Monday Morning Inspiration - my outside in view onto Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

While the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity last week clearly triggered some fear of missing out for those of us that had to prioritize differently, watching all the Grand Prix winners can clearly lift creative spirits and with this Monday Morning Inspiration, I wanted to pass on some of that spirit.

Here are my key insights from the Grand Prix winners and inspirational examples for you to get a taste.?

You need to know yourself that your work is good first, then Cannes and other awards can follow

This quote is certainly true for the proud advertiser of the year. #Unilever took home a record of 33 Lions for most creative advertising in various categories, its Grand Prix winning campaign for Magnum “Find your summer” might even be a good reminder for this rather gloomy summer. https://youtu.be/b-73OnZhB5I?si=mdUm3oP8oLI8QlY2

The worlds of high-class production and of fast, short videos on TikTok influence each other and will likely keep on coexisting

The gift in the form of a long video that Sidney Opera gave itself for its 50th anniversary to remind people that "playing it safe" will not lead to greatness is a fabulous example of that https://youtu.be/QshKJQQyCAE?si=rFEFpOEdtF49PuaK

Awarded in a 2nd year in a row Dove’s #TurnYourBack on filters TikTok campaign was a great example of longstanding commitment to purpose while staying relevant with today's target groups and their media choices. https://youtu.be/pw73tgBmv0g

Culture leads, brands need to take a part in it

#Hornbach #TheSquareMeter plays on urban spaces and on the aspiration that every square meter can be the most important place for someone to express themselves https://youtu.be/QmDckNBoKsY?si=D7-CkqXlIT4muv53

#Mastercard used its #priceless asset - the power of data - to intercept the increasing competition between Ukrainian and Polish businesses, after the influx following the war. By showing business owners the effect of adjacent businesses on their shops' footfall, they helped improve positive sentiment for immigration. https://youtu.be/kLK0uMPuFzY

AI is here to stay, yet cases that are here today might not be there anymore next year, as the technology evolves so fast

Dogs and cats have been the very early training models for visual recognition and machine learning. #Pedigree has connected purpose and AI with its Adoptable platform and out of home campaign making shelter dogs the stars of every single ad. https://youtu.be/TZWrW-TTBMs

AImagination productions gives a glimpse how AI can change advertising production for good developing a Cannes Lions worthy video https://youtu.be/_xkmNxu3FMg?si=RD2C8MONiUczqFey?

Talking about soccer

While the EU soccer championship is on, I could not resist nudging you to watch two fabulous cases relating to the big game:

Women's soccer can be as exciting as men's was famously put in action with an AI deepfake technology infused ad by Orange that is now becoming even an educational tool?in French schools

In the 2nd example, a UK soccer club aimed to overcome its budget challenges vs. premier league clubs by recruiting the top role – the tactician from eSports and not just got better results but also a lot of attention: https://youtu.be/elq83mERXv0

Taking a stand politically earned lions

#Vogue face of the month 102 year old Margot Friedl?nder was also the choice of German newspaper #FAZ in its 100th edition of brilliant minds, taking a stance for human respect.?https://youtu.be/zsB-MQfbTSA?si=oWjGy5VjUOCdgu6s

The #ReportersWithoutBorders film "The first speech" featuring the nice words of Putin in his inaugural speech and the importance of free press to help discover what is beyond nice words. https://youtu.be/ey4Duu_I3TM?si=cHuiIC-pQfXWo9BU

Sustainability and SDGs through the lens of purpose remain center stage

Knowing that purpose is often interlinked with environmental or social sustainability, we saw a lot of award worthy work, which had one thing in common - great ideas that can travel across borders and categories:

• #CocaCola aims to recycle 100% of its packaging by 2030, but consumer behavior needs to change to get there. With its New York based campaign (see key visual of this article), it took on the recognizability of the iconic Coca Cola logo and color to call out “Recycle me”. And the good news is that this turned into an idea that was easily scalable across the globe. https://youtu.be/V6Y22qPfHXk
• Giving its DTC approach a true reason for being, #Philips Personal Health launched a sustainability hack at the height of consumer electronics season – Christmas holidays. The intent was to build awareness for the issue of consumer electronics returns ending up in landfills and by actively offering “better than new” refurbished products always first on its eCommerce DTC site, avoiding 185 tons of eWaste. https://youtu.be/ZihGmlhSkUA
• Even a cement company in Peru can make a difference. In fact, #CementoSol invented a simple but effective way to improve pavement signage for the visually impaired, rolling it out first in a district in Lima, specifically advancing the typical street signage to indicate popular location types like restaurants, grocery stores. https://youtu.be/ao9VfLGHI58
• Taking on the too often undervalued "S" = Social side of ESG, Renault created a program to provide cars to unemployed people in need, that live in the many areas with mobility constraints. Thereby they contribute to solving a real problem in more than half of France, in that very often people can't take jobs for mobility reason as only 5% of commutes are possible with public transportation https://youtu.be/BqNMNEWqlvc?si=iDtgtHzqHIpR1_yX

With this collection, I wish you a week full of human creativity, but don't forget to enhance it with openness for AI and other technology that can boost creativity and productivity.

Beate

Sources

https://www.horizont.net/agenturen/nachrichten/cannes-lions-deutsche-loewenausbeute-erhoeht-sich-auf-45-220761

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2024/06/21/cannes-lions-2024-watch-every-grand-prix-winning-ad

https://www.horizont.net/agenturen/nachrichten/cannes-lions-2024-deutschland-raeumt-noch-einen-grand-prix-ab--49-loewen-insgesamt-220779

https://www.marketing-beat.co.uk/2024/06/21/cannes-lions-winners-uk/