In an era where media is saturated with quick fire videos and mindless entertainment, there are still those that stand not just for great production value and quality but also a deeper meaning or advocacy.
The Grand Prix in the Entertainment category at #CannesLions goes to… UM Studios for the 5B campaign for @JNJNews! pic.twitter.com/UernzHYj9W
— LIONS | The Home of Creativity (@Cannes_Lions) June 18, 2019
Sponsor
Digitas Global Chief Creative & Content Officer Scott Donaton, who serves as the Entertainment Lions Jury President, earlier described this category as a way to look beyond the novelty of the industry and really delve into how entertainment can serve the higher purpose of connecting humanity.
“The best lens I’ve heard articulated for how to look at this work is simple and elegant: was it worthy of a person’s time and a brand’s money?”
This year’s Entertainment Lions Grand Prix Awardee without a doubt embodies that message.
UM Studios approach at telling the story of Ward 5B of the San Francisco General Hospital, the first hospital ward dedicated to giving care to patients that contracted AIDS (or Gay Cancer as they called it back in the day), touches on not just the violence and inequality experienced by the LGBTQ+ community but also the compassion nurses and doctors showed during hard times. The documentary was made in partnership with Johnson & Johnson, who has a 25-year history of supporting causes that fight HIV and AIDS.
Gold Lions winners in the category too are:
