(First published in Ad News)
Now the dust has settled, and the hangovers worn off, I’d like to revisit the Cannes Lions.
With nearly 30,000 entries, there’s lots to review: the sad fact is, some great work never sees the light of day. I’d like to dig into the archives and shine a light on some of the more overlooked entries.
Full disclosure, I have nothing to do with any of these agencies, work, brands or people.
First off, from Kazakhstan: Show The Reality, by the Altair Foundation.
Let’s set the scene. Over a moody reality – TV promo featuring neon-lit ladders and the determined faces of the contestants, a dramatic voice-over proclaims:
“For the first time in Kazakhstan, and the world. Nothing like this has ever been seen before. A reality program in which every contestant… has suffered amputation. “
The camera pulls back to reveal, yes, every contestant is missing an arm or leg.
And they are playing for the chance to win a prosthetic limb.
This is brutal, shocking, Stephen King stuff that makes deeply uncomfortable viewing and shocked Kazakhstan with immediate demands that the show be banned.
But of course, this was never a reality show. It was a promo designed to show reality. Every year, around 5,000 people lose limbs in Kazakhstan, and most can’t afford a quality prosthesis, which costs thousands of dollars.
Too often there’s a snobbery about shock tactics – as if cheap tricks aren’t exactly what every client really wants! But in 2024 the same country produced the similar ‘National Sport of Kazakhstan’ which pitted male versus female MMA fighters against each other in a bold attempt to start a conversation around domestic violence. That won a Gold in the Social Purpose category, so why was this overlooked?
Maybe it’s a formula, but it’s a formula that works. In a time-poor, attention-hungry world, we need to remember that brands aren’t being shocking for the sake of it – they’re doing it because we need shaking out of our comfort zones.
Next up, a smart POV on influencer marketing. Not every business has the time, or money, to emulate the hyper-long form storytelling of campaigns like GoDaddy and Goggin’s Goggles.
Which is why I was so impressed by Only 55-Seconds Contract for Kraft Fresh Mozzarella, by Hakuhodo in Tokyo.
In a market where most influencer contracts with big name talent are generally made on a yearly basis, the brand took the novel approach of offering a big-name celebrity a contract lasting only 55 seconds – the time it takes to make a delicious Italian recipe using their Mozzarella (yay, seamless product integration!).
They held a “55-second press conference” with actor Joe Odagiri and featured his image on the website for only 50 seconds, after which he was silhouetted (why not 55” is never explained). This literal economy of scale meant his fees were reportedly 1/20 of what they would usually be.
It’s a reminder that sometimes the message is more than the medium, it’s the timeframe. Creative constraints, like lack of budget or time, can always be turned to our advantage and that scarcity and exclusivity can work just as well for comms as it does for products.
Finally, The Midlife Check by FP7 McCANN, Dubai for Harley Davidson.
By integrating free prostate cancer screenings into routine bike servicing for men over 50, the campaign reimagined health checks as an essential and “manly” part of motorcycle ownership. This clever tactic not only addressed health stigmas but created lasting behavioural change by making medical testing as routine as bike maintenance.
We saw a lot of brands integrating or adapting their terms and conditions to create culturally relevant stories, perhaps most notably from Axa (Just Three Words) and ASIC (The Desk Break Clause). I’d argue this campaign goes one step further and am surprised it only made the shortlist twice.
Harley-Davidson added a new clause to its owner’s manual: get your bike serviced, get a free prostate exam. Parallelling the way we care for our vehicles with the way we care for our bodies is simple and smart. Moreover, by integrating into the owner’s manual it reinforces Harley’s commitment to long-term behaviour change.
These three case studies are just the fraction of the incredible creativity contained within Cannes. Proof that even overlooked works can often showcase unique ideas and creativity that continue to push the boundaries of the industry, reminding us of the enormous creative landscape in which we operate and showing just how hard we all must work to win a coveted Lion!