A short film titled Beyond Money for Spain’s Santander Bank won the Entertainment Lions Grand Prix at Cannes. Directed by Kike Maillo via production company Oxigeno for MRM/McCann Spain, the sci-fi short centers on a woman who sells her memories, sparking a discussion about the value of money while at the same time offering entertainment appealing to Millennials at a time when banks, after the global financial meltdown, were extremely unpopular.
In fact the overall campaign yielded a record number of new account openings for Santander, breaking through to a younger demographic with a 123 Smart account that offers experiences beyond money, including access to education programs and online training, and opportunity grants. The 17-minute film screened at theaters in Spain.
Entertainment Lions Jury president PJ Pereira, co-founder and chief creative officer of Pereira & O’Dell, said the Grand Prix winner was “a perfect example of how a brand can make a statement, but also conquer and earn precious consumer time.”
The Entertainment Lions recognize creativity that turns content into culture. From 1,793 entries received, 78 Lions were awarded–12 Gold, 22 Silver and 43 Bronze.
Garnering a pair of Entertainment Gold Lions was the Werner Herzog feature-length documentary Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World. Produced by Saville Productions for Netscout and agency Pereira & O’Dell, the film premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, and was acquired for worldwide distribution by Magnolia Pictures.
Another notable Entertainment Gold Lion winner was Sandy Hook Promise’s “Evan” directed by Henry-Alex Rubin of Smuggler for BBDO New York. The short tells the story of Evan, a teen counting down the days to summer break, who demonstrates his boredom by writing on a table in the school library. The next day he finds someone has responded back. While we watch Evan’s story, another darker tale is unfolding simultaneously, but no one notices. It turns out the person no one notices is showing all the warning signs of perpetrating gun violence at the school.
UK Channel 4/Paralympics’ “We’re the Superhumans” was additionally prominent among Gold Lion Entertainment winners. Directed by Dougal Wilson of Blink for agency 4Creative, the short showcased the brilliance of Paralympic athletes who know no limitations.
Also earning Gold in the Entertainment Lions competition was Monoprix’s “Label of Love” from Paris agency Rosapark. British duo Thirty Two via production house Insurrection directed this online short which follows a young boy and girl whose destinies cross paths thanks to the words found on the iconic Monoprix retail store packaging. It starts with the lad constructing messages from the packaging and slipping them into the locker of the lass at school. A bond forms though the girl does not know the identity of her admirer. But one day, the girl’s family leaves town and the budding romance comes to a halt. Years later, though, there’s an unexpected reunion–and we see that the messages from packaging have had a lasting impact.
For a rundown of Entertainment Lion winners, click here.
Entertainment Lions For Music
In just its second year, the Entertainment Lions for Music bestowed its Grand Prix upon NY agency Johannes Leonardo for its Adidas Originals work, which helps to define originality, noting that it doesn’t always mean having to be first.
The campaign featured artists such as MadeinTYO, Desiigner and Snoop Dog reinventing “My Way,” the anthem tune for individuality sung most famously by Frank Sinatra.
Music and sound studio Human was behind the Adidas “Original Is Never Finished” ad, the centerpiece of the campaign. The piece–which earlier won Best in Show at the 5th Annual AMP Awards for Music and Sound–features a hard-edged, hip-hop- styled adaptation of the 1969 Sinatra hit, with snippets of Old Blue Eyes’ version interspersed with more gritty, updated segments. (“My Way,” which features lyrics by Paul Anka, is itself an adaptation of the French pop hit “Comme d’habitude,” written by Claude François and Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by François and Gilles Thibaut.) Human’s James Leibow and Morgan Visconti did the arrangement, with the studio’s Michael Jurasits serving as co-creative lead with Visconti. It was produced for Human by EP James Wells.
The Entertainment Lions for Music celebrate creative musical collaborations and original music content; 511 entries resulted in 33 Lions being awarded: 5 Gold, 11 Silver and 16 Bronze. Click here for the Entertainment Lions for Music winners.
Media
R/GA earned the Media Lions Grand Prix for its “Innovating Saving” campaign for e-commerce company Jets.com.
Mike Cooper, worldwide CEO, PHD, led the Media Lions Jury who chose the work by a then start-up retailer for its highly sustainable communication strategy. Driven by price and consumer data, it utilized social media and search insight to produce the commercial results of big brands.
The Media Lions celebrate the context of creativity, enhanced and amplified by a game-changing channel strategy. From 2949 entries, 95 Lions were awarded–9 Gold, 28 Silver and 57 Bronze.
In contention for but not scoring the Grand Prix was McCann NY’s “Fearless Girl” for State Street Global Advisors which took a pair of Media Gold Lions on the same night it also garnered two Design Gold Lions, adding to a haul which thus far also includes three Grand Prix honors (in the PR, Outdoor and Glass Lion competitions), three Direct Lions–a Gold, a Silver and a Bronze, and two more Golds Lions in the Design competition. For Media Lions winners, click here.
Design
Thailand made history, scoring its first Grand Prix ever. Earning that distinction for the country was agency CJ Worx for its “The Unusual Football Field” campaign on behalf of client AP Thailand, a property development company.
With space at a premium in a crowded district in Bangkok, this campaign showcased the ingenuity of taking different sized empty areas and turning them into soccer fields.
Jury president Sandra Planeta, founder and creative director, Planeta Design, Sweden, said of the Grand Prix winner, “It’s clever, smart, simple, purposeful and useful design.”
The Design Lions recognize visual craftsmanship, demonstrating how design defines a brand or communicates its key messages. From 2780 entries, 112 Lions were awarded: 20 Gold, 33 Silver and 58 Bronze.
Among Gold Lion Design winners from the U.S. were–besides the aforementioned two scored by McCann NY for “Fearless Girl”–Ogilvy NY which took two Gold Lions for Amnesty International’s “Refugee Nation” campaign, Pereira & O’Dell, the recipient of a Gold for Ignite’s “Writing Our Rights” The Empowerment Notebook,” and VML, Kansas City, which garnered Gold for Youth Ambassadors’ “Welcome to My Neighborhood.” Click here for a rundown of Design Lion winners.
Product Design
The Product Design Lions recognize creativity that fuses form and function. The Product Design jurors, led by Ruth Berktold, owner, YES architecture, Germany, selected TigoUNE’s “Payphone Bank” by Grey Colombia, for the Grand Prix. A purposeful, useful and ultimately world-changing work, it transformed the interface of a payphone into micro savings accounts to support Colombian communities. From 435 entries received in Product Design, 22 Lions were awarded including the Grand Prix–4 Gold, 6 Silver and 11 Bronze.
For Product Design Lion winners, click here.
Special honors
Sir Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group (UMG), was honored as Cannes Lions Media Person of the Year. The award recognizes an individual who has shaped the future of creative communications and stands as an influential figure in today’s media landscape.
Media Network of the Year was also announced: 1st place went to OMD Worldwide; 2nd place to Mediacom; and 3rd to Starcom.
