Media in Canada and strategy are on the ground in Cannes, bringing you the latest news, wins and conference highlights all week long. Catch all the coverage here.
For the second year running, the Cannes Lions festival has been unveiling Silver and Bronze winners in the afternoon, saving the Gold and Grand Prix announcements for the evening spotlight. Wednesday’s batch of 1st and 2nd runner-ups included a mix of Media, Direct, Social & Creators (new to Cannes this year) and PR work from nine agencies in total.
Four Lions in the Media category were awarded to Canadian agencies Ogilvy / PHD, Critical Mass and Weber Shandwick. Here is a look at the work and what the jury presidents had to share with our team on the ground.
MEDIA (4 Bronze)
1 BRONZE: “Most Likely To” by Ogilvy Toronto and PHD Toronto for Dove (Unilever)
The “Most Likely To” Dove campaign confronted a pretty painful reality: two-thirds of girls feel too self-conscious about their appearance to fully engage at school. Their lack of confidence can derail their school career and friendships. Or worse, future potential. To spotlight its self-esteem workshops for Canadian schools, Dove and Ogilvy created a raw and emotional short film featuring real high-school girls sharing how low self-confidence shapes their daily lives. It essentially flipped the familiar yearbook trope on its head to spark urgent conversation.
What the judges had to say:
“We really loved the insight. And we really, really loved the ambition behind it. That’s what sucked us in. I think the reason it didn’t go further was because there wasn’t enough media craft. It focused quite heavily on the creative aspect. But as a media jury, that was just what we were wanting to see more of. We encourage, in the future Media Lions, people don’t underplay media craft. For us as media practitioners – it’s really important to recognize that.” – Dan Clays, CEO, Omnicom Media Group, EMEA (Media jury president)
1 BRONZE: “Sleep With Rain” by Critical Mass Calgary / West BBDO, Los Angeles for AT&T Business
Today’s economy is keeping entrepreneurs up at night. So AT&T Business tapped into their after-hours anxiety by doing something no B2B brand had done before: it launched a sleep product with the famously dysfunctional cast of The Office. In “Sleep With Rain,” actor Rainn Wilson (Dwight) and his sitcom colleagues come together to launch a talking pillow that’s voiced by Wilson and meant to help business owners rest easy. The campaign kicked off with a LinkedIn page for the business and it quickly went viral after debuting a mock “Launch Day” film and Spotify album.
What the judges had to say:
“‘Sleep With Rain’ was a B2B entry where they effectively created a mock company with the cast from The Office. What was interesting about this is that it was a B2B campaign that really followed the traits of B2C advertising. It generated content, gained attention, got into the cultural conversation, all for AT&T, a B2B advertiser. So what we liked about it was that it wasn’t behaving like the category normally does.” – Dan Clays, CEO, Omnicom Media Group, EMEA (Media jury president)
1 BRONZE: “Airbnb Icons” by Weber Shandwick Toronto / San Francisco / Los Angeles / Seattle / Atlanta for Airbnb
Airbnb created reality out of fantasy with “Icons,” once-in-a-lifetime experiences hosted by some of the world’s biggest names in music, film, TV and sports. From drifting off in the Up house to crashing at an X-Men mansion or being privately serenaded by Doja Cat, “Icons” brought travellers into new worlds. The first 11 experiences rolled out mid-2024, with more set to launch globally. Most of the experiences were free or under $100, with over 4,000 tickets sold to a global audience.
1 BRONZE: “Airbnb Up-House” by Weber Shandwick Toronto / San Francisco / Los Angeles / Seattle / Atlanta for Airbnb
The “Up-House” was one of the 11 experiences created by Airbnb, as part of its “Icons” platform (see above). According to the Airbnb listing, which was open for a limited time in the summer of ’24, visitors could stay in a “detailed re-creation of [Carl’s] home, complete with more than 8,000 balloons, and located in the scenic red rocks of Abiquiu, New Mexico.”
What the judges had to say:
“Again, we would’ve liked to see more of the media craft come through. What we loved about it was that Airbnb was working with media partners and entertainment brands to create new content and new experiences that they would then amplify to their audience. And we loved the “Up-House,” specifically – the scale of rebuilding that house was just absolutely brilliant. So we recognized it with a Bronze.” – Dan Clays, CEO, Omnicom Media Group, EMEA (Media jury president)
