Welcome to your daily debrief from Cannes Lions 2022
Will Clarke SVP Partner, Global Executive Creative Director at FleishmanHillard
Each day we’ve shared a round-up of the best content from the Cannes Lions festival
Things you need to know from Day 4 of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2022
The winners from Creative B2B, Direct, Media, Creative Data, and Social & Influencer were announced:
Hope Reef, Mars (Sheba), AMV BBDO London (Grand Prix, Media Channels)
The world’s coral is dying — 90% of reefs face extinction within 20 years. Mars Petcare brand Sheba — committed to conserving coral reefs — launched the world’s largest coral restoration program. The brand built a living, thriving coral reef in Indonesia. Spelling out HOPE, the reef is the first Outdoor to be visible on Google Earth (and “diveable” on Street View). Coverage for coral increased by 6900%. Fish populations have grown by 300%. In two years, the coral reef has gone from 99% dead to 70% alive. The campaign ROI was 308%.
Speaking in Colour, Sherwin-Williams Coil Coatings, Wunderman Thompson Minneapolis (Grand Prix, Creative B2B Products)
Sherwin-Williams wanted to show the architects of the world the 50,000 paint colours they possess. But they weren’t sure how to. Wunderman Thompson worked with them to develop an AI, voice-controlled tool that produces colours based on human inspiration and dreams. Launched exclusively to architects and visionaries who create iconic skylines and landmark buildings, Sherwin-Williams Coil Coatings and Wunderman Thompson have enabled architects to turn a memory or vision into their perfect colour, with just the use of words or praises.
Less Talk, More Bitcoin, Coinbase, Accenture Song New York (Grand Prix, Direct Channels, Use of Broadcast)
During the 2022 Super Bowl, an ad consisting of a bouncing QR code graced millions of Americans’ screens for 60 seconds. Reminiscent of a bouncing ‘DVD’ logo from yesteryear, it had viewers gripped with nostalgia, and before long, they began scanning the QR code. Viewers were then taken to a promotional website for the Coinbase app that offered a limited-time offering of $15 worth of Bitcoin. The ad proved so successful that the app’s website actually crashed during airtime.
Data Tienda, WECAPTIAL, DDB MEXICO — MEXICO CITY (Grand Prix, Creative Data, Data-driven Consumer Product)
According to Forbes Mexico, as many as 35 million women in Mexico are “invisible to the financial system.” Without a credit history, these women are unable to start a business or go into further education. WeCaptial wanted to change that and ensure the full financial inclusion of women within Mexico. Working with DDB Mexico, WeCapital was able to create a financial information centre called “Data Tienda” that aims to recover the real credit history of millions of Mexican women, that stays unregistered by banks but is regularly available in most neighbourhood businesses accounting records. The initiative has seen 23% of women receiving microcredits from banks all over Mexico, and that number is only set to grow.
The Unfiltered History Tour, Vice World News, Dentsu Creative (Grand Prix, Social & Influencer, Media & Entertainment)
The campaign took viewers into the history of disputed artefacts in the British Museum via augmented reality and immersive audio. Users scanned the artefacts, such as the Rosetta Stone and Parthenon marbles, unlocking an AR that took them back into the time when they were acquired, and then could listen to podcasts from experts in the countries from which they were taken. The judges said it won because it was a big idea that you could summarize in a tweet, a platform idea that was bold, and an immaculate and immersive execution.
The big PR Lion winners
The Breakaway, Decathlon, BBDO Belgium, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean/Walkie Talkie Gent (Grand Prix, PR, Social Engagement)
Sport brings benefits to not only physical health but also emotional and mental health. Decathlon wanted to show Belgium and its judicial system how virtual sport can become a tool for rehabilitation and reintegration for those within the prison system. Working with six inmates from Oudenaarde prison, Decathlon provided the six inmates with a bike, connected shoes, and equipment for the team to ride and train in preparation for a race against thousands of riders from the outside world, in the virtual world of Zwift. The Breakaway project showed the real power of a virtual sport. It was discussed by all mainstream media in Belgium and international cycling press. In combination with the social reach by Decathlon, this reached over 15 million people and earned 1.3 million in free media attention. After racing them live on Facebook on September 14, the Minister of Justice decided to expand The Breakaway project to all Belgian prisons.
The BVG Hemp Ticket — Come Home, Calm Down, Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) — Aör, Jung Von Matt AG Hamburg (Gold Lion, PR, Travel/Leisure)
In a bustling city like Berlin, the run-up to Christmas has always been a nerve-wracking experience. The BVG, Berlin’s public transport company, wanted to reduce stress and make driving home for Christmas relaxing. But how can you do that at a time when everyone is stressed about everything? With the calming effect of cannabis and the world’s first ticket that lets you swallow your anger — the Hemp Ticket. Made of edible paper and drizzled with hemp oil, the Hemp Ticket is usable aboard public transport and can be eaten after the last ride of a stressful day. Within hours of launch, the completely legal Hemp Tickets were on everyone’s lips. With a total reach of over 860 million contacts equalling a media spending of 13.7 million euros, BVG sparked conversation around the globe.
The Lost Class, Change The Ref Inc., Leo Burnett Chicago/Tusk Strategies New York (Gold Lion PR, Not-for-profit/Charity/Government)
The National Rifle Association (NRA) spends $250 million annually to advocate for pro-gun legislation. How do you force pro-gun advocates to reckon with the consequences of their punditry? This was a question posed to Leo Burnett by Change The Ref Inc., and from it, an idea was born. On June 4, 2021, former NRA President David Keene and prominent economist and gun advocate John Lott were invited to speak at the graduation of James Madison Academy, a fake online high school named after the author of the Second Amendment. As Keene and Lott walked on stage to face 3,044 empty chairs, each representing a would-be graduate of the class of 2021 who lost their life to gun violence, they were forced to face the consequences of their choices and actions head-on. The video was widely picked up by international media and ignited government-level discussions on gun reform.
#Flutwein — Our Worst Vintage, AHR — A Wine Region Needs Help for Rebuilding E.V., Sevonone Adfactory Unterfohring (Gold Lion, PR, Real time Response)
In July 2021, terrible floods destroyed the “Ahr” valley within Germany. More than
130 people died. People around the country and the world looked at a region that was known among connoisseurs for its good wines and saw nothing but devastation. But among the ruins a few bottles of their best wines were saved from the floods. Marked by the mud — the memory of a night of horror — they were the origin of a new brand, one that would aim to uplift those who had lost much to the floods: #Flutwein (Flood Wine). The sold bottles have helped raise over 4 million Euros and have brought awareness to the history and livelihoods of those within Ahr.
Gender Swap, Women in Games, BETC Paris (Gold Lion, PR, Content Creation & Production)
In 2022, 1 out of 2 gamers are women, which makes more than 1.5 billion female gamers across the globe. But women only represent 22% of employees in gaming studios. The video games industry has been spreading gender stereotypes and over-sexualization of women for decades, so to highlight this, #GenderSwap was born. #GenderSwap takes video games’ most beloved icons (most of them being male) and has them switch body animations with their female counterparts. With the help of gamers, male characters performed suggestive gestures, swayed their hips wildly and walked with their chests pushed out.
9/12: The untold story of reconnecting New York, Verizon, Verizon New York (Gold Lion, PR, Internal Communications & Employee Engagement)
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Verizon created a Verizon employee exclusive, one-day, real-time, immersive MMS experience using AR, VR, audio, and interactive media to tell the stories of the Verizon employees including technicians and engineers that worked tirelessly to reconnect communications in downtown Manhattan.
The experience showed current employees the role Verizon had in restoration efforts that became crucial for the comeback of the city, as well as the entirety of the U.S.
Vienna Strips on OnlyFans, Vienna Tourist Board — Jung Von Matt Donau Vienna (Gold Lion, PR, Breakthrough on a Budget)
Vienna is home to some of the world’s most iconic artworks. One hundred years ago, their artists fought for the free expression of their art. One hundred years later, Facebook and Instagram’s algorithms make their fight obsolete and labelled Viennese art as “pornographic.” To protest censorship, agency Jung Von Matt Donau Vienna took every piece of ‘explicit’ art and published them to OnlyFans, a popular site known for allowing pornographic content. The PR stunt went viral and quickly garnered 2,500 articles worldwide, reaching more than 730 million people, with 2.5 billion impressions and 150 million engagements on social. All achieved on a low campaign budget.
And that closes another year of Cannes Lions! Thank you to all the teams on the ground and across the FleishmanHillard network who contributed to this update.
Until next year!
