10 Cannes Cases that jumped out at me

Thanks to Brightfish, I recently went to Cannes for the 64th Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. For those of you that don’t know about this high mass of creativity, think about what the World Cup is for footballers and that’s what Cannes is for advertising professionals. The best advertising campaigns in the world compete to win Lions made of precious metals.

My colleague Jolien and I defended the Belgian tricolour in the Young Lions competition (a festival competition open to advertising creatives aged under 30). We had two days to create a film, including recording and editing it. Unfortunately, we didn’t win a prize, but we did make a good movie.

During the competition, parties and “networking”, I found the time to view the submitted and award-winning work. Below, I’ve listed a selection of cases that jumped out at me, without repeating the popular campaigns (just Google “Meet Graham”, “Fearless Girl” or the Belgian “Coins of Hope” – the last one was created by my colleagues Jolien and Kate!).

Oh yes, the majority are campaigns for beer. It’s something I like to drink, so maybe it’s not a coincidence.

Coca Cola — The Line Up Song

This one needs some explanation as I haven’t found a good case film (with subtitles). Coca Cola wanted to do something about the Egyptian team that participated in the Africa Cup, but competitor Pepsi was the official sponsor so they couldn’t do anything with football. So Coca Cola made a quirky movie showing all the Egyptian players (and their qualities) – in a Ping-Pong hall. The movie is such an earworm (it’s been stuck in my head for several days), that Egyptians quickly knew the formation of their national team by heart. It’s not a big idea, but it’s good, funny and effective. Without a huge budget, they managed to steal Pepsi’s thunder: everyone was only talking about Coca Cola during the Africa Cup.

Pedigree — Child Replacement Program

Parents whose children have left home are encouraged to offer a home to an asylum dog in this campaign. It’s smart and well executed: apparently you can even transform a child’s old outfit into a jacket for your new dog.

Ubrew— Responsibly The Beer

Imagine: you’re a small brewery and you’ve just launched a new beer on the market, but you can’t compete against the big players. What do you do? You play the big players. In every TV commercial or advertisement, brewers need to say: “Enjoy responsibly” (like in Belgium they say “Ons vakmanschap drink je met verstand”). So, Ubrew decided the best name for their beer was Responsibly. And as the icing on the cake, they launched a brand of crisps called “Moderation”. “Enjoy Responsibly with Moderation” – got it?

Andes Beer — Bar45

How can you make it clear that your beer only comes into its own when you pour it at a 45° angle? Simple. Make a café that tilts at 45°, on a slope in the mountains that your beer is named after. Top job.

Barbarian — Anti Pinky Pint

How can you make it clear that your beer only comes into its own when you pour it at a 45° angle? Simple. Make a café that tilts at 45°, on a slope in the mountains that your beer is named after. Top job.

Shell — Gravity Light

A light that works based on gravity instead of polluting and unhealthy kerosene lamps: a beautiful initiative from Shell. Even if it might be an attempt to draw attention away from the 3.7 million barrels of oil they pump every day.

Comic Relief — Swear Jar app

A fun technological idea that uses Google’s Voice Recognition. Connect the app to your credit card and you’re charged 20 pence every time you swear. The money goes straight to Comic Relief, a charity organised by a group of British comedians.

Heineken — Guardian Fans

This is one I had missed even though I’m both a beer and football fan. While Napoli footballer Mark Hamsik was playing in a match, his house was broken into (this has also happened to other footballers). That’s when Heineken thought of their service: fans can watch the match from their favourite player’s home. It’s an unforgettable experience for the fans, plus Hamsik and his teammates can focus on the match.

VR Vaccination

Virtual Reality is a buzzword, I know. But it can be used for something useful: to reassure children when they get a vaccination.

Samsonite — Weight Tag

A paper band that breaks if you have too many kilos in your suitcase, so you don’t have to pay extra charges to Ryanair and their consortium: well done Samsonite.