This morning, the Design and Cyber Lions short lists were revealed in Cannes, adding 16 more Canadian contenders to the pot.
Design, a new category for the 55th edition of the International Advertising Festival, attracted 1,126 entries (54 of them Canadian). That boiled down to a short list of 137, 10 of which are Canadian efforts (over 7% of the field). GSM Design Exhibits of Montreal also got two nods for National Museum of Singapore work in the permanant environmental design category.
Odds are a little less favourable on the Cyber front, where 2,757 entries (including 81 Canadian) yielded a short list of 327, with six Canadian spots – but there’s some strong work in both categories.
The Cyber Lions jury put through three pieces of Mini Canada work out of Taxi 2, ‘Minimalism,’ ‘Trackster’ and ‘Worst Case Scenario.’ Since the Cannes juries value innovation above all – except perhaps social responsibility these days – the groundbreaking choose-your-own-time-spent aspect of ‘Minimalism’ bodes well.
The Nike Jordan ‘Suite 23’ work out of Blast Radius Vancouver also got a nod, as did Toyota Matrix’s ‘Sticks to the Road’ efforts out of Saatchi & Saatchi. And finally, the Bessies darling, the viral work out of Crush Toronto for Douglas Coupland’s The Gum Thief book, also made it to the short list. It’s up against the likes of Burger King’s ‘Whopper Freakout’ by Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Again, the off-the-page nature of the Random House efforts, especially for its category, should earn it points for innovation.
The Design jury gave two nods to Taxi Canada’s ’15 Below’ project, the agency’s own social action effort. It’s a lightweight jacket for distribution to the homeless that can be insulated with newspaper and was tested by its creator, Steve Mykolyn, who spent a day in a meat freezer.
The judges put through ‘Emergency Blanket poster,’ which explains how the jacket works, and can also be then used as insulation, and ‘Holiday Card,’ which was a recycled newspaper with a wrap explaining that the agency was investing in ’15 Below’ in lieu of holiday presents.
Leo Burnett also got two nods from the Design judges, one for the fun poppy graphics of its new Toronto Humane Society work and the other for its Bessies Awards show work.
Toronto’s GJP Advertising + Design also made it onto the short list twice. Its ‘Down Below’ brochure is in the publications category, and also got a nod for POS work.
MacLaren McCann Calgary was the only Canadian on the logo short list, for its Fantasia Bikini Lounge graphic. (In case you missed it, the waitresses wear bikinis and serve martinis, and the image looks like both.) The shop was also short-listed for its ‘Please Help’ effort for YWCA Calgary’s Homelessness Reduction program.
Later today, the Media, Outdoor and Radio Lions will be revealed, so stay tuned to MiC and stimulant (www.stimulantonline.ca) for breaking news and Cannes commentary.
