Cannes Lions kicked off the 70th edition of the Festival with the first Awards Show of the week. The winners of the Pharma, Health & Wellness, Outdoor, Print & Publishing and Radio & Audio Lions were announced, as well as the Lions Health and United Nations Foundation Grand Prix for Good.
The latter honor–which celebrates the use of creativity to positively impact not only business and brand, but also the world at large–went to Working with Cancer, the cross-industry coalition formed by Publicis Groupe to erase the stigma and insecurity of cancer at work. The campaign launched a global “wake-up call” (see pair of films at conclusion of this story) urging everyone to play their part in supporting colleagues with cancer.
After being diagnosed and treated for cancer last year, Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Groupe, launched Working with Cancer at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 17, 2023. Today the program is an alliance of major international companies united by a pledge to create an open, supportive and recovery-forward culture for cancer sufferers. Thus far, some 600 businesses impacting more than 20 million employees have taken the Working with Cancer pledge.
Mel Routhier, president of the Cannes Lions Health and Wellness jury and CCO of VMLY&R Chicago, said, “Working with Cancer stopped us in our tracks. We not only saw a brilliantly creative idea, but we also saw a globally impactful one—with scale, inclusivity and the real potential to change employee care forever. To think that this point in time could mark the beginning of what will one day be seen as table stakes for how companies support their employees is exceptionally powerful. And most deserving of the ultimate recognition in the Grand Prix For Good.”
Among the recipients of the Grand Prix For Good were the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, La Foundation Publicis Chicago, Publicis Conseil Paris, Le Truc New York, Digitas New York, Saatchi & Saatchi Health, New York, and Publicis Groupe UK, London.
Making history
Other highlights on day one of Cannes proceedings included entrants from Armenia and Nigeria making history by being the first to take home a Lion for their country; Bronze Lions in Radio & Audio and Health & Wellness Lions, respectively.
Simon Cook, CEO, Lions, said, “We’re delighted to honor our first Lion winners who are raising the creative bar on the global stage. Thank you to all of our exceptional Jurors who have given their time, dedication and expertise to define the creative benchmark for the Festival’s 70th edition.”
In the Health & Wellness Lions, honouring creativity for personal well-being, 1297 entries were received and 37 Lions awarded: 6 Gold, 13 Silver and 17 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to ‘The Last Performance’ By Special, Auckland, for Partners Life. This disruptive piece of work challenged Kiwis to rethink preconceptions around life insurance, encouraging New Zealanders to take action.
In the Pharma Lions, which celebrate life-changing creativity, from 354 entries, 13 Lions were awarded: 2 Gold, 4 Silver, and 6 Bronze Lions. The Jury awarded the Pharma Grand Prix to ‘Scrolling Therapy’ for Eurofarma by Dentsu Creative Buenos Aires/Dentsu Creative New York/Dentsu Creative Chicago.
The Outdoor Lions, celebrating creativity experienced out of home, received 1938 entries and 59 Lions were awarded: 9 Gold, 19 Silver and 30 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to “A British Original” by Uncommon Creative Studio, London for British Airways. The work explores the multitude of reasons people travel by responding to the box-ticking question “What is the purpose of your visit?” With witty responses across 500 print, digital and outdoor executions, the work was delivered with impressive scale.
Commenting on the win, Outdoor Lions jury president Javier Campopiano, worldwide CCO at Grey and global CCO of OpenX From WPP, Grey/OpenX, said, “Under the surface of a classical OOH campaign, lays a platform that can hold an infinite amount of human truths, stories, desires, emotions, that can be crafted to connect with people wherever they are in their lives, geographically or emotionally.”
In the Print & Publishing Lions, which honor creativity in circulation, 814 entries were received and 26 Lions awarded: 4 Gold, 7 Silver, and 14 Bronze Lions, and the Grand Prix went to “Newspapers Inside The Newspaper Edition” by Impact BBDO, Dubai, for AnNahar Newspaper. The work honors freedom of speech in Lebanon and the crisis that affected the publishing industry, using the newspaper’s daily edition to revive publications that had been shut down due to political failure and pressure. The Print & Publishing jury issued a statement which read, “The Grand Prix was awarded to a brave piece of work that put into action a publication-based idea to defend the sanctity of a free press, and did it in a way that we hope sends a signal to the industry on how eternally innovative the future of publication can be.”
Radio & Audio Lions, celebrating creativity that is wired for sound, received 715 entries and 22 Lions were awarded: 3 Gold, 7 Silver, and 11 Bronze Lions. The Grand Prix went to the “Phone It In” campaign by Colenso BBDO, Auckland for telecommunications company Skinny, New Zealand.
Special awards
Special awards bestowed included:
The Healthcare Network of the Year
Rank:
- 1. FCB Health
- 2. Klick Health
- 3. PUBLICIS
And the Healthcare Agency of the Year
Rank:
- 1. AREA 23, an IPG Health Network Company, New York, USA
- 2. KLICK HEALTH, Toronto, Canada
- 3. 21GRAMS, Part Of Real Chemistry, New York, USA
