The 2019 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity entered Day Two with five Canadian campaigns going through to final deliberations in the Media jury room.
Three media agencies − Initiative, PHD Montreal and Mindshare − accompanied the nine shortlist mentions in the category that recognizes “the creative implementation of ideas through the use of media.”
Coming in with four shortlist mentions, the “Go Back to Africa” campaign for Black & Abroad by FCB/Six and Initiative on media was the most mentioned piece in Tuesday morning’s batch of shortlists, which also included Creative Data, Creative Strategy, PR, Social & Influencer and Direct. The work aimed to take “go back to Africa,” often used as a racist statement to harass Black people on social media, and reimagine it as something beautiful, not barbaric (video below).
Bensimon Byrne’s “Healing House” for Casey House, which scored a Bronze Health Lion on Monday, also picked up two nods in the Media category. PHD Montreal received a single nod for its “Fighting Fake News in Real-Time” campaign for the CBC, as did Ogilvy (alongside Mindshare) and Rethink Toronto for their work for Hellman’s and IKEA, respectively.
The Media Lions, as well as the Media Person of the Year and the Media Network of the Year, will be awarded Wednesday evening at a gala in Cannes
Media
FCB/Six Toronto / Initiative
Black & Abroad, “Go Back to Africa”
Partners: Grayson Matthews Toronto/Rooster Post Production/Glossy
Travel
Data-driven Targeting
Challenger Brand
Social Behaviour & Cultural Insight
PHD Montreal
Canadian Broadcast Corporation, Societe Radio-Canada, “Fighting Fake News in Real-Time”
Media & Entertainment
Ogilvy Canada / Mindshare
Hellman’s (Unilever), “Hellman’s Real Food Rescue”
Partners: Edelman/MLSE/Spy Films
Use of Events
Bensimon Byrne
Casey House, “The Healing House”
Partners: Narrative/Westside Studio
Best Use of Stunts
Social Behaviour & Cultural Insight
Rethink Toronto
IKEA Canada, “IKEA Bedtime”
Partners: Alter Ego/Fort York VFX/Frank Content/Saints Editorial
Excellence in Media Insights and Strategy
Besides media categories, Canadian media agencies also had a presence in other categories. IPG shop UM was nominated in direct, PR and creative strategy.
UM Canada
The Hershey Company (Oh Henry!) “Oh Henry! 4:25″
Partners: Anomaly/The Mint Agency
Launch / Re-launch
Single-market Campaign
Social Behaviour & Cultural Insight
Canadian Down Syndrome Society, “Endangered Syndrome”
Partners: Happiness Saigon/Saints Editorial/Silent Joe/The Vanity/FCB Canada
Not-for-profit/Charity/Government
Challenger Brand
Social Behaviour & Cultural Insight
FCB Canada, Toronto
Canadian Down Syndrome Society, “Endangered Syndrome”
Partners: Happiness Saigon/Saints Editorial/Silent Joe/The Vanity/FCB Canada
Long-term Strategy
UPDATE: This story has been updated to highlight UM Canada’s inclusion on other, non-media shortlists.
