2014 CANNES REVIEW

2014 CANNES REVIEW

It’s been an interesting year at Cannes. It’s certainly the biggest year in terms of entries, categories & delegates. 76000 entries were whittled down to 1589 winners across 18 categories. !After looking through the winners this year, it felt like Big Emotion trumped Big Data. I’ve put together a selection of what I found to be the most interesting work from the festival with this overarching theme in mind.

In this review I’ll explore 4 topics under “Big Emotion” in advertising.

Technology is driving a new type of creativity and emotional engagement. The tech itself now seems to be invisible and it’s the emotion that is in the spotlight.

2013 was the year of the Selfie. So it’s no surprise that the focus is on the importance and involvement of the individual. And this year, we even celebrated selfishness at Christmas.

Content and storytelling have never been so important in a world driven by earned media. Not only do we need good stories, but we need new and interesting ways to tell them.

There is a new type of advertising that innovates at the product level and creates emotion through new products and services.

Data & technology The importance of ‘me’ Storytelling Product innovation

Technology is driving a new type of creativity and emotional engagement. However, compared to previous years the tech itself now seems invisible to the consumer and it’s the emotion benefit that’s in the spotlight.

THROUGH DATA &

TECHNOLOGY

1 x Grand Prix / 6 x Gold / 6 x Silver / 2 x Bronze

Honda

Aryton Senna 1989

THROUGH DATA &

TECHNOLOGY

http://youtu.be/GCCVpvFJC0w

Let’s start with the Integrated and Titanium grand prix. What’s interesting is that the very unsexy driving data from 1989 was transformed into an impressive and beautiful event that really triggered a high emotional response. Prasoon Joshi (Titanium & Integrated jury president) talks to this in the highlight video below.

http://youtu.be/nWJpRudDuhU

THROUGH DATA &

TECHNOLOGY

This is perhaps one of the best campaigns that turns big data into big emotion. I love the insight and the execution is perfect. The emotion comes through with the ‘magic’ of knowing the flight number and destination for the plane above the billboard in real-time. !To be honest I thought it would have done better at Cannes. It’s a little surprising that it picked up a Grand Prix in Direct rather than Outdoor.

1 x Grand Prix / 5 x Gold / 1 x Silver / 2 x Bronze

British Airways

The Magic of Flyingyoutu.be/k3JucPPqd40

THROUGH DATA &

TECHNOLOGY

1 x Gold / 1 x Silver / 6 x Bronze

Theatre Neu

Pay per laughyoutu.be/V0FowbxEe3w

This is an interesting case study that brings emotion into the purchase experience. Entry for the stand up comedy show is free, however each person pays based on how much they laugh. Facial recognition counts the number of times each audience member laughs, and the ticket price is calculated accordingly.

THROUGH DATA &

TECHNOLOGY

4 x Gold / 2 x Silver

UN Women

The Autocomplete Truthhttp://youtu.be/lcwAZtK5IJo

The insight behind this campaign is great. Widespread interest was sparked through an interesting twist on the data behind google searches… and what pops up in ‘autocomplete’ mode. !The most powerful execution for me was the print ad, more than the film.

THROUGH THE

IMPORTANCE OF “ME”

1 x Gold / 4 x Bronze

Guy Cotten

A Trip Out to Seahttp://youtu.be/0Uu_N1c7E2M

Generally I’m not a fan of first-person-experiences online. !However, the execution for this was flawless. It’s impressive to see how a web interface can translate the feeling (and emotion) of drowning for life jacket manufacturer Guy Cotten.

THROUGH T

THE POWER OF “ME”

2013 was the year of the Selfie. So it’s no surprise that there is a renewed focus on the importance and involvement of the individual. And this year at Cannes, things went a step further and we even celebrated ‘selfishness’ at Christmas.

THROUGH

THE POWER OF “ME”

3 Grand Prix (Film/Promo & Activation/Integrated) / 4 x Gold / 1 x Silver / 2 bronze

Harvey Nichols

Sorry I spent it on Myselfhttp://youtu.be/Sl1r5bnNmtc

You can’t get more self centred than this. Harvey Nichols cleaned up across categories with “Sorry, I spent it on myself”. !It’s good to see Harvey Nichols take such risk — especially at Christmas when most other brands are tapping into good will and generosity. !I love that they created a new product range as part of the campaign. And, interestingly the products sold out within 3 days. !

THROUGH

THE POWER OF “ME”

“Selfie” was the Oxford Dictionary word of the year in 2013, so it’s no surprise that the selfie of all selfies picked up metal in Cannes. !It’s kind of crazy to think that this is the most retweeted image ever. I wonder what photo will be next.

1 x Gold / 4 x Bronze

Samsung

Oscar Selfiehttp://youtu.be/dnzwZMwiTs8

THROUGH

THE POWER OF “ME”

Mobile operator Megafon gave individuals the chance to become ‘the face of the Winter Olympics’. Although I wouldn’t consider this as a true “selfie”… the idea of making portraits 3 dimensional is interesting. Obviously a giant

Grand Prix Innovation

Megafon

Megafaceshttp://youtu.be/_ZvUe5UTtB8

THROUGH

THE POWER OF “ME”

This picked up a gold in Titanium and Integrated. I’ve included it because I felt it was interesting that the campaign is centred on empowering individuals to take on “Goliath”. In this case, it was taking on the politics around Gun Violence.

1 x Gold / 1 x Silver / 1 x Bronze

States United to Prevent Gun Violence

Unload your 401Khttp://youtu.be/7RVwNILMBpQ

THROUGH

THE POWER OF “ME”

4 x Bronze

Tourism Victoria

Remote Control Touristhttp://youtu.be/rg74NzJlGp0

This campaign ticks all the boxes for me. It really lets people feel what it’s like to be in Melbourne through the creation of the “remote control tourist”. It’s a nice mix of digital and real world, that lets people decide what they want to see and do in Melbourne before actually going there. I also like the fact that this campaign is ‘evergreen’ as the content generated during the campaign builds a great content inventory about Melbourne itself that people can still consult online.

THROUGH

THE POWER OF “ME”

http://youtu.be/2z2EKE6psWo?t=18s

24 Hours of Happy picked up Grand Prix in Cyber. Craft & execution came together to create a seamless, intuitive experience that really translates the emotion of being “Happy”. !Susan Bonds, Cyber Jury President talks to this below.

Grand Prix Cyber / 5 x Gold / 1 x Silver

Tourism Victoria

44 Hours of Happyhttp://youtu.be/DuWEt3e98xM

THROUGH

STORYTELLING

Content and storytelling have never been so important in a world driven by earned media. Not only do we need good stories, but we need new and interesting ways to tell them.

THROUGH

STORYTELLING

It’s no surprise that Volvo Trucks won big at Cannes. I would have loved to see the pitch for “Epic Split”. The combination of Jean-Claude Van Damme and Enya is improbable, but it really works. !It’s interesting that product USPs are at the heart of this integrated campaign. Having worked with several car brands I’m impressed that they have been able to create such a high emotional engagement around the USPs. It’s hard to beat this kind of storytelling. !It’s also great to see the depth of the campaign beyond “Epic Split”

Volvo Trucks

Live Test Series & Epic Splithttp://youtu.be/qWontXrHtwo

2 x Grand Prix (Film/Cyber) / 5 x Gold / 5 x Silver / 3 x Bronze

THROUGH

STORYTELLING

After tackling Factory Farming Chipotle takes on the issue of Processed Food. I love that all of this fits under the “Cultivate a Better World” Platform building momentum year on year. !The scarecrow delivers big emotion through online film and in addition to this they created an educational mobile gaming platform that successfully challenges perceptions around processed food.

Chipotle

The Scarecrowhttp://youtu.be/reDRAHn3XkY

2 x Grand Prix (Cyber/Branded Content) / 8 x Gold / 4 x Bronze

THROUGH

STORYTELLING

It’s nice to see a brand like Skype engage through very emotional storytelling around the core proposition of what Skype does.

Skype

“Stay Together”http://youtu.be/CTCvm6u7z3w

3 x Silver / 2 x Bronze

THROUGH

STORYTELLING

Sometimes it’s the way you tell the story that can cut through and engage emotionally. A nice insight led to putting mobile at the heart of this campaign. Australians used their mobile phones to pay for a minute of silence on Anzac Day. !It’s hard to track down the case study on You Tube but I’ve linked to the 60 second TVC instead.

ANZAC Appeal

Minute of Silencehttp://youtu.be/v9h69sQNg68

Gold x 1 / Bronze X 1

THROUGH

STORYTELLING

Some smart tech, combined with great storytelling dramatises the act of donation. This smart digital outdoor installation creates big emotion at the key moment of donating.

Misereor

Social Swipehttp://youtu.be/ZcqsRhMHo8o

Gold x 2 / Silver x 2 / Bronze X 3

THROUGH

PRODUCT EXPERIENCE

There is a new type of advertising that innovates at the product level and creates emotion through new products and services.

The Outdoor Grand Prix transforms function into emotion during the Sydney mardi gras. To celebrate ANZ bank becoming the principal partner for the event,10 artists helped transform ATMS into GAYTMS. Jose Miguel Sokoloff talks to this below.

1 x Grand Prix / 2x Silver / 4 x Bronze

ANZ

GAYTMhttp://youtu.be/L-Oxzv5QOgg

http://youtu.be/Rq920Jt08Mg

THROUGH

PRODUCT EXPERIENCE

THROUGH

PRODUCT EXPERIENCE

Milka innovated at the product level to bring their brand promise “dare to be tender” to life. People were invited to either claim back the last square of their Milka for themselves or give away to someone else. !I’m quite interested to see advertising like this impact at the product level.

1 x Gold / 1 x Silver / 2 x Bronze

Milka

Last Squarehttp://youtu.be/daymv7QXq-E

THROUGH

PRODUCT EXPERIENCE

CNA language schools created a new service that connects retired seniors in the USA with young students wishing to learn english in Brazil. Technology enables a very human emotion and need to connect with others.

3 x Gold / 4 x Silver / 3 x Bronze

CNA

Speaking Exchangehttp://youtu.be/-S-5EfwpFOk

THROUGH

PRODUCT EXPERIENCE

Rip Curl created a watch to help redefine how surfers could interact with the Ocean, motivating them to find, capture and relive the emotion of their perfect wave.

1 x Silver / 2 x Bronze

Rip Curl

Search GPShttp://youtu.be/gsXg2uBQhIA

THROUGH

PRODUCT EXPERIENCE

The first Product Design Grand Prix went to G-Star. !I’ve included it because it demonstrates the emotional connection that consumers are willing to make around a product. People will buy into the product because they buy into the story.

Grand Prix Product Design

G-Star

G-Star Raw for the Oceanshttp://youtu.be/SeM1CCzo0Yw

http://youtu.be/2tclTOCW70g

Through data & technology

Through the power of “me”

Through Storytelling

Through Product Experience

Let me know what you think…

Bridget Jung @bridoo