From Can’t to Cannes – 18 months of Crazy Elevate Creativity in the world of OTC

A year ago today, we made the decision to embark on a journey to elevate our brands using creativity as our superpower.

We knew that to bring brand building to new heights using creativity, we needed to learn from the best and the brightest…that’s why we went to Cannes in 2022.

We also knew, in our world of health regulation and category tropes, we needed to push the envelope and challenge the status quo… Our aim is for our Loved Brands to break free from the creative shackles of traditional pharma and move into true FMCH territory. Why shouldn’t products that put health into people’s hands be worthy of the same brand love as the world’s leading consumer icons? Why does a DIY furniture company or a running shoe or a smartphone have a bigger right to create those connections? Why?

… so last year, the last day of the festival, the Sanofi CHC delegation worked on a 7-point plan to Crazy Elevate Creativity ??????. The session was intense. Heated debates, talking on top of each other, Michael Duffy always raising his hand first ??, Amel Lageat taking notes on her phone, Marília Zanoli showcasing her passion for being a test market, Valerie Brass helping us bring common sense and structure, Enrique Arceo bringing the agency hat on, Sylvain Bonnet Garcia asking for Digestive Wellness brands to be pioneers, and Ségolène de Marsac pushing us further… It took some time but we aligned on that 7 point plan. Those 7 bullets were our roadmap and…

…We were convinced and determined.

When sharing our ambitions and plans, some experts told us we were aiming too high. We were “too crazy”. We were told that winning in creativity was not possible for a company like ours…We were even told it would take up to five years to even begin to compete against CPG companies at the level of Cannes…We certainly heard a lot of CAN’Ts.

But we left obsessed to activate those 7 bullets. And, for the past 12 months, we have lived and breathed and obsessed over these 7 bullet points…every single day. ?

Fast forward to Cannes 2023…

Sanofi wins its FIRST ever Cannes Lion Award. Up against the giants of FMCG - EA Sports, McDonald’s, Oreo, Pringles, Burger King, PlayStation, Wendys, Heinz, Volkswagen, Budweiser, Dove, Pepsico, Samsung, Dell and more… Enterogermina’s “Ready Player Mom” campaign in Brazil took the Bronze Lion in the Entertainment for Gaming category. Did you know that only 2% of the 27k submissions at Cannes get a Lion? Now that’s a stat we’re psyched to be a part of.

This campaign aimed to bring our Loved Brand Enterogermina to an untapped target audience: young gamers in Brazil. Such a challenge needed us to think out of the box. It was the perfect brief for Crazy Elevate Creativity, which is why we disrupted the gaming world by infiltrating young gamers’ streams with the one person they listen to… THEIR MOMS!

Overall, “Ready Player Mom” was shortlisted for 3 categories at Cannes: Social & Influencers, Entertainment & Gaming, and Branded Partnerships. Additionally, another mind-blowing brand building activation from our team in Poland was shortlisted too, for Brand Experience & Activation: The Liver Check.

Four Shortlists and one win, just one year on from the start of our ‘Crazy Elevate Creativity’ journey…

So yes, we Cannes…

Now .…let’s be clear…?External recognition is not the destination. Awards for awards sake are not the objective…but they are clear proof points of going in the right direction. They are the consequence of the strong work we have been doing. They are telling us that we can compete against everyone and anyone. But we cannot and should not forget that our true north is to make self-care as simple as it should be and bring health in the hands of all consumers -- and to do it better than anyone else and be chosen because of that. If we do it, awards will come.?

Our appetite for bigger, better breakthrough creative has grown, and the challenger spark burns bright. We are getting more comfortable with being uncomfortable and take more creative risks to connect better with our consumers, even in places our Loved Brands have never been before…from the Metaverse to LONDON FASHION WEEK! ??

As we power on, I just want to say a huge thank you and congratulations to the CHC teams involved and our partner agencies. You know who you are…

To close…

Last week, during the last 2 hours of the 2023 Cannes Festival, the Sanofi CHC delegation worked on an 8-point plan. Yes. 8.

Michael raised his hand first, Amel took notes on her phone, Marilia asked to be the test market, Valerie helped us bring common sense and structure, Enrique brought the agency hat on, Sylvain asked for Digestive Wellness brands to be pioneers, Segolene pushed us to go further, Yoko Motoshima sharpened the ideas, Raka Sinha brought edutainment to the discussion. 8 bullets.

We are convinced and determined…our story continues.

Expect more ?????? from us...

Nicolas Guzman Ronald Ng Marco Venturelli Rohan Tambyrajah Wesley Haar, ter Diego Wallach Jamal Benmiloud Valerie Gast Félix del Valle Conde