CANNES – The 63rd Cannes Lions of International Creativity records its third double Grand Prix winner after Venables Bell’s campaign for outdoor retail corporation REI, #optoutside, garnered the top award in the Titanium Lions category. The campaign also won the Grand Prix in Promo and Activation Lions.
In a press conference, Titanium Lion jury president and BBH founder, Sir John Hegarty shares that he and his jury members loosely followed the brief given by Cannes Lions in choosing the winners in the Titanium category. ‘Entries that would need to break new ground in creative communications and point the industry in a new direction’, he said, was a very broad and demanding brief for a piece of work.
“I’m not sure new is always the best. In the rush for the new, we forget to communicate genuinely to people,” said Hegarty. “We looked at work that’s actually quite old but could make you rethink or reconsider.”
What #optoutside’s did was to make people and even other brands rethink an age-old business tradition that’s driven to make consumers spend more money. Instead of launching sales and special promos, REI did the unthinkable and closed all its more than a hundred stores during Black Friday. The company closed down so its employees can spend the day off outside and encouraged other people to do the same.
“#optoutside is a play with what’s happening with the world. Things like that gets more attention from our audience and the people we’re talking to.” commented Hegarty.
Direct Grand Prix winner, ‘The Swedish Number’ by INGO Stockholm, the jury shared, was a close contender for the top award because the campaign was a ‘very simple idea that was exhaustedly executed.’
Asia-Pacific
Two APAC agencies, Y&R New Zealand and Colenso BBDO also collected Titanium Lions for Print & Publishing and Media Grand Prix, ‘McWhopper’ and Outdoor Grand Prix winner, ‘Brewtroleum’ respectively.
See the full list of winners below:
