Among the various winners at Cannes, a handful truly standout. I have mentioned a few which caught my eye. Here’s another list of worthy winners.
Apple iPad: Grand Prix in Print
As Adage notes, ‘each of five print ads features a different magazine’s cover at the left, and the same cover within an iPad Mini at the right, with a small Apple logo and the tiny words iPad Mini at the bottom. The covers, from real issues of Time, Surfer, Wired, the New Yorker and Wallpaper, are stunning. Marcello Serpa, partner and chief creative officer of Almap BBDO, Sao Paulo, and an art director, presided over a category he loves. “Print is a magical medium, inside a frame,” he said. “If an idea is there, it pops up. There’s no case video, no music. And about the Grand Prix winning ad he said:
“It has a kind of guerrilla feeling,” Mr. Serpa said. “It’s a product that goes inside the media and says I’m going to kill you, [then] I’m going to save you. Let’s embrace. It’s redemption.”
On the face of it, the campaign seems too simplistic. But when you look at the broader picture and the audacity of placing an ad in a medium which is your direction ‘competition’ is applause worthy.
Agency: TBWA
Beijing Sports
This is one of those ad which you may not get at first glance. But when you do and the penny drops, it evokes a smile. Nicely done.
Ogilvy & Mather, Hong Kong
Volkswagen: Genuine Parts
A strategic direction can have different creative expressions. ‘Just because it fits doesn’t mean it will work’ is a brilliant expression of the need for genuine spare parts.
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Cape Town
Volkswagen: Original Parts
Similar objective and creative direction as the above campaign but a different execution.
Agency: AlmapBBDO, São Paulo
Swiss Life
A previous campaign for Swiss Life won the Epica d’Or at the Epica Awards. Glad that a copy based campaign is getting the accolades. What’s more the agency has not diverted from the main idea and the execution over two years now – which in itself is a rarity these days.
Agency: Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett, Zurich
IBM
Outdoor is no longer just a vinyl skin stuck on a billboard. This campaign brought that alive so well. The inherent do-good factor and the simplicity of it all makes you wish you had thought of the idea. Case study video here.
Agency: Ogilvy
Comedy Central
Advertising meets MAD magazine’s famous fold-in back covers. Even without physically folding the ad it forces you to fill in the blanks mentally and the imagery does bring a smile.
Agency: Grey, Buenos Aires
Crisis Relief
Based on a powerful insight. The ultimate irony could be that people stop at simply ‘liking’ this campaign.
Agency: Publicis, Singapore
Which were your favourites?
