Cannes Lions – Page 2

June 21, 2012

Mannes in Cannes // Part 4 // Inspiration days

It’s really kicking off here in Cannes now. I know this because Peri van Papendorp did “the worm” at Tuesday night’s opening gala. And so he should. Ogilvy Cape Town upped it’s Lion count to 5, with 2 Silver Lions for Volkswagen “Bluemotion Label” and Carling Black Label “Be the Coach”. We also got South Africa’s first ever Mobile Lion. There was much ululating and downing of tequila shots and yeeehaaaaing. South Africa also picked up 2 Silvers in Outdoor for Y&R’s Landrover “Eyes” work and the Hunt Lascaris Campaign for Enterprise meats “Thicker slices“.

Earlier in the evening we had taken in some of the best work yet in the Outdoor, Mobile and Media Lions ceremony. Once again one of the big themes for the year emerged, shiny new tech embedded in really good ideas, like the fabulous “Invisible drive” for Merecedes Benz from the geniuses at Jung Von Matt in Hamburg. It won one of 2 Grand Prix’s in Outdoor last night. The Germans really seem to be ahead in the application of all the new digital tech and platforms, probably because they are developing and perfecting most of them. Provided it’s only there they keep striving for world domination then we’ll all be safe. The other Grand Prix went to our very own Ogilvy China. Fabulous story behind this one. The Art Director who did the work, Jonathan Mak Long, is 20 years old. It is his first year in advertising. This is one of the first pieces of work he has ever done. So it’s all falling into place quite nicely for him.

The big story of the night was the first ever Mobile Lions Ceremony. The words Mobile Creativity generally do not inspire stratospheric levels of goose-bumpy possibility in your average creative person, but they should now. The work was top class. Some of my favourite pieces of the whole bloody over-priced circus that is Cannes were on show last night. The Mobile Grand Prix went to the incredible “Hilltop Re-imagined” work for Coke, all part of Google’s project:rebrief. More about that later. The “Fake Ad” for Bradesco Seguros by Almap BBDO Brasil was the first piece of truly great work created specifically for iPad, we’ll be kicking ourselves for ages that we didn’t think of it first. And then another of my favourites won Gold, the genius “Backseat Driver” idea for Toyota by Party in Tokyo (remember the small Japanese man who told us we were all shit, well this was his work, clearly he is not shit).

And on to Media Lions, which also threw up some great stuff. Predictably the Carlsberg “Bikers” were in there by Belgian agency Duvall Guillaume Modem, a viral that everybody watched loads of times. This familiarity has been a feature of the work this year, a lot of it is already very well known because of the viral nature of really good, absorbing content, I suppose that gives it extra momentum coming in to Cannes. Finally there were 2 Golds for absolutely beautiful ideas. The first, by Saatchi’s Milan, was “Integration Day” a piece done for World Down’s Syndrome Day. It is remarkable, please watch it. Then there was the “Stumbling Stones” from Jung Von Matt Hamburg, a piece done to remind young Germans of the horrors of the Holocaust. Apparently over 50 percent of them are blissfully unaware it ever happened.

Today I saw a presentation on Google’s landmark work, :project rebrief. Seated at the front of the room were some of the greatest creatives of all time, heroes of the ad revolution of the sixties. They presided, in their careers, over the advent of television, the last great technology transformation in advertising. It was fascinating to hear their thoughts on the digital transformation we are undergoing now, you could feel history shifting around you, goose bumpy stuff. I sat a few feet away from Helmut Krone’s writer Paula Green, responsible for “We’re number 2, that’s why we try harder.”

Amil Gargano was there too, creator of “Drive it like you hate it” for Volvo. And also Harvey Gabor, the man who did the most famous Coke commercial of all time

“Hilltop”. Harvey is in his 80’s, has had a stroke, and struggles to talk, but he was profound and feisty and inspiring about how creative people should go about their business. The google : rebrief project has inspired a full length documentary feature, which will be premiering at Cannes on Friday. Can’t wait.

From there it was on to a Workshop with Geoff Goodby of Goodby Silverstein, the man who gave us pieces of ad history like Budweiser Lizards and Got Milk. The title of his talk was “Why aren’t they buying my brilliant fucking idea? This is a question I frequently ask myself. Geoff answered it very well. I will try to remember what he said and let you all know when I get home. It may come in handy one day, possibly as early as next week.

Tonight (Wednesday night, although you will probably be reading this on Thursday, stay with me here) we have the Radio Lions, Press, Cyber and Design. South Africa has a veritable light brigade of Shortlists which are sure to come lolloping home with Lions. Well, hopefully anyway. We are “traditionally strong” in Radio and Print, whatever that means (It would be a good thing if we became “traditionally strong” in digital and mobile pretty smartly). As a country we are heading for the biggest haul of Lions we have ever had at Cannes. As an agency we at Ogilvy Cape Town are already having our best year ever at Cannes. I am so proud of everything that has happened this week. Here’s hoping we are in for a few more surprises. If anything it would give me a superb reason to have a celebratory bag of Maltesers.

Sent from my iPad

June 21, 2012June 21, 2012

SA Cannes Lions Winners: Day 3

SA walked away with a fantastic total of 14 awards last night, 8 for Radio and 6 for Press.

DDB, NET#WORK BBDO, and TBWA all did incredibly well, DDB for their fantastic McDonalds press work, and NET#WORK BBDO yet again dominated Radio with great spots for Mercedes and Chicken Licken.

Ogilvy South Africa’s Johannesburg office also picked up their first Lion this year for Greenpeace, and Ogilvy Cape Town snatched yet another award, this time for a Stimorol Taste Twist Radio ad (Both Bronze awards).

South Africa seem to be really strong internationally at traditional advertising, lets hope we can swing with the same strength towards the newer mediums.

See the results and work below.

Press:

McDonald’s, Kids Party // DDB Johannesburg // Print Restaurants & Fast Food, and Illustration (Gold x 2)

Enterprise, Mother in-Law & Mommy’s boy // TBWA\HUNT\LASCARIS Johannesburg // Print Savoury Foods (Silver)

Road Lodge, Alarm, Natures Call, Late Night TV // TBWA\HUNT\LASCARIS Johannesburg // Print Travel, Transport & Tourism (Bronze) [Work not found]

Die Burger, Blanket // Draft FCB Cape Town // Print Publications & Media (Bronze)

McDonald’s, Cuckoo Clock, Trophy // DDB Johannesburg // Print Copywriting (Bronze)

Radio

Mercedes, Cabo Reunion, Boss // NET#WORK BBDO Johannesburg // Radio Cars & Automotive Services, and Best Scriptwriting (2 x Gold)

DOOM Super Multi Insecticide, Colony, Secret // TBWA\HUNT\LASCARIS Johannesburg // Radio Household (Bronze) [Work not found]

Benzac Anti Acne Cleansing Cream, Farts // NET#WORK BBDO Johannesburg // Radio Pharmacy (Bronze) [Work not found]

Chicken Licken, halitosis, Bacteria // NET#WORK BBDO Johannesburg // Radio Restaurants & Fast Food Outlets (Bronze)

Greenpeace, Miriam, Michael, Daughter, Reunited // Ogilvy Johannesburg // Radio Public Health & Safety, Public Awareness Messages (Bronze)

Kraft, Stimorol TasteTwist – Choir // Ogilvy Cape Town // Radio Best Use of Music and/or Sound Design (Bronze)

DOOM Super Multi Insecticide, Colony, Secret // TBWA\HUNT\LASCARIS Johannesburg // Radio Best Scriptwriting (Bronze) [Work not found]

June 19, 2012

Mannes in Cannes // Part 3 // Lessons in fragility

If day one was all about discovering shitness then day 2 was all about my sense of fragility.

This may partly be because I am trying to survive on very little sleep and occasional mouthfuls of Maltesers. Slugs of ice cold Perrier provide only partial and temporary relief. Arianna Huffington, she of the Huffington post, spoke about lack of sleep in her wonderful seminar yesterday. She says it is the central malaise of modern society and the cause of many of our ills. She also said that lack of sleep has somehow strangely become associated with male virility. In other words men who have had 3 hours sleep will comment “I only had 3 hours sleep and 2 handfuls of Maltesers but here I am battling through the day like a champion“. Women do not do this because they are, on the whole, more sensible and sentient beings. She also said lots of other stuff and identified a few megatrends.

The other great talk yesterday was Contagious magazine’s annual trend summary of where the world is going, and what the work is telling us about the present and the future. Truly fascinating stuff. My proudest moment at Cannes so far (apart from boasting in a virile way about having has no sleep and living on mouthfuls of Maltesers) was when they played the Carling Be the Coach case study as an example of truly engaging, social work. You get quite a kick when 5000 ad people are listening to the most influential trend spotters in communications flag your work as terribly important. Yeeee bloody haaaaa.

And so on to last night’s awards, where I wore smart black leather shoes instead of trainers (I thought they would bring me luck, more formal y’know). This turned out to be a mistake, as Steve Back, Aussie Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy Singapore launched into a tirade of derogatory comment about my footwear, “did your wife buy you those mate”, cue raucous harharharing from gathered creatives, all wearing trainers to formal evening. Anyhow, they turned out to be a bit in the lucky side, as Ogilvy Cape Town went on to win 3 Lions. Two for Carling Be the Coach and one for Volkswagen Bluemotion Label. It is so bloody wonderful to be on the scoreboard here folks, I cannot tell you enough about the quality of the work we are up against. I will, however, try. Please look at it, it is truly a reflection of the way we should all be thinking at the moment.

Take a look at the brilliant “Beauty of a second” piece by Leo Burnett Milan. Truly beautiful little one second short films that really make you feel better about life. It is so good when advertising improves the world a little bit, and that was a recurring theme last night, brands doing their bit for people, for places, for society in general. I suppose digital conversation platforms and social media have made brands super sensitive about the people they are talking to, and the people who are talking about them, so in order to be liked, to guide positive and inspiring conversations about themselves, they do positive, inspiring, altruistic work. Which is making our industry pretty much the greatest it has ever been. Either that or I am just sleep deprived and on a chocolate high.

Check out “Bring your own cup day” for 711 Slurpees from Leo Burnett Melbourne, for just the coolest, feelgoodest promotion. “The return of the dictator Ben Ali” by our very own Ogilvy Tunisia is totally, wonderfully powerful and inspiring, it is work that changes a country. Then the Hellman’s “Mayonnaise recipe receipt” is a little piece of genius from Ogilvy Sao Paulo, once again unexpectedly rewarding people with a cool, smart brand experience. South Africa’s Metropolitan Republic won big with a Gold and Silver Lion for Wimpy “Braille burgers“, a truly popular piece that went crazy on the web, good on yer boys. The big, big winner on the night was “Small business gets an official day” for American Express from Crispin Porter Bogusky, Boulder. Once again a brand acting for the better good of all, this time doing it’s bit for small businesses. Deservedly it won 2 Grand Prix’s.

And so day 2 came to a subdued close. All that remains is for me to shout out an unashamed plug for my twitter handle @MrChristiffa, where I try and keep an irreverent and watchful up to the minute eye in things. Although it has been pointed out to me that for the past 2 days I have been hash tagging a bar in Amsterdam instead of the Cannes Lions Festival, i am a bit of a digital immigrant I am afraid. If you want an altogether more reliable and comprehensive view on things then @OgilvyCT and of course @ididthatad are probably the better follows, with our very own Kate Desmarais and Julie Maunder at the controls. Until tomorrow then. Day 3 beckons. And that bag of Maltesers is calling me.

Sent from my iPad

June 19, 2012June 19, 2012

SA Cannes Lions Winners Day 1

The first Cannes Lions awards night is now behind us and South Africa has managed to walk away with 5 Lions. The big winner was Wimpy’s “Braille Burger” by Metropolitan Republic JHB, who walked away with a Gold and Silver Lion. Ogilvy Cape Town were up for a lot of awards last night and managed to walk away with 3 bronze Lions, two for their Carling Black Label Work, and one for their Volkswagen Bluemotion campaign. See all the winning work and their relevant categories below. (To see all the winners head to http://www.canneslions.com)

Gold for Retail & E-Commerce, including Restaurants / Silver for Best Use of Live Events and/or Stunts

Wimpy “Braille Burger” by Metropolitan Republic JHB

Bronze for Direct Response – Digital Mobile Marketing, and PR -Best Use of Sponsorship

SAB – Be The Coach by Ogilvy Cape Town

Bronze for Direct Response Print or Standard Outdoor, including Inserts

Volkswagen ‘The Bluemotion Label” by Ogilvy Cape Town

June 15, 2012

Chris Gotz: A Mannes in Cannes

Actually I’m not. A man in Cannes, that is. For the time being I am a man in Salt River, which is altogether less glamorous, although it is a whole bunch cheaper. There is probably a gutter bar somewhere around here too, or at least a bar in a gutter. On Friday night, however, I will be squeezing myself into an Emirates bucket seat and zooming off to the Riviera to swan around with the world’s ad larneys. I have packed my favourite t-shirts with the coolest possible motifs, a black jacket in case I get asked to pick up something gold and lion-shaped (it’s the hope that kills you) and some swimming trunks so I can plunge into the warm, murky waters of the Med.

I truly hope SA has a brilliant week. I hope we win big in radio again but also up our creds in categories beyond the “old” media stalwarts. A Cyber Lion would be huge, as would lifting the case of Champagne off Warsop’s couch (does it come with a dog?). Any Lions in Promo, Design and Mobile would also have me air punching like an 80’s tribute band. A Titanium or Integrated win and I’ll buy a round of drinks at the Gutter Bar. There, I said it. Take that overzealous finance guy.

So what are we up against ? I must admit there is some pretty daunting opposition this year.

Of course there will be the usual raft of Brazilian/Chinese/Malaysian print (mostly posters) lovingly crafted by hordes of child-illustrators and art directors over months and months. And it will be good. And we will never have seen it before, ever, chances are no-one else will have either. However, some of the work that’s been out there for a while is frighteningly excellent.

In Film there’s the wonderful Guardian “3 Little Pigs” spot from BBH London, Chipotle’s beautifully crafted “Back to the Start” which will surely also win big in craft (almost a certainty for Craft Grand Prix) – I think by the end of the week we’ll all be singing along with Willie Nelson.

Promo and Activations are suddenly tres, tres sexy. Clients love them (especially if they … altogether now … “Go Viral!!!”). In first place on that count, with over 50 million hits, is the amazing TNT “Dramatic surprise on a quiet square.” stunt. Watch it and weep. Although there’s also the Tic-tac “Worst breath in the world.” flash mob from Ogilvy Paris. Breathtaking is the only way to describe the Mercedes Benz “Invisible car” activation from those very clever people at Jung Von Matt, it will feature all week, I think.

Elsewhere there’s the genius of RGA and their “Google wallet”, a tap payment system for smart phones, which looks a sure bet for a Titanium. You know our industry is changing at light speed when a digital payment system is in contention at Cannes. The “Hibernating bear” for Volkswagen (a winter promo that lasts until a live web-cammed hibernating bear wakes up) from DDB Oslo is a fabulous, wish-I’d-done-that digital promotion. In radio the beautifully simple “The absolute pitch” for the Hannover Academy of Music and Theatre is sure to seduce the jury. And so it goes on.

By the end of next week, whether you’re in Cannes or not, you will be inspired and excited by the world’s best work, which always makes the strip ad for direct-dial insurance you’re working on seem even more depressing. The technology revolution and the rise of digital as a channel have been like creative steroids for our industry. And keeping up with it all has become more important to our very survival than ever before.

As Hyper Island said last week, “Today is faster than yesterday, and tomorrow will be faster than today.”

So I’d better get going.

See you in Cannes.