The culmination of the 71st Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity marked the end of what the creative fraternity likes to refer to as the global creative year. As a ‘New Creative Year’ begins, the industry is looking at some trends that not only are trademarks of the current consumer-engaging and business-moving work but also set the direction of what creativity should entail in the year ahead.
One of the biggest discussions at the festival was the resurgence of fun and humour in advertising. In the last few years, purpose-driven work has taken the limelight. Creativity works best when it can solve problems for consumers, businesses and economies. For some reason this translated into more seriousness at work, identifying and solving sombre issues and making a difference to people’s lives. At the time, this was a needed change. Creativity should stand for something phenomenal.
There is still a place for this form of purpose-driven work that is making the world a better place. But the zing must come back and the laughter must be celebrated. Advertising, after all, is the most fun one can have with clothes on. Ad man Jerry Della Femina’s famous quote has made quite the comeback for the global creative fraternity. While this aspect itself is not too surprising, creativity, like fashion, is a cycle –– what goes around comes around, and what was once old is new again.
The Big Comeback
A standout trend at Cannes Lions 2024 was the emphasis on fun and humour in advertising. Brands that dared to embrace creativity and engage audiences through playful campaigns were celebrated. This approach was evident across various categories, where jurors favoured works that effectively used humour to convey messages and connect with audiences.
One such example was the Social & Influencer Lions Grand Prix winner, ‘Michael Cerave’ for Cerave by Ogilvy PR USA. The campaign suggested that actor Michael Cera was the founder of the skincare brand, creating a buzz through a four-week social media and influencer campaign leading up to the 2024 Super Bowl. Amy Ferguson, Social & Influencer Jury President and Special US’ Chief Creative Officer and Partner, described the campaign as “a wildly ambitious, lovably absurd multi-channel ultra-modern campaign” that blended social influencer culture with advertising.
In the PR Lions category, the Grand Prix was awarded to ‘The Misheard Version’ for Specsavers by Golin UK. This campaign featured pop singer Rick Astley re-recording his hit single with misheard lyrics to promote free hearing tests. PR Jury President Kat Thomas highlighted the campaign’s exceptional creativity and cultural relevance, stating that it “over-delivered against every evaluation benchmark from standout earned-first creativity to meaningful commercial impact”. This work also won the Audio & Radio Lions’ Grand Prix for the sheer simplicity of the idea.
The Winning Formula
The jury presidents consistently emphasised the importance of simplicity in the winning works, which was another way to highlight that generative AI (artificial intelligence) that dominated conversations last year did not take over the festival (yet). Marco Venturelli, Outdoor Jury President and Chief Creative Officer at Publicis Groupe France, said that while technology played a role, the wins were deeply rooted in simple, well-executed ideas. He cited the Grand Prix-winning ‘Recycle Me’ campaign for Coca-Cola by Ogilvy USA, which used the simple act of crushing red cans to promote recycling, as a prime example of powerful simplicity in print advertising.
John Raúl Forero, Print & Publishing Jury President and Chief Creative Officer at DDB Colombia, echoed this sentiment. His jury saw boldness and elegance in ‘Recycle Me’, highlighting how it stood out by reclaiming the classic print medium in a tech-driven world.
It should be noted here that The Coca-Cola Company was named the Creative Brand of the Year at the festival, a first in Cannes Lions history.
Technology & Creativity
While technology’s influence was undeniable, the jury presidents noted that the winning works struck a balance between tech use and creative ideas. The Media Lions Grand Prix winner, ‘Handshake Hunt’ for Mercado Libre by Gut Brazil, integrated technology by using TV pop-up QR codes to engage viewers and drive Black Friday sales. Prerna Mehrotra, Media Jury President and Chief Client Officer & CEO Media at Dentsu APAC, highlighted the campaign’s inventive use of technology to reinvent the TV-watching experience.
In the Digital Craft Lions category, the Grand Prix was awarded to 'Spreadbeats' for Spotify by FCB USA. This campaign transformed a B2B media plan spreadsheet into a music video using Microsoft Excel. Kentaro Kimura, Digital Craft Jury President, emphasised that the campaign celebrated human creativity achieved through decades-old technology, showcasing a remarkable blend of craft and innovation.
India’s Performance
For a country that won 24 Lions and a Grand Prix in 2023, 47 Lions in 2022 and 22 Lions in the 2020-21 combined edition, 18 Lions was disappointing. The last time India had such a tally was back in 2019. Then, India’s 18 Lions comprised only one gold, five silver and 12 bronze.
Leo Burnett took the top spot with conviction this year, showing consistency in its Cannes Lions performance. Even at home platforms such as the recently concluded Abby One Show awards, Leo Burnett was the top agency.
The second spot was debatable between Ogilvy India and McCann. While Ogilvy has the larger count and the winning work includes three of its largest brands, McCann’s gold win gives it the edge.
Ogilvy India’s Grand Prix in 2023 did shine the light on the agency but perhaps due to its creative reputation and legacy, a good run also does not look good enough. Naysayers have enough fodder to argue that Ogilvy’s once-dominant position at Cannes Lions is no more.
From the creative side, the likes of Dentsu were conspicuous by their absence among the winners, and so were the media agencies from India.
With two agency brands – Ogilvy and VML – bringing home a total of six Lions including two silvers, WPP is the most ‘creative’ company in India. Incidentally, WPP also regained its Creative Company of the Year title globally this year. Leo Burnett is the only agency from the Publicis Groupé that has won at the Festival, putting the French company in the second spot. McCann’s three Lions and FCB Kinnect’s silver put IPG as the third most creative company in India.
The Creative New Year
Back in 2019, despite the 18 Lions, India was the 11th most awarded country globally as per the Cannes Lions 2019 Global Creativity Report. The top three countries were the USA, the UK and Brazil, in that order. The Global Creativity Report takes into consideration data and rankings of top-performing agencies, production companies, brands and people. With one gold and two silvers more this year, arguing that India is still among the top global best of the best is not too far-fetched.
The India camp was divided into a good and a not-so-good show but they were united in the advice that it was a bad idea to get hung up on this. The creative fraternity’s New Year has just begun, so it is tabula rasa of sorts again for the next chapter.
