My Top 3 Winners from This Year’s Cannes Lions

Last month, the great and the good from the global advertising industry descended on Cannes for the prestigious Lions Awards.

Being a lover of a clever creative, I’ve given you a rundown of my three favourite Grand Prix winners and why, IMHO, they deserved the coveted gongs amongst stiff competition…..enjoy!

·        Golin absolutely nailed its Misheard Version campaign for Specsavers and very deservedly won the Audio & Radio Award with some seriously impressive results. Utilising ‘80s favourite (and every middle-aged woman’s first love) Rick Astley, was a stroke of genius. Watch LLLLITL’s case study on YouTube for full details https://youtu.be/3M_htJ6lZ04The reason it worked, and Specsavers saw over a 1000% increase in hearing test bookings, was because it resonated so well with the Gen X audience, who are exactly the people Specsavers wanted to reach with this campaign. A mix of nostalgia, humour and Rick Astley proved to be the winning combo. Bravo Golin!

·        As we’re absolutely obsessed with dogs at Nobull this one was an easy pick for me. A REALLY awesome mix of clever tech and emotional heartstring-pulling by creative agency Colenso BBDO (based in Auckland). The Adoptable campaign won the Outdoor Award for Pedigree. This was a great example of a brand calling itself out on its CSR policy – as well as giving a glow up to rescue pups and aiding the dog adoption process. Have a watch here about how this digital OOH campaign was updated in real time https://youtu.be/TZWrW-TTBMs

·        This one gives me the same feeling I get when Shania belts out ‘Let’s Go Girls’. It feels, rightly or wrongly, like a massive kick in the nuts to all men that have ever wronged me. I remember seeing it for the first-time last year and I wanted to sob and burn my bra simultaneously, all the while channelling my inner Emmeline Pankhurst.  Marcel’s Women’s Football campaign for Orange took the Entertainment Lions for Sport Award. If you haven’t seen it, grab some popcorn, pull up a pew and get ready to air punch, like you’ve never air punched before, case study here: https://youtu.be/9G_IqAdfFuo

So there you have it, my top 3 but if this has left you wanting more from the 70^th Annual Festival of Creativity then The Drum has a fab rundown of all the winners – so you can admire the genius for hours from the comfort of your own home (or office) https://www.thedrum.com/topics/cannes-lions

Au revoir!