McCann Melbourne’s train-safety public service video for the Melbourne Metro, “Dumb Ways to Die,” tonight added a Film Lions Grand Prix and an Integrated Grand Prix to its haul at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. This brought the final tally for “Dumb” to a smart, record-setting five Grand Prix honors, having earlier in the week taken the top slot in the Direct, PR and Radio Lions contests.
The animated piece–in which endearing blob characters make idiotic decisions which lead to their demise–has generated some 50 million YouTube views and brought charm and humor to what could typically be a morbid message, helping to raise awareness about being safe around trains.
Up until this year, the largest Grand Prix count in a single year was three, attained by Tourism Queensland’s “Best Job in the World” in 2009. Tying that remarkable showing this year was Intel/Toshiba’s The Beauty Inside, an episodic social film on Facebook featuring a male protagonist who wakes up as a different person every day before finally falling in love. Viewers auditioned via web cam to help portray the lead character.
Directed by Drake Doremus via production house B-Reel for agency Pereira & O’Dell, San Francisco, The Beauty Inside this evening earned Grand Prix distinction in both Film and Branded Content & Entertainment (as well as a Best Integrated Content Campaign Gold Lion). Earlier, it won the Cyber Grand Prix.
Also scoring in a big way tonight was Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches” from Ogilvy Brazil, taking the Titanium Grand Prix as well as an Integrated Gold Lion. The Dove campaign centered on a video in which a criminal sketch artist draws women based on self-descriptions and how other described them. The differences are striking, underscoring that women’s self-image falls short of capturing their true beauty, as more accurately reflected through the eyes of others. Director was John X Carey via Paranoid US.
Meanwhile the Film Craft Lions Grand Prix went to Channel 4’s “Meet the Superhumans” promoting the network’s coverage of the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Athletes bound in wheelchairs, others missing a limb, still others with varying forms of paralysis are seen hitting the track and field, the basketball court, the soccer field, the gym, the swimming pool and the weight lifting room, among other competitive and practice venues. They are determined, powerful and ready to go for the Gold, Silver and Bronze in the Paralympics.
Several athletes are juxtaposed with images of what made them physically challenged. In one stark shot, a male athlete is seen next to the automobile wreckage of 20 years ago which had injured him. Another scenario depicts an ultrasound reading reflecting an apparent birth defect. Yet another scene captures a military action gone wrong as an explosion rocks the world of a soldier who nonetheless perseveres to become a world class Paralympics competitor. Snippets of these stirring stories are meshed within the context of this minute-and-a-half promo spot to convey just how far these athletes have come in order to make the grade for the 2012 Paralympics.
As we see stirring images of these athletes training and performing at a high level, supered messages appear on screen which read, “Forget everything you thought you knew about strength”/”Forget everything you thought you knew about humans.” Indeed, “it’s time to do battle.”/”Meet the Superhumans.”
This :90 promo was directed by Tom Tagholm who was also the lead creative for Channel 4 in-house agency 4creative, London, with visual effects from MPC. “Meet the Superhumans” additionally won a Film Lions Gold Lion
Gold highlights
Among the notable Gold Lion winners this evening were:
o PETA’s “98% Human” out of BBDO New York earned The Mill the Film Craft Gold Lion for Best Visual Effects.
o Taking the Film Craft Gold Lion for Music was “Dumb Ways to Die” with the song of that same title written by musician Ollie McGill from the band The Cat Empire and performed by Emily Lubitz. The video also won Gold Lions for Best Use or Integration of Music as well as for Best Interactive Content Campaign.
o Winning an Integrated Gold Lion was IBM’s A Boy and His Atom, billed as being “the world’s smallest movie,” from Ogilvy & Mather New York and directed by Nico Casavecchia of 1stAveMachine.
o Earning a Film Gold Lion was the DirecTV campaign consisting of the spots “Funeral,” “Dinner Party” and “Pizzeria” out of Grey New York and directed by Tom Kuntz of MJZ.
o Carlton Draught’s “Beer Chase” copped a Film Gold Lion. It was directed by Steve Ayson of MJZ and The Sweet Shop for Clemenger BBDO Melbourne.
o Axe’s “Susan Glenn” garnered a Film Gold Lion for BBH New York. Ringan Ledwidge of Rattling Stick directed.
o Southern Comfort’s “Beach” also won a Film Gold Lion for Wieden+Kennedy, New York. Director was Tim Godsall of Biscuit Filmworks.
Palme d’Or, Agency of the Year
Winning the Palme d’Or for Best Production house was MJZ in the U.S. Finishing second and third in the derby were two other U.S. firms–Biscuit Filmworks followed by O Positive Films.
Ogilvy Brasil took the Agency of the Year mantle. Finishing second was McCann Melbourne. Almap BBDO, Sao Paulo, took third place.
Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore., earned Independent Agency of the Year distinction. Serviceplan, Munich, finished second. Third place went to Wieden+Kennedy, New York.
Ogilvy & Mather was named Network of the Year. Next was BBDO, with third place going to DDB.
