The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity opened with winners announced and honored in the Promo & Activation, Direct, Mobile and Press Lion competitions.
Volvo garnered Grand Prix honors in both Promo & Activation and Direct Lions via Grey London and Grey New York, respectively. The former was for Volvo UK’s “Lifepaint,” which according to Promo & Activation Jury president Matt Eastwood, worldwide chief creative officer of J. Walter Thompson, not only raised the bar creatively but also made a positive contribution to humanity. “It reinforces a life-long commitment to a strategy of safety and then elegantly turns that to a guiding purpose not just for the cars, but for all of society. It’s a simple, easy to apply solution that will genuinely save lives.”
Lifepaint is a reflective spray that can be applied to bicycles–thus making them safer to drive at night–as well as clothes, shoes, baby strollers, backpacks, dog leashes and collars. Lifepaint was developed by Grey and Swedish company Albedo100 with Volvo in mind, continuing the automakers safety legacy. The campaign showed Lifepaint as increasing cyclists’ visibility when headlights are shone upon them.
Meanwhile The Direct Lions Grand Prix for Volvo came on the strength of Grey NY’s “Interception.” Rather than run a Super Bowl ad, Grey launched a social campaign tied to the Big Game. Viewers were urged to tweet #VolvoContest when any car commercial aired during the Super Bowl and nominate a deserving person to win a new Volvo XC60.
“Smart, strategic, creative and real-time, Volvo zagged and created a new conversation which hijacked the Super Bowl. It pushed and rethought what you can do in direct,” said Direct Lions Jury president Judy John, CEO and CCO, Leo Burnett Canada. “‘Interception’ is a deep example of what’s going on. It’s an exciting time in the category and the business.”
From a total of 2,813 entries, 83 Direct Lions were presented. Promo & Activation drew 3,196 entries from which 117 Lions were awarded.
In Mobile, 57 Lions were narrowed-down from 1,246 entries, with Google Mountain View taking home the Grand Prix for Google “Cardboard”–an idea that almost rendered the technology invisible in order to allow the experience to seem natural. The do-it-yourself, low tech idea was simply a fold-out cardboard mount for a mobile phone that served as an affordable virtual reality starter kit. Mobile Jury president Joanna Monteiro, VP, creative director of FCB Brazil, said that “Cardboard” had made VR far more accessible. “The jury believed that this is a game-changer since it democratizes VR. Cardboard costs about $20 and will allow brands to engage many more consumers, offering them a different level of experience.”
Rounding out Cannes’ opening day winners was the Press competition in which 79 Lions were awarded from 4,470 entries. Taking the Grand Prix was a campaign–consisting of “Dog,” “Baby,” “Squirrel” and “Moths”–for the City of Buenos Aires’ Public Bike System from agency The Community (formerly la communidad), Miami. The illustrated ads depict the dynamic of chasing after something–one illustration depicts moths pursuing a light, for example, while others show a dog chasing its tail, a baby drawn to a breast for feeding, and a squirrel going for an acorn.
Press Jury president Pablo del Campo, worldwide creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi, Argentina, said that the jury had seen many entries which had “brought light” to the category, but the Grand Prix stood out for its freshness, originality and, ultimately, creative bravery. “There were other great ideas that we loved, but we thought that this one was the most challenging and farthest away from the comfort zone.”
Click on the following links for a full rundown of winners spanning Promo & Activation, Mobile, Press and Direct Lions.
