3 Film Lions Grand Prix honors bestowed--to “#wombstories,” Nike’s “You Can’t Stop Us,” and Lacoste’s “Crocodile Inside”
Cannes Lions has unveiled the winners from the Film Lions, Titanium Lions and Sustainable Development Goals Lions, as well as Glass: The Lion for Change, in the final Awards Show of the week. Also revealed were the winners of the Special Awards for 2020/2021 and the Grand Prix for Good.
Bodyform/Libresse/Essity’s “#wombstories” came up big, winning one of three Film Lions Grand Prix honors awarded, as well as the Titanium Grand Prix. Directed by Nisha Ganatra of Chelsea Pictures, “#wombstories” helped propel AMV BBDO London to Agency of the Year and Chelsea to a coveted Palme d’Or win.
Addressing the Cannes Lions Live audience during the Awards Show, Simon Cook, managing director, LIONS, said, “Over the past five days we’ve seen the return of the global creative benchmark, and the winning work that sets the bar for the entire industry. We’ve seen inspirational talks, taken part in learning programs, celebrated creative excellence through our Award Shows and Debriefs–and come together as a community, united in the belief that creativity has the power to build business, shape society, and change the world for the better.”
A total of 478 jurors from across 55 countries have been involved with judging the Lions and setting the new benchmark in creative excellence. They have awarded a total of 982 Lions across 53 countries.
Communication Track
In the Film Lions, which celebrate the creativity of the moving image, 83 Lions were awarded by the jury, from 2,726 entries received: 8 Gold, 25 Silver and 47 Bronze. Three Grands Prix were awarded: “Crocodile Inside,” for Lacoste, by BETC Paris, and directed by Megaforce via production house Iconoclast; The second Grand Prix went to: “Nike: You Can’t Stop Us” by Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore., and directed by Oscar Hudson of Pulse Films; and the third Grand Prix to: ‘#WombStories’, for Bodyform/Libresse/Essity, by AMV BBDO London and directed by Nisha Ganatra of Chelsea Pictures. All three Grand Prix winners can be viewed below following list of Special Awards .
The Titanium Lions honor game-changing creativity and from 196 entries received, 7 Lions were awarded: 6 Titanium Lions and the Grand Prix, which was presented to: “#WombStories” for Bodyform/Libresse/Essity, by AMV BBDO London. This groundbreaking work used True View technology and world-class female animators to chronicle the experiences of people with wombs. Talking about just one of the reasons that this piece was Titanium Grand Prix worthy, Jury President Susan Credle, Global Chief Creative Officer, FCB, said, “This work is going to teach women about their bodies and this work is going to teach doctors about women’s bodies, and for us (the jury) that was exceptional. We actually felt that we could see medical books being rewritten because of this campaign.”
Good Track
In Glass: The Lion for Change, which celebrates culture-shifting creativity, 187 entries were received and 7 Lions honored by the jury: 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to: “I am,” for Starbucks, by VMLY&R Brazil, São Paulo, which transformed a Starbucks store into a registry office where trans people could legally change their names, free of charge, creating a space they would always feel welcome to visit.
The Sustainable Development Goals Lions celebrate creative problem solving, solutions or other initiatives that harness creativity and positively impact the world. This year, Cannes Lions has partnered with Parley for the Oceans to make the iconic Sustainable Development Goals Lion trophies out of Parley Ocean Plastic® derived from reclaimed fishing nets. 736 entries were received and 20 Lions awarded: 3 Gold, 4 Silver and 12 Bronze. The Grand Prix was presented to: “The 2030 Calculator,” Doconomy, from Doconomy, Stockholm/FARM, Stockholm, Sweden. Jury President, Eduardo Maruri, VP Global Creative Board & President/CEO Europe, Grey Worldwide, said, “It matched every single criteria that we as a jury agreed at the beginning: scalable, touches multiple Sustainable Development Goals and is a solution not an awareness problem. I think the Doconomy Calculator has the potential to actually change the world.”
The Grand Prix for Good–awarded to a Gold Lion winning piece of work unable to win a Grand Prix in its category because it is created for a non-profit organization or charity–was awarded to “#StillSpeakingUp DeepTruth,” Propuesta Cívica + Reporters Sans Frontieres, Publicis Mexico/Publicis Latvia, Riga; a first Grand Prix for Latvia.
The following Special Awards were also presented:
Holding Company of the Festival 2020/21
- 1. WPP
- 2. Omnicom
- 3. Interpublic Group
Network of the Festival 2020/21
- 1. FCB
- 2. Ogilvy
- 3. BBDO Worldwide
Agency of the Festival 2020/21
- 1. AMV BBDO, London
- 2. Publicis Italy, Milan
- 3. FCB Chicago
Independent Agency of the Festival 2020/21
- 1. Wieden+Kennedy, Portland
- 2. The Bloc, New York
- 3. Rethink, Toronto
Palme D’Or 2020/21
- 1. Chelsea Pictures, USA
- 2. Pulse Films, USA
- 3. Division, France
- 4. SMUGGLER, USA
- 5. PRETTYBIRD, USA
Creative brand of the Festival 2020/21
- 1. Burger King
- 2. Bodyform/Libresse
- 3. Dove
Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Communication
Publicis Italy, Milan, Italy
Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Craft
AMV BBDO, London, UK
Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Entertainment
72andSunny, Los Angeles, USA
Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Experience
McCANN, New York, USA
Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Good
VMLY&R Brazil, São Paulo, Brazil
Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Reach
FCB Chicago, USA
Independent Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Communication
Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, USA
Independent Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Craft
Work & Co, New York, USA
Independent Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Entertainment
1. Edelman, London, UK
1. GUT, São Paulo, Brazil
Independent Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Experience
Uncommon, London, UK
Independent Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Good
FARM, Stockholm, Sweden
Independent Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Reach
GUT, Miami, USA
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More