Cannes Lions: Howatson+Company Win Silver And Bronze For “Rejected Ales” Campaign

Sydney-based advertising agency Howatson+Company brought home a silver and a bronze on the second day of the Cannes Lions 2022 International Festival of Creativity.

The awards were won in the Craft category. Both wins were for their campaign with Matilda Bay dubbed Rejected Ales, a series of 27 brews that had been ‘rejected’ in the company’s attempt to create their Original Ale.

Run It Wild also won bronze for the innovative NFT campaign during the Australian Open, as did Host Havas, DDB Sydney and CHEP Network.

In other news from the festival, it was a day of firsts, as Portugal won their inaugural Grand Prix in the Design Lions, Sweden took home their very first Grand Prix in the Entertainment Lions, as did Germany in the Film Craft Lions.

More specifically, the Design Lions Grand Prix was won by FCB Lisbon for their work on the book “Portuguese (Re)Constitution” by Penguin Books. They came first out of 1,058 entries that were received, while 38 Lions were awarded by the jury: 6 Gold 10 Silver and 21 Bronze.

Lisa Smith, executive creative director, Jones Knowles Ritchie (JKR), USA, said: “This year’s Grand Prix in Design shows the power of a simple idea — freedom, and the use of the most primitive medium to execute it — a pencil. We debated at length whether a publication should be a Grand Prix in an era where we have all the technology and innovation at our fingertips, but the symbolism of defacing a fascist constitution with poems using words selected from the historic document and illustrations covering the remaining ones was not only the highest form of craft and execution but sending a beautiful message of freedom of speech that many children in Portuguese schools will go on to learn for years to come.”

In the Entertainment Lions, 655 entries were received and 25 Lions awarded by the jury: 4 Gold, 7 Silver and 13 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to ‘Eat a Swede’ for the Swedish Food Federation, by McCANN Stockholm. Entertainment Lions jury president, Maria Garrido, Global CMO, Formerly Vivendi, France, said, “I was mesmerised, disturbed, entertained, amused and hungry all at the same time!”

The Film Craft Lions, celebrating onscreen artistry, received 1,711 entries. The jury chose to award 54 Lions: 11 Gold, 17 Silver and 25 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to ‘The Wish’, for Penny, by Serviceplan Germany Munich. Commenting on the Grand Prix, Film Craft Lions jury president, Patrick Milling-Smith, co-founder & global CEO, SMUGGLER, USA, said: “Ultimately we awarded the Grand Prix to a film that is almost a throwback to classic filmmaking and had to be so perfectly crafted on every level to truly resonate and work. In the wrong hands a film like this could have been lost to over sentimentality, or victim to a few false notes, but it is in fact perfectly complete and the obvious work of a filmmaker in utter command of his craft.”

From 661 entries received in the Digital Craft Lions, 21 Lions were awarded by the jury: 3 Gold, 7 Silver and 10 Bronze. The Grand Prix was presented to, ‘Backup Ukraine’, by Virtue Worldwide, New York. Digital Craft Lions jury president, Luciana Haguiara, executive creative director, Media.Monks, Brazil, commented: “The Backup Ukraine project allows all the citizens from Ukraine to preserve their greatest wealth as a nation: their culture. Using a real-time smartphone camera and GPS, everyone can capture any place or monument in minutes and save the data as blueprints in the cloud to preserve it forever. And all of this, with their own phones. A project that turns every Ukrainian citizen into a guardian of their national heritage. Because culture is the identity of people and it can’t be destroyed.”

The Industry Craft Lions, celebrating the creative artistry, talent and skill required to bring a creative idea to life, received 1,134 entries and 25 Lions were awarded: 5 Gold, 10 Silver, 9 Bronze Lions and the Grand Prix went to ‘Hope Reef’, for Mars Petcare, by AMV BBDO, London.

In the Entertainment Lions for Music, 390 entries were received and 17 Lions awarded: 4 Gold, 5 Silver and 7 Bronze. The Grand Prix was awarded to the Residente music video, ‘This Is Not America ft Ibeyi’, by Doomsday Entertainment, Los Angeles / Sony Music Latin, Miami, USA. Commenting on the Grand Prix, Entertainment Lions for Music jury president Amani Duncan, CEO, BBH, USA, said: “We awarded the Grand Prix to this piece of work, because of the video’s undeniably stunning visuals and incredible production quality. While the video has a very distinct point of view that may not be shared by all, it is an extremely powerful statement on socio-economic and culture from an underserved community. Music has always been a key platform for protest songs throughout history and one that we all want to continue to see in years to come.”

Celebrating creativity that taps into fan culture and leverages the power of sports and eSports in connecting people to brands, the Entertainment for Sport Lions received 558 entries and 22 Lions were awarded by the jury: 3 Gold, 7 Silver and 11 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to ‘NikeSync’, for Nike by R/GA London.

In the Young Lions: the Young Lions Design Gold award was won by ‘MyBeastie® by WWF x Tamagotchi’, Jonas Hjort and Marcus Mahecha, Denmark.