Everyone had a good feeling this year would be the year of the “Epic Split.” It was seen as a slam dunk to walk away with a bulk of the awards. However, Adam&EveDDB really stole the show as well as a slew of awards with their “Sorry I Spent It On Myself” campaign for Harvey Nichols. While no one winning a grand prix in branded content is a real let down, overall this year’s winners were all deserving of their honors. Below are all the grand prix winners alongside their case study.
Creative Effectiveness Lion Grand Prix
Campaign: V/Line “Guilt Trips”
Agency: McCann Melbourne, Australia
Moving away from your parents is hard. It’s hard because every phone call from home is a reminder that you are a terrible son/daughter for not checking up on them more often. V/Line has played off this insight to create a package where parents can send their kids real life guilt trips. They will receive a train ticket home with a message reminding them, how much they suck. Now would be a great time to call your parents or loved ones.
Cyber Lion Grand Prix – Craft
Campaign: Pharrell Williams “24 Hours of Happy”
Agency: ICONOclast Paris, France
Cyber Lion Grand Prix – Social Engagement
Film Lion Grand Prix – Internet Film
Campaign: Volvo Trucks “Live Test Series” & “Epic Split”
Forsman & Bodenfors Gothenburg, Sweden
This campaign has essentially relaunched Volvo in a way similar to Old Spice’s reinvention. It was seen as a favorite going into the awards due to everyone talking about/parodying/sharing the epic split video, not to mention winning top honours at almost all major awards this year.
The look, the feel, the music, the script, the lighting and most importantly the casting of this ad is flawless. There is a reason why this video is ripe for parodies. It has a unique look and feel. Before this ad you probably didn’t care for Volvo Trucks, but after it, you can’t help but think about how impressive they are.
Cyber Lion Grand Prix – Integrated Multiplatform
PR Lion Grand Prix
Campaign: Chipotle Mexican Grill “The Scarecrow”
Agency: Creative Artist Agency Los Angeles, USA
Chipotle’s founder Steve Ells said “The idea is to get people to think, to find more info. We’re trying to bring people in through entertainment….to spark conversation.” Attacking the food industry is going to McRattle some Kentucky Fried Feathers. Chipotle created a moving ad that really make your think. The conversation it spawned is still on going and fast food chains are slowly losing the battle to Chipotle. This is a genius PR move, plain and simple. Well done.
Getting Fiona Apple to cover a beloved song from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory on top of a powerful animated short leaves the viewer speechless. It’s haunting, memorable and also playable thanks to an app. Not only did this ad get people thinking, it really proved that fast food doesn’t have to be unhealthy. Even though there was a bit of ugliness with Frank Ocean that resulted in a lawsuit due to Ocean’s failure to deliver his cover, this ad held up and Chipotle didn’t lose any credibility.
Design Lion Grand Prix
Campaign: Bergen Internation Festival “Bergen Internation Festival Brand Campaign”
Agency: Anti Bergen, Norway
Branding a music festival can be difficult, its look and feel must give way to what kind of genres will be represented. It has to be simple but memorable, cool but not try to hard. Anti Bergen was faced with such a dilemma when it came to branding the Bergen International Festival and they came up with something simple yet iconic. Using the concept of a pixel equaling a note, they created an F logo using 6 pixels. It was easy to create and even easier to manipulate to open up a new world of designs. The pixel-equals-note concept also yielded a great app where music is made using the logo.
Direct Lion Grand Prix
Campaign: British Airways “Magic of Flying”
Agency: OgilvyOne London, UK
In every movie that is set in the future, almost one of the first thing that is tackled is advertising. How will ads be shown to us in the future. Holograms? Personalized boards? Ads that adjust to the weather? It’s always a huge question mark. For the most part it would seem that ads haven’t advanced but for the first time, OgilvyOne has created an ad that’s almost science fiction. It can show in real time flight numbers, and adjust for weather. It truly is a sign of the future.
Film Lion Grand Prix – Retail
Press Lion Grand Prix
Promo & Activation Lion Grand Prix
Integrated Lion Grand Prix
Everyone has bought a bad gift before that they knew was a bad gift. Watching the loved one unwrap something that will most definitely disappoint them with such glee is painful. The look on their face as they try to digest this emotional suicide is always met with your explaining why the gift is so good. They will try to spare your feelings by saying “great, thanks.” But both parties know this was a fraud. Adam&EveDDB have masterfully put this on display with the “Sorry I Spent It On Myself” campaign. This campaign was one grand prix away from tying the record set by “Dumb Ways To Die”. This ad is so painfully awkward, it might as well be an episode of BBC’s “The Office.” In fact, it just gets better with each viewing, now if you would oblige me, I’m off to watch it again.
Grand Prix For Good
Campaign: Terre Des Hommes Netherlands “Sweetie”
Agency: LEMZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Child pornography and abuse online is a global epidemic, no one talks about. LEMZ’s created a cyber 10 years old girl to catch these predators and kick start the discussion. It’s great to see such a serious problem get pushed into the spotlight, but besides awareness what really is great is seeing the results.
Innovation Lion Grand Prix
JSC Megafon “Megafaces Pavillion at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games”
Agency: Megafon Moscow, Russia
Selfies….everyone has an opinion about them. The fact of the matter is everyone uses selfies now to document how they looked at important moments in their lives. Megafon knew this and made the first ever 3D selfie billboard. Users can scan their face and have a gigantic billboard create 3D renderings of their face. It’s neat and cool but a bit dull to be honest. I wish they did more with the idea but I guess seeing my face in 3D on the side of the building is cooler than on my screen.
Media Lion Grand Prix
Campaign: Coca-Cola “Happy iD”
Agency: McCann Lima, Peru
Long ago Coca-cola decided they want to own happiness and till today they manage to keep finding smart and innovative ways to show happiness by coke. By zeroing in on the fact that most Peruvians are unhappy, Coca-cola decided to launch an initiative to get people to smile for the national ID cards. It’s small and simple but what coke did to turn the cards into rewards and set up booths all over the country was smart. They made a small idea become a nationwide phenomenon and that is no small feat.
Mobile Lion Grand Prix
Campaign: Nivea “Protection Ad”
Agency: FCB Sao Paulo, Brazil
Nothing scares me more about having kids than the thought of them going missing. The fact that I still lose my keys on a daily basis constantly reaffirms the high possibility of this horrible outcome. Nivea created a magazine insert, that can be torn out to form a bracelet, that can be paired with their app to help keep an eye on the whereabouts of your kid. Very useful, free, impulsive and most importantly well positioned. Top marks all around. Now where did I put my drink…
Outdoor Lion Grand Prix
Campaign: ANZ Bank “GayTMs”
Agency: WhybinTBWA Group Melbourne, Australia
I’m torn, this is beyond stereotypical however it looks cool. To show their support for the Gay and Lesbian march, ANZ bank one of the primary sponsors, created a series of GayTMs. What’s a GayTM? Well, a bedazzled, leopard printed ATM. It’s unfortunately overly stereotypical but it does look really fun. If I was gonna withdraw money, I might as well have a fabulous time doing it. Also, whatever George Takei likes I like.
Product Design Lion Grand Prix
Campaign: G-Star Raw “Raw for the Ocean”
Agency: G-Star Raw Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The ocean is getting more and more polluted. It’s a problem that is becoming more ridiculous as the days go on. Finally, someone has come to save the day and that someone is Pharell Williams, again. Bionic Yarn in collaboration with G-Star Raw denim have created a new denim made from plastic found in the ocean. It’s the type of initiative that will truly help make the world more green. A greener world will make us all happy…ain’t that right Pharrell.
Radio Lion Grand Prix
Lucozade “Enrique” “Teleconference” “Kid’s Party”
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather’s Johannesburg, South Africa
This is the greatest set of radio ads I have ever heard. They are hilarious, they look at annoying situations like giving a presentation, going to a kid’s birthday or suffering through an Enrique concert, and show how Lucozade can power you through it. It’s ads like this that keep proving time and time again that radio is still an amazing venue for storytelling.
Titanium Lion Grand Prix
Campaign: Honda “Sound of Honda/ Ayrton Senna 1989”
Agency: Dentsu Tokyo, Japan
In 1989, Ayrton Senna* set a record at the Japan’s Suzuka** course using Honda’s engineering navigation device Internavi***. Honda set out to recreate the magic that was that lap using graphs, data and sounds captured from that epic run. They then created a site where you could relive the magic all over again. While Senna’s tragic death was showcased in 2010’s documentary “Senna”, Honda and Dentsu brought back the legend in 2014. Basha!!****
* Famous F1 racer. Seriously famous.
** Suzuka is a course in Japan. Kinda obvious from the name.
*** Internavi sounds like an alien from Avatar, but it’s really just a GPS.
**** We seriously approve!
Special Awards
CREATIVE MARKETER OF THE YEAR
Steve Easterbrook, Senior Executive Vice President and Global Chief Brand Officer, McDonald’s
AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Adam&EveDDB, London
HOLDING COMPANY OF THE YEAR
WPP
INDEPENDENT AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Forsman & Bodenfors, Gothenburg
PALME D’OR
MJZ, USA
NETWORK OF THE YEAR
Ogilvy & Mather
LION OF ST MARK
Joe Pytka, Film Director, PYTKA
MEDIA NETWORK OF THE YEAR
Starcom MediaVest
MEDIA PERSON OF THE YEAR
Richard Plepler, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of HBO (Hodor!)
Regional Network of the Year
APAC
BBDO
EMEA
DDB…For those wondering the ME won nothing. Nothing at all. Congrats Europe and Africa.
NORTH AMERICA
BBDO
SOUTH AMERICA
Ogilvy & Mather