B&T is on the ground and settling in to its villa. Where we’re preparing for a massive week of Cannes Lions madness. Its Sunday afternoon as I write this and having come to the French Riviera via a few days in New York, I’m completely discombobulated as to what the time really is. My trusty world clock tells me its currently 1:18am Monday morning in Sydney, which means I’ve got a little time to pull this article together. That’s just as well, as there is a lot to get through in this pre-game report.
Here’s what the organisers Ascential had to say about their little party:
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced that a total of 26,992 entries, an increase of 6 per cent from 2022, have been received into the 2023 Awards. All entries will now compete to become the global benchmark for excellence in creativity and effectiveness for the year ahead.
Commenting on the Awards, Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS, said, “The shifts in the work that’s been entered provides us with a powerful insight into the industry landscape and the emerging trends. A high increase in submissions made directly from consumer product brand companies demonstrates the value being placed on creativity that drives business.
“The strong engagement across a breadth of Lions including emerging areas like B2B, Gaming, Commerce and Business Transformation – shows us that there is a growing confidence and investment in non-traditional channels. Over the next week, our Juries will curate a body of Lion-worthy work and set the global benchmark that will propel us into the year ahead, supporting those using creativity to drive progress.”
In its inaugural year, the Entertainment Lions for Gaming have received 609 submissions, demonstrating the increase of collaboration between brands and the growing Gaming industry.
Philip Thomas, Chairman, LIONS, commented, “The number of submissions received in its first year shows a really strong engagement with the Gaming Lion and is testament to the relevance and opportunity that Gaming now holds within the creative marketing community. We’re excited to see the body of work that emerges from this Lion, and I’d like to thank the Jury in advance for setting the very first benchmark in creativity in Gaming and showing what is possible in this hugely exciting area.”
Some of the Lions with increased engagement include the Brand Experience & Activation Lions which have seen an increase of 16 per cent, compared to 2022, reflecting brands’ renewed focus on enhancing customer experience and brand building.
The Creative Strategy Lions have increased by 35 per cent, recognising the application of creative solutions that allow brands to unlock sustainable growth and measure impact effectively.
Now in its third year, the Creative Business Transformation Lions have seen a 59 per cent increase, demonstrating how creativity is a driving force behind successful businesses going through a time of change.
The Creative Commerce Lions have increased 25 per cent YOY, demonstrating an area of high innovation in creative customer journeys and paths to purchase. Outdoor Lions have seen an increase of 7 per cent in submissions; partly driven by the FMCG sector where entries grew by 30 per cent YOY and also from the travel sector which saw an 84 per cent increase YOY.
The Entertainment Lions – which sit at the intersection of branded content and culture – have increased 18 per cent YOY and saw a 78 per cent jump in submissions from the consumer services sector.
Additional growth includes: Glass: The Lion for Change up 30 per cent YOY, as well as Innovation Lions with a 30 per cent YOY increase, for which the shortlists have been released. The remaining shortlists will be released between Sunday 18 June – Wednesday 21 June.
We previously covered the ANZAC agencies and brands that were lucky enough to find themselves on the shortlists for Titanium, Glass and Innovation. While any Lion is something to shout about, these three categories are those you can’t enter and are picked from the slew of entries (26,992 remember) as the only few in the entry for those extra special categories. As such, they also offer a decent form guide as to which entries may well do quite well in their actual entered categories.
So back to now and as always, we remain as parochially Antipodean as ever. As such, here’s a look at the performance of our agencies and brands in the 17 shortlists announced today my time. Strap yourself in, because we’ve got quite a few to mention. Congratulations to everyone who got shortlisted. While you might not end up with an Lion, you’re already a winner getting mentioned on this most prestigious of stages.
The shortlist categories announced today are:
- Design
- Digital Craft
- Direct
- Entertainment Lions for Gaming
- Entertainment Lions for Music
- Entertainment Lions for Sport
- Entertainment
- Film Craft
- Health & Wellness
- Industry Craft
- Media
- Outdoor
- Pharma
- PR
- Print & Publishing
- Radio & Audio
- Social & Influencer
Within each of these categories is a mind-numbing number of subcategories too numerous to mention here. However, I will yell them out as we go through each of nominations.
I have a full sixteen pages of notes going through all of the above shortlist excel files and finding the Australian and New Zealand entries. I will attempt below to make it as painless and exciting to see the results as they stand. As I mentioned previously, not all the shortlisted entries from our neck of the woods will go on to claim a Lion, but given we have four agencies in the ‘Elite’ categories, we can expect them to do pretty handsomely.
Others too have been shortlisted in numerous times in numerous categories, which would indicate that they might just trouble the winners’ scorers.
And so, with no further prevarications, here goes!
In the Design category, New Zealand Fire and Emergency were shortlisted for Kiwi agency’s Motion Sickness campaign “You’re Cooked” in the Publications and Editorial Design subcategory. The same campaign was also nominated in the Print and Publishing Shortlist under the subcategory Social Behaviour.
In the Digital Craft category, The Monkeys (I’m only writing part of Accenture Song once!) were shortlisted for its campaign for UN Women Australia (Go Sunita!) Equality: Our Final Frontier in the Overall Aesthetic Design subcategory.
Also in Digital Craft, but this time in the Cross Channel Story Telling subcategory, DDB New Zealand, Auckland, was nominated for its campaign for Tourism NZ and their campaign If You Seek.
Also in Digital Craft, CHEP Sydney was nominated for its work with Samsung for Flipvertising in the Personalised Story Telling and Experience subcategory. Stop the bus! This campaign was shortlisted a further four times. Firstly, in the Direct category under the Date-Driven Direct Strategy subcategory. Secondly, also in the Direct category, but under the Use of Digital Platforms subcategory. Thirdly in the Media category under Consumer Goods and Retail subcategory and finally in the Social and Influencer category under the Audience Targeting/Engagement Strategies. Good luck CHEP and Samsung for one of those getting up!
Okay, back to the Design category (keeping up so far?). AKQA Melbourne, San Paolo and Portland got nominated in the Curation of Data subcategory for its (or is it their when it involves three offices?) work on behalf of Lions heavyweight Nike in the shape of the Never Done Evolving Featuring Serina. And that’s not where that campaign stops either. The same campaign was also shortlisted a second time in the Entertainment Lions for Sport and a third in the Social and Influencer category under the Innovative Use of Influencers subcategory.
And once more back to the Digital Craft category. Here we find Howatson + Company’s first shortlisted entry. Spoiler alert! It’s not its last. Exhibit A-I on behalf of Maurice Blackburn Social Justice was shortlisted in the Digital Craft subcategory of Storytelling. This same campaign was today (remember there’s loads more shortlists yet to be revealed) shortlisted five times in total.
Howatson + Company made the cut twice in Direct for the same campaign in the Metaverse, New Realities and Emerging Tech subcategory and the Corporate Purpose and Social Responsibility subcategory. It also made the list in Industry Craft (Print and Publishing) and in the Print and Publishing category under the Corporate Purpose and Social Responsibility.
One day into the shortlists and that’s a lot of horses in the race for Chris and the crew, but that’s not the end of the story so far. The agency must have thought a lot of another of its campaigns and the shortlisting judges appear to agree. In the Industry Craft Lions, Howatson + Company saw six of its OOH executions for 10:PM Mattresses shortlisted in the Outdoor category. Namely Stanmore – Staph Infection, Bondi – Backpackers, Erskineville – Fur Babies, Randwick – Bedwetters, Darlinghurst Mardi Gras Queen, Parliament House – Spineless.
The agency also got into the game in the Outdoor Lions for the Special Build subcategory for the same festy mattresses.
That’s looking like an expensive, but let’s hope victorious, trip to the South of France for B&T’s Agency of the Year.
We did particularly well in the Direct category with apart from CHEP and Howatson + Company another six of our agencies getting a mention.
First up (not really an agency, but anyway), Deloitte Digital Melbourne were mentioned in the Automotive subcategory for its Suzuki Motors campaign Jimny Heritage.
Special Sydney makes its first, but not last appearance here for Middle Seat Lottery on behalf of Virgin Australia in the Travel and Leisure subcategory. Middle Seat Lottery was also shortlisted in Industry Craft (Use of Events and Stunts).
Thinkerbell Melbourne’s What the Truck stunt for Furphy was named in the Use of Ambient Media Large Scale subcategory as well as the Outdoor category in the Local Brand subcategory.
Next in Direct was Colenso BBDO’s campaign Phone It In for Kiwi telco brand Skinny in the Use of Print/Outdoor subcategory. And wow! Didn’t this campaign pick up a few shortlistings. Also in Direct, but the Copywriting subcategory, as well as Media (Use of Channel Integration) but this time with PHD Auckland entering the award.
In Outdoor, it was nominated in the Breakthrough on a Budget Campaign. In Radio and Audio, it received no less than seven nominations. I’m too exhausted to list them all. What an achievement, nonetheless.
Finally in the Direct Category, I know my head’s hurting too, DDB NZ was nominated for Correct the Internet on behalf of Team Heroine twice. It was subsequently shortlisted in PR (Social Behaviour).
In the brand new category of Entertainment Lions for Gaming, DDB Sydney were shortlisted for its campaign for Golf The Ad Break under the Mobile Games subcategory.
The Entertainment Lions for Music saw R/GA Sydney nominated for its work with We Are Warriors WAW Through the Fire.
The Entertainment category sees Special Auckland’s first mention for The Last Performance on behalf of Partners Life. Those who have been paying close attention will know this campaign has also been named on the Titanium shortlist. In this category alone, it was nominated three times. It was also shortlisted in Health and Wellness, Media twice.
In Film Craft, the award for production companies, Revolver Sydney were shortlisted for its work with Bear Meets Eagle on Fire for Runaway on behalf of NRMA. Scoundrel made the list thanks to its work with Special Auckland for Kathmandu Summer Never Sleeps. Finch got two with BMF for The Reluctant Shanty on behalf of UNHCR. The Reluctant Shanty was also shortlisted in the Social and Influencer category (Brand Storytelling).
Ruskin Auckland got two nominations with FCB NZ for its anti-speeding film Through My Eyes. Hero Melbourne made it through to the next round with Metamorphous on behalf of Toyota Australia, and VMLY&R Brisbane were named for Tales of the Track on behalf of Queensland Rail.
Health and Wellness is the category TBWA Sydney’s Classifying Consent on behalf of Consent Labs was originally mentioned. It’s also up for one of the big ones.
Clemenger BBDO Sydney also got shortlisted in Health and Wellness for its I’m Neale Daniher campaign for Fightmind. That campaign got a further three shortlist placings in the Social and Influencer category.
In Industry Craft, Special Sydney and their foundation client Uber Eats was there again with Get Almost Anything.
Meanwhile in Media, my personal favourite, VMLY&R’s FitChix for Honest Eggs got its first mention. It was nominated in that category three times. It was also nominated in Outdoor four further times.
Titanium-listed The Monkeys had that particular work The World’s First Digital Nation, shortlisted in Outdoor twice.
Ogilvy Sydney looks in a good position as well, with its work for The White Lion The Loudest Voice nominated three times or is it four?
TBWA Sydney is also up for a bunch with its work for R-Plates work for MyCar Tyre and Auto and Suncorp is doing a victory lap after its big win last year with Leo’s Sydney for Reslieince Reload. That’s also up for another big one!
Phew! That’sit. Oh, hang on! Clems Sydney has one more too for McDonalds. Okay I’m done!
