DDB Network’s Brazilian agency DM9, which was under investigation for a misleading awards entry for Consul’s ‘Efficient Way to Pay’, has withdrawn three winning campaigns from Cannes Lions, following an internal investigation.
The two other campaigns are Urihi Yanomami’s ‘Gold = Death’ and OKA Biotech’s ‘Plastic Blood’. The campaigns collectively racked up 12 Lions, including one Grand Prix, three Golds, four Silvers and four Bronzes, which have all been rescinded.
The US advertising title AdAge first reported that DM9’s ‘Efficient Way to Pay’ had mislead judges by using manipulated footage, including a TED Talk, a CNN Brasil report and a customer testimonial. It has not been revealed how the other two campaigns failed to cut the muster.
The organisers of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity announced: “Cannes Lions has confirmed that, after consultation with the entrant company, DM9, the Creative Data Lions Grand Prix winner, ‘Efficient Way to Pay’ for Consul, has been withdrawn.
“This follows the discovery that AI-generated and manipulated content was used within the case film to simulate real world events and campaign outcomes, resulting in the jury being presented with inaccurate information during their deliberations.
“This breaches the Cannes Lions entry rules on factual representation, and undermines the trust placed in the work by our juries and the wider community. Cannes Lions exists to celebrate creativity that is real, representative, and responsible.”
As an additional measure, DM9 withdrew ‘Plastic Blood’ and ‘Gold = Death’ after an internal investigation found that “the level of legitimacy does not meet the necessary standard”.
Last week DM9’s co-president and chief creative officer Icaro Doria accepted full responsibility for “errors in the production and submission” and stepped down from his role. Doria was the Jury President for this year’s Print and Publishing Lion category.
DDB Worldwide was awarded the Cannes Lions Network Agency of the Year.
In an internal memo, DDB Worldwide global CEO Alex Lubar said he was “deeply disappointed” by the DM9 situation.
“At DDB, we have a zero-tolerance policy for any behaviour that compromises the integrity of our brand. We took swift and decisive action to hold those responsible accountable and to correct the record,” he wrote.
“Let me be clear: we are committed to producing the best possible creative work, but not at any cost. We do not, and will not, sacrifice our values for recognition. Every one of us at DDB shares the responsibility to uphold the highest creative and ethical standards.
“This was an isolated incident, and I know one that will have left many of you shocked and disappointed. I understand and share those feelings, but I also want to acknowledge and congratulate all of you who do outstanding work every day, consistently abiding by our standards, and continuing to set the bar for what values-driven creative excellence looks like.”
In a separate case, another DDB agency from Brazil, Africa Creative and its client Budweiser faced a public backlash after boasting that beer brand avoided paying music artist royalties in a campaign that played one-second clips of copyrighted music and rewarded fans who could identify the songs.
