Eleven of the world’s best ads
Last week saw the Cannes Lions advertising awards – a global competition showcasing the world’s best ads.
It was a poor year for Australia (and indeed downright disastrous in the print category) but there were plenty of good ads from the rest of the world.
For those unfamiliar with the Lions, over a week, trophies are handed out across every advertising discipline, to agencies from across the world.
As well as Bronze, Silver and Gold, the ultimate winner of each category picks up the Grand Prix. In theory, it’s a list of the world’s best ads.
So here, based on the Cannes Lions juries’ verdicts, are the world’s 11 best ad campaigns of the year (you can click on the links to read more about the strategies behind them):
Film: Wieden + Kennedy Portland, USA – Old Spice – ‘The Man Your Man Could Smell Like’
Film Craft: RSA Films, London – Philips Cinema TV – ‘The Gift’.
Integrated Wieden + Kennedy, Portland’s, ‘Livestrong’ for the Nike Livestrong Foundation
Titanium: Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Boulder – Best Buy’s ‘Twelpforce’
Press: ALMAPBBDO São Paulo, Brazil – Billboard magazine
Outdoor: Anomaly New York – Diesel Apparel
Direct: Special Group, Auckland – Orcon + Iggy Pop
Cyber: DDB Stockholm – VW – The Fun Theory & Livestrong Nike Chalkbot (as above)
Radio: No Grand Prix awarded
Promo: TBWA\CHIAT\DAY LA, USA – Gatorade – Replay
Design: Happiness Brussels – IQ font – Toyota
Grand Prix for Good: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, London – Metropolitan Police – ‘Choose a Different Ending’
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
Linkedin
topics
Abbott Mead Vickers
Advertising
Anomaly
Auckland
Cannes
Crispin Porter Bogusky
DDB
Diesel
film
Gatorade
Lions
Nike
Old Spice
Philips
press
Special Group
TBWA\Chiat\Day
Toyota
Twitter
VW
Wieden + Kennedy
Awesome stuff))
User ID not verified.
hate to be a party pooper but the AMV ad is a direct copy of a BRILLIANT idea 7 years ago by publicis dialog which won the dma grand prix at the time.
See some details here
http://www.marketingmagazine.c.....-activity/
This campaign actually generated 10% – yes 10% – donation to eyeballs ratio!
Can’t wait for the internet on TV over here
User ID not verified.
Choose a different ending has to be one of the most innovative and immersive campaigns that I have come across in a long time. They deserve the Grand Prix and I hope the results were what they planned on achieving. Congratulations to everyone involved.
User ID not verified.
How is this a poor year for Australia? 44 lions in total by my count, a Grand Prix for media, and 11 Golds in total. Not too shabby at all for a nation of twenty-something million.
What would have been a more appropriate figure?
User ID not verified.
Hi Mg,
Fair point – At the time I wrote that post, I didn’t have the final results. The solid performance in the final day’s Film Lions lifted things back up somewhat – not quite as good as last year’s Best Job- driven highs, but not bad.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Tim, I’ve just worked out the world rankings for 2010 Cannes Lions: Australia once again ranked #6; NZ placed equal 9th. A bloody good performance by the Australasians… http://www.campaignbrief.com/2.....-aust.html
User ID not verified.
In your list above you haven’t included Australia’s Media Lions Grand Prix, won by Leo Burnett Sydney for Canon ‘EOS Photochains’:
http://www.campaignbrief.com/2.....out-m.html
User ID not verified.
Samsung Canada ran an awesome ‘choose your own adventure’ style you tube campaign in 1998. Let the instinct guide you – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoOCiaxIZF4
User ID not verified.
Hi Lynchy,
It was deliberate. I left out the PR Grand Prix too. I’m not sure you could count media and PR as advertising.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Pretty serious omission if you’re going to categorise our showing as ‘poor’.
‘Everything under Australia’s media and marketing umbrella.’
User ID not verified.
Tim, doesn’t Mumbrella stand for everything under the media and advertising umbrella? I think our industry should definitely be celebrating an idea for a major brand, Canon, which transcends both the advertising and media industries. This idea is world class and shows that no matter which banner you march under, media or advertising, we are all lead by great ideas. Pretty massive omission.
User ID not verified.
Hi Advermedia person,
I totally agree that all comms ideas are worth celebrating. But it just so happens that this particular post was about the best creative campaigns.
Being the media category, the grand prix will have been given for the media thinking, not the execution.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Thanks for your reply Tim. However I have to say your thinking is pretty old school. This same ‘media thinking’ also picked up a gold in Direct at Cannes and was a recent Silver winner at Clio in Integrated. Trust me, you don’t win in media without a great creative execution. Would you have posted LynxJet a few years ago?
Also, #6 in the world for Australia is a bloody great year. Spread the love my friend. The slaughtering of Droga 5 is a bit rough as well. I guess everyone’s entitled their opinion but surely there is something positive happening in the world.
User ID not verified.
I don’t think I disagree, Advermedia. It’s good media thinking.
But again, it’s not the ad that won the award, it’s the media strategy.
It so happens that the same agency did both (which in itself is a massive criticism of the Cannes Media Lions – media agencies don’t seem to have the award-entering skills to win this category, so it tends to be dominated by ad agencies. You put your finger on it: “you don’t win in media without a great creative execution”. isn’t that a big flaw of the category?)
Again, this post is the best ads, not the round-up of grand prix winners, or round-up of best communication ideas (to include the PR category too). There’s a place for that, but this piece isn’t it. If I was doing a post on the ten bets PR camapigns (which seems like a good idea, actually), I wouldn’t include ads.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Media agencies certainly do have the award entering skills. OMD Auckland won the Media Lions Grand Prix in 2007, Universal McCann Sydney won it in 2006 and in 2002, Mediacom Tel Aviv in in 2005, OMD Santiago in 2004 and 141 Palace Plus Auckland in 1999
User ID not verified.
By the way, while Leo Burnett Sydney entered Canon EOS Photochains, some credit should also go to media agency MEC Sydney.
User ID not verified.
lynchy. stop.
User ID not verified.
16, so if MEC Sydney had bothered to enter the award they would have won the Media Grand Prix? Bet they wish they made the effort!
And if they were the media agency how could Leo Burnett win it?
User ID not verified.