We can see the finish line. Finally. By all accounts, it’s been a lovely week at the Cannes Lions for several agencies, with McCann looking awfully good. But, what’s interesting, is that there is more diversity of wins from countries around the world and some agencies that we don’t necessarily see too often walking away with Grand Prix Lions.
Speaking of which: A huge winner yesterday was 360i for what might be called the best brand use case of Amazon’s Alexa technology so far. Winning a Grand Prix in Radio & Audio was Westworld’s “The Maze,” the Alexa skill gets fans of the HBO show deliciously into the weeds with a choose-your-own-adventure game that featured 60 storylines, 400 possible choices for players and a whopping 11,000 lines of dialogue.
“This is completely pushing the boundaries [of audio],” said jury president Jose Miguel Sokoloff, who may win the Cannes Lions for the longest official job title: global president, MullenLowe group creative council & CCO, MullenLowe Group UK, MullenLowe Group, Global.
“It’s not the first time that [the industry has] used Alexa, but this is, in my opinion, the first time that we really can immerse and interact with it for a long time,” he added.
Obviously you can't talk about the year's top audio winner without recording it on a podcast, so be sure to check out the chat between 360i's CCO and chief strategy officer with Adweek's David Griner on a fascinating bonus episode of our podcast, Yeah, That's Probably an Ad.
More McCann: It’s another Grand Prix win for McCann New York for its adaptive Xbox controller work for Microsoft—this time in the Brand Experience and Activation category. The controllers were the centerpiece of Microsoft’s Super Bowl spot earlier this year in an ad called “We All Win,” which was a massive success with 1.1 billion impressions.
Jaime Mandelbaum, chief creative officer for VMLY&R Europe and jury president for the Brand Experience and Activation Lions, said the work was chosen as the Grand Prix because it created real change.
“This project not only transforms the relationship that these people have with the brand, but it has a disproportionate impact in these people’s lives in terms of generating things like confidence,” said Mandelbaum. “You’re not just creating confidence [for] them and really are resetting their whole relationship as they grew up in formative years. It goes completely beyond changing only the relationship that the brand has with its consumers, that’s why we chose it as a Grand Prix.”
It didn’t win a Grand Prix, but it has a big future: Goodby Silverstein & Partners picked up a Gold Lion in the Mobile category (“Whopper Detour” from FCB New York won the Grand Prix) for “Lessons in Herstory,” a fabulous AR project for Daughters of the Evolution to educate people about the women omitted from history. The app that scans images of male historical figures and then unlocks the story of important women from that same period. So far, the app features 75 women from the 19th century.
Being the enterprising journalists (or merely lucky to be in the right place at the right time), we ran into Margaret Johnson, Goodby Silverstein & Partners’ chief creative officer and partner, and asked her what’s next. Without divulging specifics, it’s evident that this project will grow and live on, with some exciting potential partners coming along for the ride. Let’s just say it might behoove brands to pay attention to this one carefully because it will continue to be something exceptional.
Speaking of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners: Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein will take the stage today at 12:30 p.m. CET (that’s 3:30 a.m. on the West Coast, and you can watch it live on the Cannes Lions site) to talk about their Lion of St. Mark recognition. The honor is bestowed upon individuals who have made significant and outstanding contributions to creativity across the industry.
In March, we went to San Francisco to spend some time with the dynamic duo to learn more about their path and their genuinely unprecedented rise to the top of the creative world.
Mensch alert: My wonderful colleague Sara Jerde and I spent a little time Thursday with Jeff Goldblum and Stéphane Xiberras, president/CCO and head of the global creative council for BETC Paris, at the Havas Cafe after their talk at the Palais yesterday. Both were highly entertaining and, in case you’re wondering, the multitalented Goldblum is as warm, friendly, kind and engaging as you think he is. Hat tip to BETC Paris for setting up this one-of-a-kind Cannes moment.
How’s your mood after Cannes? Whether you are in France this week or watching from afar, we're curious to know how you feel about the industry as the Cannes Lions wraps up. There was a lot to like, but also some tough conversations. We would like to know if you count yourself as an optimist, pessimist or realist about the state of the broader industry. Let us know by filling out this form.
Friday morning betting line for the Titanium Lion Grand Prix (aka - taking a wild guess):
“Whopper Detour” for Burger King by FCB New York: 2/1
“Changing the Game” for Microsoft by McCann New York: 4/1
“Dream Crazy” for Nike by Wieden + Kennedy Portland: 5/1
“Paving for Pizza” for Domino’s by CPB Boulder: 6/1
“ThisAbles” for Ikea by McCann Tel Aviv: 8/1
“Broadway the Rainbow” for Skittles by DDB Chicago: 9/1
“Viva La Vulva” for Libresse/Bodyform by AMV/BBDO: 10/1
“Billie Jean King Your Shoes” for Adidas by TBWA\Chiat\Day New York: 12/1
Enjoy your last day at the festival—or wherever you may be—and follow Adweek's coverage through the week and beyond.
—Doug Zanger
Senior Editor, Creativity + Agencies, Adweek
doug.zanger@adweek.com
