Eight Award-Winning Sustainability Campaigns Worth a Second Look!
I didn’t make the trek to Cannes Lions, but having twice served as a Juror in the innovation category, I couldn't resist immersing myself in the shortlisted and award winning campaigns.
Of particular interest to me: did the world’s most prestigious festival of creativity move the needle on the planet’s most extreme challenge:?sustainability and climate change.
Honestly, I was a bit underwhelmed. ?
After Glasgow and COVID, I assumed we’d see far bolder efforts to harness proven industry tools of persuasion to influence habit changes and industry shifts to meet even the most basic of climate commitments.?I distinctly recall many more sustainability campaigns in years past — especially around plastic waste - than I observed from this sidelines last week. ??
“Reduce, reuse, recycle is no longer enough. We have to rethink, repurpose, reinvent and reimagine." ?-- Pum Lefebure, Chief Creative and Jury President at Cannes
Curiously, one of the most effective “campaigns” wasn’t even an official campaign.? Greenpeace pulled a series of creative stunts — climbing the Cannes Palais, invading the beaches, unfurling banners during the awards ceremony, making things "awkward" — to protest industry support of the fossil fuel industry.?All the more ironic in that a key activist behind the effort, Gustav Martner, once earned a Cannes Lion.? (More perspective here .)
Still, there were signs that the industry knows it has real work to do on this front. “Reduce, reuse, recycle is no longer enough,” said?Pum Lefebure, Chief Creative and Jury President at Cannes.?“We have to rethink, repurpose, reinvent and reimagine." ?
In a 2022 State of Creativity Study, Cannes implores advertisers “to set a new standard for sustainability or risk being left behind.”?It also notes that?“disruptive action is needed now if we are to save our planet.”?This follows GroupM's ‘Responsible Investment’ framework which, amongst other things, addresses a media placement’s carbon emissions."?
So What Stood Out?
And so I critiqued everything through that lens and backdrop. Which leads to the obvious question? Despite my overall disappointment, which campaigns stood out? Here's a few that I think deserve a shout-out and continued conversation to build further momentum.
Recharge Tourism with Renault Plug Inn (Multiple Lions)
Renault basically launched a new platform - Plug Inn – that will enable up to 475,000 additional electric charging points, thanks to communities of local people. Think Uber meets AirBnB meets EV Charging. The community is tilted towards more remote regions to solve the issue of a stronger charging infrastructure and alleviate concerns around ‘fear of charging." The campaign even popularizes the term "Recharge Tourism. "
Dole Pi?atex? (Creative Business Transformation Grand Prix)?
Dole Company is "upcycling waste" and turning Pineapple leaves into a leather substitute.? Pi?atex? is a natural, sustainably-sourced, cruelty free material and leather alternative. Brands like Nike are using the leather-substitute for select shoes, although the overall durability of the product is a question mark. Still, this is a powerful industry exploratory assessing the complete "food waste" supply chain. Importantly, the initiative recognizes from the get-go that uncomposted pineapple leaves can have negative carbon effects.
Hyundai Hydrogen Garbage Truck
Seems like only a few years ago hydrogen power seems generations away. Now we have Hyundai launching a ‘hydrogen garbage truck" that provides a better working environment for sanitation workers with lower noise and zero gas emission. It also purifies the surrounding air. This project was carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology, Korea Automotive Technology Institute, and Changwon City.
P&G?Turn to Cold (Gold: Sustainability Development)?-- Multiple Lions
This campaign brings together Ice-T, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and even Vanilla Ice in a "cold call" exercise to convince folks to switch to cold water washing. The?“Turn to Cold” campaign ?is aiming towards 16 billion loads of laundry washed on cold per year, resulting in a reduction of 5.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gases per year. My excitement over this far exceed Tide's impact. The world has been conditioned to believe CLEAN is HOT, and heating is a massive contributor to carbon emissions. Imagine if this became a "movement" across the industry. (Disclosure: I'm a proud alum and work closely with P&G on startup innovation in my official job at Cintrifuse.)
Unilever Smart Fill?- Silver Lion (Sustainable Development Goals)
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has launched its first ‘Smart Fill’ machine?– an in-store vending model for its Home Care products with the aim to reuse, reduce and recycle plastic. This industry-defining initiative offers consumers the option to reuse their plastic bottles by refilling products from Unilever brands through the use of this smart refillery.? We’re already seeing a movement at the boutique store level across the United States for refilling just about anything (shampoo, soap, beauty lotions, cooking oil) — one is 100 feet from my office — but credit to Unilever for testing this at the big brand level.? Combined with initiatives such as Loop (involving participation from dozens of major brands) we might just be getting somewhere on "re-usable" packaging front.
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Corona "Plastic Fishing Tournament" - Gold Lion (Sustainable Development Goals)
14 million tons of plastic end up the Oceans every year. Corona basically set up a "Plastic Fishing Tournament" in which fisherman were rewarded for "fishing" plastic from the sea. The campaign has echoes of "crowd sourcing" albeit applied to waste -- an appealing, potentially scalable idea -- but also raises more complicated questions about who ultimately is responsible for plastic waste getting there in the first place. Or whether a "marketing campaign" oriented approach will even make a dent into a problem of this magnitude.
I frankly thought Corona was onto a FAR BIGGER idea several years back with their "Screw On Can " concept that effectively negated the need for plastic can holders. Then again, this concept required broad-scale industry alignment and adoption in order to scale.
Anheuser-Busch 2024 100% Renewable Energy Initiative
What most appeals to me about this initiative is the aggressiveness of the target, and the fact that Anheuser-Busch hit the target -- 100% of purchased electricity from renewables by 2025 -- early. Can others do the same? Work a look!
UN Global Impact: Sink This Island
The Jurumim reservoir is one of the largest water reserves in the state of S?o Paulo (the country’s most populous and wealthiest state). The sinking of water levels in the reservoir have created an island. Guto Zorello, a resident of an agroecology community, doesn’t want help getting off the island. He wants to take the island off the map. Because it only appeared when the reservoir’s water levels sank.
Other Notable Campaigns
Looking Ahead
Applying for a Cannes Lion is a lot of work and expense. This means quite a few breakthrough initiatives never get on the radar for well-deserved recognition (which can create "viral effects" for the idea/concept spreading). This is especially the case for non-profits pushing the boundaries of innovation with limited resources.
Somehow these campaigns need to be recognized...whether or not they elect to participate. The same applies to the legions of wickedly creative "Green TikTokers" pushing no-waste packaging, low-energy solutions, and sustainable everything.?
I'm been in the marketing and advertising industry for over 25 years, and I've rarely seen such raw, insight-driven communications excellence as I see on TikTok, and especially with the "Green" influencers. Remember, they are pushing the boldest of "habit change" challenges, and the audience numbers they are aggregating are nothing short of staggering.?
The Final Analysis
I'm always inspired by the Cannes Lions. I just hoped for more in one particular area this year!
Clock's ticking!
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