 gold, 29 silver and 44 bronze trophies were given across the Promo & Activation category.
The U.K. also took home a Grand Prix in the Direct Category. It was presented to OgilvyOne London for their entry for British Airways, “Magic of Flying.” The Direct Lions tally consisted of 18 gold, 17 silver and 39 bronze trophies.
The U.S. scored a Grand Prix in the PR category with Chipotle’s The Scarecrow from The Creative Artists Agency, Los Angeles, and Edelman New York. Produced by Shreveport, Louisiana-based animation studio Moonbot Studios (whose work includes the Oscar-winning short The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore). Scarecrow introduces us to robotic crows who operate the Crow Foods factory which churns out processed foods. The factory’s workers are regular scarecrows who have lost their jobs on the farm. In the bleak factory, cows and chickens are pumped full of hormones. One scarecrow, though, ultimately breaks out and forms his own restaurant where he serves all natural food. The film uses a haunting version of the song “Pure Imagination” (from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) recorded by Fiona Apple as its powerful soundtrack. (Music supervision was handled by duotone audio group, NY.)
The PR Lions count came in at 13 gold, 24 silver and 33 bronze trophies.
Meanwhile in the Creative Effectiveness category, there were six Lions with the Grand Prix going to McCann Melbourne for V/Line’s “Guilt Trips.” The premise has parents in remote towns laying guilt trips on their kids by sending them pre-paid train tickets from Aussie coach and railway transport company V/Line. Parents can also avail themselves of instructional guidebooks and YouTube videos which can help them guilt their offspring to occasionally visit.
Seminars
The opening series of discussion sessions featured world class speakers, from Hollywood A-listers to leaders in the social media realm, producers and industry legends; the programme so far is proving to be invaluable and enriching for delegates. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker shared a stage with Joanna Coles, Cosmopolitan’s editor-in-chief. Together they discussed the issues women face in balancing work, love, relationships, sex, children, money and power.
Chuck Porter, chairman of Crispin Porter + Bogusky and chief strategist at MDC Partners, used his session to do a creative reality check and give a brief message on behalf of the seven billion people who aren’t at Cannes Lions.
And Futurebrand’s Christopher Nurko brought pilot’s André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard to the stage to discuss Solar Impulse; the first ever solar-powered plane capable of flying day and night.
