The new Cannes Social & Influencer Lions has its first Grand Prix winner: Nike’s “Nothing Beats a Londoner” from Wieden+Kennedy, London. A key component of the campaign is a short film–directed by the Megaforce collective and produced by Riff Raff Films–which centers on enterprising, fiercely competitive, young Londoners who shape sport and culture in the metropolis around them. These hungry, resourceful and confident youngsters take us on a whistle-stop tour of their city–with the help of cameos from some of the Londoners they look up to, even as they strive to one-up them with their own sporting achievements.
Shot on the streets of such areas as Dalston, Peckham and Brixton provide a vivid backdrop for the joyful bravado, passion for sport and unique U.K. spirit that unites each of the 258 real-life young Londoners who appear in the film. The side of London explored in “Nothing Beats a Londoner” illustrates how, for the next generation, an urban environment is a playground, a canvas for creativity, self-expression and movement. Nike London is committed to making this playground even better for young people in the city, creating unique inspirational experiences that help them unlock their potential through the power of sport. The predominantly London-born-and-bred cast is made up of real athletes and joined by a plethora of famous faces, from sporting legends to music stars, including Mo Farah, Harry Kane, Dina Asher-Smith, Gareth Southgate and Skepta.
The short in turn took on a social media life of its own. As the young Londoners are the focus, they launched the campaign through their social channels. Each of the athletes was been given their scene as a standalone piece of content, which they posted on Instagram, linking to the next competitor to create a massive social media battle between and among some of London’s best young athletes. Soon after, the edits were amplified by the famous faces who also star in the campaign. The full version of the film was shown across TV, cinema and online.
Social & Influencer Lions Jury president: Mark D’Arcy, VP, chief creative officer, Facebook Creative Shop, said, “The way this work was constructed really demonstrates how culture is shaped.”
In the Social & Influencer Lions, 2,027 entries were received and 67 Lions awarded: 13 Gold, 15 Silver and 38 Bronze.
Data, Direct, PR, Innovation, Product Design Lions
Also honored on Thursday (6/21) were the winners of the Lions in the following competitions:
- In the Creative Data Lions, 525 entries were received and 26 Lions awarded: 4 Gold, 8 Silver and 13 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to: “JFK Unsilenced,” by Rothco | Accenture Interactive, Dublin, for The Times/News UK & Ireland, Ireland.
- In the Direct Lions, 2,480 entries were received and 76 Lions awarded: 10 Gold, 27 Silver and 38 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to “Palau Pledge,” by Host/Havas, Sydney, Australia, for Palau Legacy Project. “Ideas that are human and make us feel, rise above the rest and the Grand Prix, the first large-scale tourism eco-pledge, did just this,” said Direct Lions jury president Susan Credle, global chief creative officer, FCB.
- In the PR Lions, 2,111 entries were received and 89 Lions awarded: 14 Gold, 27 Silver and 47 Bronze. “Trash Isles,” by AMV BBDO, London, for Plastic Oceans/Ladbible, United Kingdom, picked-up a second Grand Prix after winning a first in the Design Lions.
- In the Media Lions, 2,594 entries were received and 85 Lions awarded: 9 Gold, 26 Silver and 49 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to “Tesco’s Food Love Stories” by MediaCom London/BBH London, United Kingdom, for Tesco.
- In the Innovation Lions, 193 entries were received and 6 Lions awarded: 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to “My Line” by Mullenlowe SSP3, Bogotá, Colombia, for Ministry of Communications & Technology.
- In the Product Design Lions, 343 entries were received and 13 Lions awarded: 1 Gold, 5 Silver and 6 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to “Kingo” by Ogilvy Colombia, Bogotá/Kingo Energy, Guatemala City/Ogilvy Guatemala, Central America, Colombia.
- Media Network of the Year 2018 was also awarded to: Mediacom; second place to OMD Worldwide; and third to Mindshare.
Young Lions
Also announced today were the following Young Lions awards:
Young Lions Design Competition Winners:
1st place: Camilo Augusto Jiménez, Mullenlowe SSp3 and Giovanni Rozo, Colombia
2nd place: Patrícia Cordeiro, Big Fish and Cláudio Soares, JWT Lisboa, Portugal
3rd place: Petr Farbey and Breno Ribeiro Nascimento Havas Digital, Russia
Young Lions PR Competition Winners:
1st place: Xiaoyu Guan and Shengying Yan, BBDO, China
2nd place: Jean Paoli and Raphaële Brachet, Weber, France
3rd place: No bronze award
Young Lions Media Competition Winners:
1st place: Marc Hoes, DDB & Tribal Amsterdam and Lennart Eshuis, OMD, The Netherlands
2nd place: Hanna Tsishkevich and Aliaksei Ventskevich TDI group, Belarus
3rd place: Claudio Andres Ureta Fuentealba and Jorge Ulises Soberanes Lopez, Element, Mexico
