Share

by Thomas Mueller (@tmuellernyc) Until recently, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity appeared to be fully controlled by big marketing, communications and advertising networks such as WPP, Omicom or Publicis, but it’s undergoing monumental change.

Cannes LionsWalking the Cannes Croisette or the exhibitor spaces in the Grand Palais, one couldn’t help but observe an all-out war for survival — and domination. The more-traditional agencies are still influential in their industry, at the same time trying vigorously to transform themselves for continued relevance, while two new types of player are challenging them. The first is advertising technology companies showcasing their newest offerings and advances in the world of programmatic advertising, promising infinite precision coupled with incredible efficiency. On the other side, you find the big consulting companies, which are increasingly investing in a much more-prominent presence at the festival.

Big ideas

Big ideas are no longer exclusive to advertising campaigns but at the core of the most-impactful work focused on delivering the best customer experiences.

The amount, range and variety of work being submitted, adjudicated, shown and awarded can be overwhelming and confusing. This is exaggerated by festival categories that are discipline- or touchpoint-centric, instead of being industry- or category-centric. Despite this increasingly outdated approach, this year was marked by some truly iconic work, distinguished by its obsessive focus on story, impact and execution. To me, the common thread in the most-memorable work was its focus on people and innovation.

Here are my personal highlights from Cannes Lions 2017:

1. Fearless Girl, State Street Global Advisor

Across nearly all categories: Grand Prix, Gold, Silver and Bronze Lions

I applaud this powerful contribution to International Women’s Day 2017. A bronze statue of a young fearless girl challenges the Charging Bull on Wall Street, while standing for the power of women today and tomorrow. It’s a beautiful execution of a bold statement, and sparked widespread use of #FearlessGirl across social media platforms.

2. Humanium, IM Swedish Development Partner

Innovation category: Grand Prix

Small firearms are one of the world’s most-deadly epidemics. Someone is shot and killed every single minute on this planet, in addition to the armed conflicts reported in the news. To take guns of the streets and successfully destroy them, Humanium created the world’s first supply chain made out of confiscated firearms. I love this this initiative for brilliantly aligning a humanitarian cause with an economic one: elements of death and destruction are transformed into resources for creation and construction. Sharp and powerful.

3. Tilt Brush, Google

Innovation category: Gold Lion

When I saw the first demo of the Tilt Brush, I immediately realised this far outstrips the VR apps we’ve come to know. This is potentially the birth of a new tool and medium, allowing creatives to paint, sculpt and story-tell in VR spaces, and walk in and around their creations in real time. The toolset is easy to grasp, fun, and might be the beginning of an entirely new genre of expression.

4. Refugee Nation, Amnesty International

Across many categories: Grand Prix, Gold, Silver and Bronze Lions

The images of refugees reaching Greek islands and huge piles of discarded life vests became iconic representations of a crisis unfolding before our eyes. Amnesty International wanted to raise global awareness, ignite positive conversation and engage the world to offer support. The 2016 Olympic Games provided just the right opportunity: a team of refugee athletes, competing on a global stage, with their own flag, anthem and identity. To me, this project works on so many levels, from offering dignity and a sense of belonging to the individual, to assigning responsibility to a global audience by defining the problem through a strong identity. Compelling, iconic and brave work.

5. Google Sheep View, Visit Faroe Islands & Atlantic Airways

PR category: Gold and Silver Lions
Cyber category: Bronze Lion

This project made me smile for its approach, creativity, and DIY attitude — “if Google doesn’t think we exist, we’ll take care of it ourselves.” A tiny set of islands wedged between Iceland and the UK wanted to boost tourism, so it strapped 360-degree cameras on the backs of sheep and let them loose. Shortly after the first video was posted, it started to turn into a global story.

6. Your Voice is Your Stamp, US Postal Service

Innovation category: Silver Lion

How refreshing to see something this simple and smart from the US Postal Service, showing that innovation is possible even in a category such as mail delivery, which is under pressure all over the world. Using the unique signature of someone’s voice as a transactional identifier, it turned ubiquitous mail boxes into a point of transaction, handling payment in The Cloud. To me, this is the Uber-ization of our good old mail but in the most pleasant of ways.

7. Out Of Office, Qantas

Direct category: Bronze Lion

My final pick is something really simple and smart: turning boring out-of-office emails into personalised travelogues. All it requires is for travellers to connect their automated messages with their Instagram feeds, which then populates them with images tagged #qantasoutofoffice. This transforms a boring email into a new medium of storytelling, combined with driving sales for destinations through offer links. Smart, fun and simple.

It was a long week of hard work, extensive networking and good fun, but I do look forward to the months of creativity ahead of us that will make this year look conservative compared to what we’ll hopefully see when we walk down the Croisette in Cannes next year.

Republished and adapted with permission.

 

Thomas MuellerThomas Mueller (@tmuellernyc) is managing director of Fjord Design & Innovation from Accenture Interactive (Europe, Africa, Latin America). He is a strategic design executive and brand experience visionary who passionately believes in the essence of simplicity to enable remarkable experiences through any service, interaction or communication.

“Motive” is a by-invitation-only column on MarkLives.com. Contributors are picked by the editors but generally don’t form part of our regular columnist lineup, unless the topic is off-column.

Sign up now for the MarkLives email newsletter every Monday and Thursday, now including headlines from the Ramify.biz company newsroom service!

Share
Online CPD Courses Psychology Online CPD Courses Marketing analytics software Marketing analytics software for small business Business management software Business accounting software Gearbox repair company Makeup artist