Who won the advertising World Cup?
Another Cannes Lions, another war of words between Omnicom and WPP over who’s the most creative holding company.
About two hours after the final winners had been announced, a press release from WPP came out claiming that the owner of Ogilvy, JWT and GroupM had “lifted the World Cup of advertisin
And then a few hours, who’d have guessed it, a press release from Omnicom materialises claiming that “Omnicom Agencies Take Top Honors at Cannes Festival”.
The press release from WPP:
WPP lifts World Cup of advertising for the fourth time in a row
Sir Martin Sorrell hails “brilliant work for clients” as WPP agencies set the standard once again at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
The Cannes Lions Festival tonight named WPP as holding company of the year for the fourth year running.
The award followed the announcement earlier in the week that WPP had, for the third consecutive year, won the Effie for the world’s most effective holding company.
Cannes Lions recognises the world’s best examples of creativity in a commercial setting. The holding company award is based on the total number of points won by each group’s agencies during the week of the festival. Agencies from 47 different countries contributed points to WPP’s total. WPP finished first ahead of Omnicom and Publicis respectively.
Ogilvy & Mather was crowned network of the year for the third year in a row.
Among the many examples of winning work from WPP agencies were: Ogilvy & Mather Brazil’s “Bald Cartoons” for GRAACC, the children’s cancer institute; “Unload your 401k” by Grey New York; OgilvyOne London’s “Magic of Flying” for BA; “Turning Packaging into Education” from Y&R Yangon/Red Fuse for Colgate Palmolive, bringing Myanmar its first ever Lion; Ogilvy South Africa’s “Give Me Strength” for Lucozade; “The Autocomplete Truth” for UN Women by Memac Ogilvy; Y&R Beijing’s campaign for Penguin China; and Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” box set release by Interlude New York for Sony Music.
Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP, said: “We normally describe Cannes as our Oscars but this year it’s the World Cup of advertising and marketing. We’re thrilled to lift it for the fourth year in a row. Over the last 12 months there have been a few distractions for some in the industry, so it’s good to focus on the core of our business: brilliant work for clients. Huge thanks and congratulations to all our winning people, agencies and networks.”
John O’Keeffe, Worldwide Creative Director of WPP, said: “A tough contest has come to a gratifying conclusion for WPP here in Cannes. The closeness of the result is testament not only to our own strength, but that of our competitors as well, who I know will be just as hard to beat next year. Congratulations to everyone whose work has made Cannes 2014 such an amazing showcase for our industry.”
The press release from Omnicom:
Omnicom Agencies Take Top Honors at Cannes Festival
Wins More Grand Prix and Gold Lions combined than any other Holding Company
OMD and PHD Dominate the Media Lions Category with 16 Media Lions
NEW YORK, June 21, 2014 — At the annual Cannes Festival of Creativity, Omnicom (NYSE:OMC) agencies continue to be the most creatively awarded in the industry by winning more Grand Prix and Gold Lions combined than any other holding company.
Omnicom’s Media Group (OMG) scored the most wins of any media agency holding company. Adam&eve DDB in the UK was named Agency of the Year, winning a total of 22 awards, including 4 Grand Prix for the Harvey Nichols “Sorry I Spent It On Myself” Christmas campaign.
In total, Omnicom agencies won more than 250 Lions. BBDO and DDB were among the top three networks for the eighth consecutive year. TBWA had a record year with 51 Lions. BBDO, DDB and TBWA all won Grand Prix awards, the festival’s most prestigious honor, across Product Design, Outdoor, Press, Promo and Activation, Film, and the Titanium and Integration categories.
Omnicom Media Group’s flagship agencies OMD and PHD took home a combined total of 16 Lions, including four Gold Lions for PHD (the most Golds won by any media agency this year). PHD UK also won two Creative Effectiveness Lions for its work on the “Dove Real Beauty Sketches” and Expedia “Travel Your Tweet Interesting” campaigns.
There were many highlights over the course of the week for Omnicom agencies. Below are just a few:
• Almap BBDO took 3rd
• Grand Prix for Outdoor was awarded to WhyBin/TBWA and Australian Bank ANZ for ‘GAYTM.’
• FHV BBDO in Amsterdam was part of the winning team for the inaugural Grand Prix in Product Design for G Star Raw (“Raw for the Oceans”).
• DDB New York and WaterIsLIfe won a Grand Prix in Film for ‘Kenya Bucket List” campaign.
• Omnicom’s Ketchum, Critical Mass, Dieste and Goodby Silverstein all won Lions
• Omnicom’s long-term client, McDonalds, was honored Creative Marketer of the year.
“This year at Cannes, we saw outstanding work from all over the world that combines the best in creativity and technology and the fact that our agencies took home top honors across a broad range of categories including advertising, digital, mobile, media, and PR, speaks to the depth and breadth of service offerings of Omnicom,” said John Wren, president and CEO, Omnicom. “We have always been at the forefront of creative innovation and our continued success directly reflects the dedication and hard work of our people, the most talented in the industry.”
Happily, Cannes Lions has solved the mystery for us with a press release of its own, an extract from which reads as follows…
Agency of the Year was given to Adam&EveDDB, London. Dentsu, Tokyo came second and AlmapBBDO, São Paulo third.
The Network of the Year award was presented to Ogilvy & Mather with BBDO taking second place and DDB in third.
The inaugural Regional Network of the Year winners were announced as:
APAC –BBDO
EMEA – DDB
North America – BBDO
South America – Ogilvy & MatherAlso awarded was the Holding Company of the Year which went to WPP. Omnicom took second place and Publicis third.
Case closed. Although Dr Mumbo is awarding Omnicom a commendation for spin skills.
Who cares who won?
I know who the real losers are.
Real clients.
Wasted agency man-hours.
The general state of advertising.
Then again, compared to next year’s cannes, this will be a vintage year.
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