HONG KONG — The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity stands as a pinnacle event within the advertising industry, showcasing exceptional creativity and innovation in advertising and marketing campaigns from across the globe. With Cannes Lions 2023 just around the corner, happening from June 19 to 23, creative network Ogilvy shared some of its strongest work from the Asia Pacific region.
Delve into this selection of top 10 campaign contenders from APAC, meticulously chosen by Reed Collins, Ogilvy Chief Creative Officer, who has been based in Hong Kong for the past nine years at the agency’s regional headquarters.
“The Innocent Eyes” by Ogilvy Bangkok for Voiz
Ogilvy Bangkok and confectionary brand Voiz have teamed up to produce a quirky and hilarious film that tells the story of just how good Voiz Waffle Choco is. A man tries as hard as he can to hide the truth behind how much he wants a woman’s Voiz Waffle Choco. But he can only do so much, as the woman soon realizes (in a surprising, absurdist way) that the eyes always tell all.
“Sun Warnings” by Ogilvy Singapore for Vaseline
Consumers are well aware of the danger of the sun, from severe burns to skin cancer but only 14% of them know that the sun is also dangerous at sunrise and sunset. With this, Vaseline and Ogilvy Singapore created a campaign to convey the need to wear sunscreen in the early morning and evening hours to protect your skin from the damaging effects of the sun. Hence, a series of print ads deftly turned sunsets and sunrises into the universal warning sign, the exclamation point.
“The Beauty Report Card” by Ogilvy Mumbai for Dove
In 2021, Dove and Ogilvy Mumbai began a movement provoking India to confront how beauty biases are amplified during the process of finding a life partner. The campaign showcased how the remarks deeply impacted the self-esteem of prospective brides. Dove’s “The Beauty Card,” the second leg of the initial campaign, has shifted its focus on the root of the problem, from prospective brides to teenage girls. The film features real girls who narrate real stories of how they have been subjected to varied beauty tests based on their appearances, thereby being rated by society on their looks instead of their intellect and aptitude.
“House of Healers” by Ogilvy Manila for Mind You
The Philippines has the third highest rate of depression and mental health conditions in the Western Pacific region, with around 3.6 million sufferers. Interestingly enough, it was discovered that a staggering 97.3% of them play video games. So Ogilvy Manila and mental healthy system Mind You‘s challenge: How can we reach out and help these gamers with mental health issues?
In online games, players rely on healer characters when their own characters are low on health. Mind You, an online platform focused on making mental health more accessible to Filipinos, had its mental health professionals play as healers in the Philippines’ most popular online games. The campaign provided free one-on-one mental health consultations for players using the games’ own text and voice chat features, providing healing not just in the games, but in real life. Gamers then continued their healing with more therapy sessions on Mind You’s online consultation platform.
The campaign saw 4,256 participants and generated a 25.4% increase in new sign-ups.
“Undercover” by Ogilvy Hong Kong for Women Helping Women
In Hong Kong, gender-based violence is considered a family affair and often goes unreported due to a lack of evidence. Studies show that the vast majority of incidents have one thing in common: a few very specific verbal insults tend to be shouted by perpetrators in the lead-up to physical abuse. To combat this, Ogilvy Hong Kong created UNDERCOVER, the first app designed to recognize these insults in any situation or context. When the AI hears these phrases at over 90 decibels, the app secretly starts recording the entire incident that follows, helping victims collect evidence of the abuse that is legally admissible in court. If the AI determines the incident is escalating, an emergency alert is sent to a pre-determined trusted contact. The UNDERCOVER app runs in the background, designed to look generic to avoid detection, and is protected through biometrics so there is no way for the abuser to access the recordings.
“Nail Clippers” by Ogilvy Shanghai for Buick
Buick, previously known in China as the “old people’s car,” underwent a much-needed brand makeover to appeal to younger drivers and transition to an all-electric future. However, fans pointed out that the new logo looked like a set of nail clippers, turning a challenging situation into a nightmare. Rather than apologizing, Buick listened to fans’ feedback and introduced Buick “Nail Clippers” as a limited-edition collectible inspired by their critiques, turning negative comments into a real-time engagement. This bold move showed Buick’s willingness to embrace criticism as social currency to connect with younger audiences, sparking conversation across all social platforms in China.
“Amazing Thailand” by Ogilvy Bangkok for the Tourism Authority of Thailand
The number of visitors to Thailand has plummeted due to the pandemic’s impact, which resulted in the loss of significant sources of income that most temples, affiliated small businesses, and local communities depended upon. The Tourism Authority of Thailand needed an idea that could help sustain the living home of Thailand’s deep culture. The Tourism Authority of Thailand introduced HOME SWEET HOME – SURVIVE OBT2, a multiplayer game that builds on the success of its previous version by taking the gaming experience to the next level and turning it into a gateway that interconnects the virtual, spiritual, and physical worlds for the first time.
In addition to a totally new journey of discovery into Thailand’s deep culture where gamers from anywhere around the globe could immerse themselves in age-old beliefs and explore the numerous sacred temples and sanctuaries inside-out, this new version engaged players on a deeper level by giving them the chance to virtually take part in ancient rituals, interact with a range of sacred objects, and even use supernatural powers from the various hidden amulets they would uncover during the gameplay to help them stay protected and fight against the veil forces within the game.
As a result of HOME SWEET HOME – SURVIVE OBT2 becoming the new craze among gamers worldwide, the hope of all temples and affiliated small businesses was revived by a new form of sustainable virtual tourism
“Milk Manga” by Geometry Ogilvy Japan for Seki Milk
In many parts of Japan, 65% of elementary school kids don’t receive the recommended nutritional balance because they’re not finishing their daily bottle of milk. Leveraging kids’ love of manga, a four-frame design was painted on the bottle in white, revealing more of the comic story as kids drank up. 10 unique stories were printed in all, giving kids plenty of fresh stories to consume. The results? In the Gifu Prefecture, 95% of the children finished their milk, enjoying 100% of the milk’s nutrients. An earned media value of US$2 million was also gained, encouraging more schools to include Milk Manga in their children’s daily lunch.
“The Loudest Call” by Ogilvy Sydney for Whitelion
It’s a shocking stat, but there are three times as many young Australians living out of home as there are phone booths on our streets, and they’re just as invisible. To give 46,000 homeless youth a voice, Whitelion made the loudest call. A single phone call to Australia’s 15,300 phone booths, all in one day. If you answered the call, you’d get a message from a young Aussie asking for help and a simple call to action to make a donation at whitelion.org.au.
“Yellow Cards” by Ogilvy Shanghai (WPP Open X) for Sprite
Big names, big brands, and insanely big viewership numbers. The 2022 Qatar World Cup was hotter than ever and the most heated moments were the 225 yellow card. And when there’s heat, there’s an opportunity for Sprite to cool things down. But without an official FIFA sponsorship deal, how could Sprite compete?
When a referee shows a yellow card to a player, it’s a significant moment in any football game and not just for the player in question. Football fans can get upset, disappointed, or even outraged knowing that their favorite player is only one card away from being banned from the game. One heat-filled moment that only Sprite could own.
Ogilvy Shanghai (WPP Open X) turned to MIGU, China’s biggest live streaming sports platform. In a World Cup first, it bought the smallest media space it could think of: the yellow card. Throughout the entire World Cup, whenever a yellow card was issued, its live in-game triggers pushed alerts across multiple platforms, connected devices, and digital outdoor in real-time. Fans could instantly exchange the yellow cards for an ice-cold Sprite online or offline to cool down.
