Underscoring the power of the human spirit, a defiant girl and a band of paralympian athletes were among the big winners on the final day (6/24) of the 64th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Taking home the Film Grand Prix was the “We're the Superhumans” UK Channel 4 promo for its coverage of the Paralympics. Directed by Dougal Wilson of Blink for 4creative, London (Channel 4's in-house creative agency), the piece features some 140 disabled individuals performing incredible feats. This Channel 4 anthem of empowerment was performed by The Superhuman Band, a 16-member ensemble of musicians with disabilities. The film was released in conjunction with the 2017 Paralympic Games.
Film Jury President Pete Favat, chief creative officer, Deutsch North America, said he and his judges looked for work that was bold, provocative and moving. Favat described the winning work as a piece that started a new conversation on the representation of disability and confronted diversity. “It makes us feel a range of emotions; it makes us happy, it makes us think and it’s extremely provocative. It pushes humanity forward,” he said.
Meanwhile the Titanium Grand Prix went to “Fearless Girl,” created by McCann New York for client State Street Global Advisors. The statue of a young girl staring down Wall Street’s famed “Charging Bull” has become popular worldwide. Artist Kristen Visbal crafted the statue of a four-foot tall lass in a windblown dress, standing in the path of the famous 11-foot-tall bull, an iconic symbol of commerce. “Fearless Girl” was installed in lower Manhattan to highlight the dearth of women on corporate boards.
Titanium Jury President Tham Khai Meng, worldwide co-chairman and chief creative officer at Ogilvy, said the work was “disruptive, irreverent and broke the mold. It’s beyond anything we’ve ever done. The bronze statue stands defiantly as a permanent icon, It’s the zeitgeist and culture is ready to embrace it. The Titanium jury loved it wholeheartedly.”
The top Titanium honor marked the fourth Grand Prix bestowed upon “Fearless Girl”; the first three coming on Monday (6/19) in the PR, Outdoor, and Glass: The Lion For Change” competitions.
Rounding out the Grand Prix winners on the closing night of the 2017 Cannes Lions was Boost Mobile’s “Boost Your Voice” from 180LA, which topped the Integrated Lions. Khai Meng, who presided over the Integrated Lions Jury, said he and his judges “felt strongly that true integration is about work that cuts through, transcends media and integrates into culture and society.” He went on to describe “Boost Your Voice” as an “incredible piece of work.”
This was the second Cannes Grand Prix honor for “Boost Your Voice” which earlier earned that distinction in Promo & Activation.
Overall, there were 240 entries in Integrated with 11 Lions awarded: 2 Gold, 5 Silver and 3 Bronze along with the Grand Prix for Boost Mobile. For a rundown of Integrated winners, click here.
The Titanium tally was 217 entries resulting in 4 Lions–3 Titanium Lions and the Grand Prix for “Fearless Girl.” For a lineup of the Titanium winners, click here.
In Film, 2,609 entries were received and 85 Lions awarded: 14 Gold, 28 Silver and 42 Bronze along with the Grand Prix for “We’re the Superhumans.” Click here for a rundown the Film Lions winners.
Among the notable Film Gold Lion winners were: Santander Bank’s Beyond Money directed by Kike Maillo via production company Oxigeno for MRM/McCann Spain, which earlier in the week won the Entertainment Lions Grand Prix; Sandy Hook Promise’s “Evan” directed by Henry-Alex Rubin of Smuggler for BBDO New York; Donate Life’s comedic public service piece “World’s Biggest A-Hole” directed by Speck and Gordon of Furlined for The Martin Agency, Richmond, Va.; The New York Times’ spots “Denton” and “Hicks,” part of “The Truth Is Hard to Find” campaign directed by Darren Aronofsky of Chromista for Droga5, New York; Nike’s “Unlimited Courage,” “Unlimited Youth” and “Unlimited Will” commercials directed by Max Malkin of PRETTYBIRD for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore.; and Old Spice’s “5 Year Plan” spot directed by Steve Ayson of MJZ for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland.
Palme d’Or, Agency honors
The coveted Palme d’Or, given to the most awarded production company, went to MJZ (USA). Second place went to Smuggler in the U.S., with The Mill (U.S.) finishing third.
The Agency Network of the Year mantle was bestowed upon BBDO Worldwide with Ogilvy & Mather in second place, and McCann Worldgroup third.
Agency of the Year went to Clemenger BBDO Melbourne second place to AlmapBBDO, Sao Paulo and third to McCann New York.
Independent Agency of the Year went to Droga5 New York; second to Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore., with 4creative, London in third.
And Holding Company of the Year was given to WPP, second place to Omnicom and third to Interpublic Group
BBDO set a record by being named Network of the year for a sixth time. Nineteen BBDO agencies from around the world combined to win 144 Lions across 24 categories including Creative Effectiveness, Cyber, Design, Digital, Direct, Entertainment, Film, Glass, Health & Wellness, Integrated, Media, Mobile, Outdoor, Print, PR, Radio and Titanium.
Clemenger BBDO Melbourne meanwhile won Agency of the Year on the basis of earning a total of 56 Lions and being responsible for two of the most awarded campaigns of the festival: “Meet Graham” for the Transport Accident Commission of Victoria, Australia, and Snickers’ “Hungerithm.” “Meet Graham” won 29 Lions including two Grand Prix in Health & Wellness and Cyber, and 8 Gold Lions. Snickers “Hungerithm” won six Golds and 21 Lions in total.
It’s the second year in a row that a BBDO agency has been named Agency of the Year at Cannes (last year’s winner was Almap BBDO in Brazil).
Andrew Robertson, president and CEO, BBDO Worldwide, said, “Let me put it simply: clients are interested in work that works. There is plenty of data to confirm the correlation between spectacular award-winning work and spectacular effects. I am very proud of, and grateful to, all of our award-winning agencies, but I do want to single out Clemenger BBDO’s work. ‘Meet Graham’ is literally unforgettable and saved lives. Snickers ‘Hungerithm’ creatively leverages a powerful platform, smart use of data, and retail integration to deliver spectacular results.”
The list of Lion-winning agencies includes Almap BBDO Brazil, AMV BBDO in UK, ANR BBDO in Sweden, BBDO Argentina, BBDO Bangkok, BBDO Chile, BBDO India, BBDO New York, CHE Proximity in Australia, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, Clemenger BBDO Sydney, Clemenger BBDO/Touchcast New Zealand, Colenso BBDO New Zealand, Contrapunto BBDO Madrid, Energy BBDO Chicago, Impact BBDO Dubai, Pages BBDO in Dominican Republic, Proximity Barcelona and Proximity Madrid.
Special awards
David Droga, founder and creative chairman of Droga5, collected the Lion of St. Mark in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the industry. He has won over 70 Gold Lions, as well as 16 Grands Prix and Titanium Lions in his career to date. At this year’s Festival, Droga5 picked up 3 Gold, 2 Silver and 6 Bronze Lions, along with a Grand Prix in Cyber for the boldly original work ‘Did you Mean Mailchimp?’
Burger King was named Creative Marketer of the Year to honor the brand for embracing and encouraging creativity across their brand communications and for the inspiring global marketing of their products. Axel Schwan, chief marketing officer of Burger King, and Fernando Machado, head of brand marketing at Burger King, collected the award on behalf of Burger King.
Screenwriter, director, campaigner and co-founder of Red Nose Day, Richard Curtis, collected the LionHeart Award for his continued and significant involvement in charitable initiatives, including Comic Relief, Red Nose Day, Live 8 and the Make Poverty History campaign.
The Grand Prix for Good was awarded to The Refugee Nation from Ogilvy New York for Amnesty International. Jury president Khai Meng of Ogilvy, who judged the award, said “There are more than 65 million displaced people without a nation or a symbol to stand behind. What started as a passion project for a small creative team has grown into a global movement to raise awareness for the international refugee crisis. We are proud of the Refugee Nation campaign, our work with Amnesty International and most importantly, the collaboration with Yara Said and Moutaz Arian that started it all.”
