MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Upon the conclusion of the 2021 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, normalcy remains something that the Philippines can only dream of. With the slow rollout of vaccines and different levels of never-ending quarantine, creativity over the past 15 months has been more difficult to come by but that doesn’t mean that it has dried up completely.
This year’s Cannes Lions actually spanned two years’ worth of entries due to the COVID-19 pandemic exploding in March 2020 and forcing a cancellation of last year’s event. The annual festival, often called the Oscars of the international advertising industry, honors the pinnacle of creativity and any agency or country that takes home one of the prestigious Lions from Cannes gets all the glamour that comes with it.
There were 29,074 pieces of work entered from 90 countries with the Philippines itself submitting 126 of those entries. Of those entries, perennial contenders TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno were shortlisted for Industry Lions for “Tubbataha Coral Rip.”
The agency together with the Paper Cutters Guild of the Philippines recreated a portion of the Tubbataha Coral Reef on a paper canvas. Created for the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, “Tubbataha Coral Rip” was exhibited and torn on the spot to dramatize how something that took millions of years to form can be destroyed in an instant.
Meanwhile, Leo Burnett Manila was also shortlisted for Brand Experience and Activation Lions under Culture & Context: Market Disruption. Addressing how teachers and students struggled with distance learning all over the Philippines, Leo Burnett Manila partnered with McDonald’s to create “McClassroom.”
#Awards: @McDo_PH 's “McClassroom” by @LeoBurnettMNL has been #shortlisted as a finalist in the @Cannes_Lions 2021, for the category of #BrandExperience & Activation under #Culture & Context: Market Disruption.https://t.co/1fFhXB5Y2B#adobomagazine #thewordoncreativity
— adobo magazine (@adobomagazine) June 25, 2021
More than 200 idle McDonald’s party rooms were transformed into sanitized, quiet workspaces where teachers could conduct virtual classes and prepare learning modules. Free WiFi and free coffee from McCafe were also provided to give a boost to the educators.
The big winners from the Philippines this year, however, came from two agencies: one, an established agency that is part of a global network, the other a relative newbie that is as independent as they can be.
BBDO Guerrero prides itself on being the most awarded Philippine agency at Cannes and added yet another in the form of a brand-new Bronze Lion. Plastic shampoo bottles add to the world’s pollution problem of single-use plastics when discarded but people still associate shampoo with the bottle shape, not a bar.
THIS JUST IN: The Dissolving Bottle has been awarded a Bronze Lion for Design at @Cannes_Lions' virtual announcement of winners!
Huge congratulations to the team for this prestigious achievement!#Cannes2021 #TheDissolvingBottle pic.twitter.com/v0rC9dW4x3
— BBDO Guerrero (@bbdoguerrero) June 21, 2021
To address this confusion, BBDO Guerrero created “The Dissolving Bottle.” Shaped like a bottle, it’s actually shampoo that, upon several uses, gradually dissolves into nothingness, thus not leaving anything behind to pollute the planet. This simple rethink of the shampoo bar but could prove significant in the bigger picture as more companies become more conscious of the waste they leave behind.
On the other hand, maverick agency GIGIL made viral waves in 2020 for a weird ad that they created for RC Cola. Dubbed “Family,” this strange ad begins with a boy asking his mother if he is adopted. As the mother attempts to avoid the question, the boy asks again, revealing four glass bottles on his back. Weeping the mom then breaks down and admits that they had been hiding something from him before she pops her neck to reveal a bottle of RC Cola and pouring the soda into the glasses.
WE JUST WON OUR FIRST-EVER CANNES LIONS!
GIGIL snatched a bronze in ‘Film,’ one of the toughest categories of the Festival. Big thanks our RC Cola clients who believed in the idea, and our production partners Arcade Film Factory, Riot, Barebones, and Hit Productions. #GIGILNews pic.twitter.com/Twml1NpyOi
— Gigil (@GigilGroup) June 25, 2021
With over seven million views on the RC Cola Philippines page since it was launched in November 2020, “Family” from GIGIL was even recognized by Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show. Now, it takes home a Bronze Lion for Film Lions at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Despite the pandemic preventing flights to Cannes, several Filipinos were still tapped to serve as judges for this year’s festival. Dentsu JaymeSyfu Chairmom and Dentsu mcgarrybowen Global President Merlee Jayme served as Jury President for Radio and Audio Lions.
Meanwhile, Mullenlowe Treyna Chief Creative Officer Abi Aquino was a jury member for the Industry Craft Lions Shortlist and Ace Saatchi & Saatchi Philippines Creative Director and Head of Content Angie Tiha-Tohid was a jury member for the Outdoor Lions Shortlist.
In spite of a global pandemic greatly altering the way the world works and how advertising agencies created campaigns for their clients, creativity still found ways to bloom worldwide. As the 2021 edition of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity draws to a close, Filipinos can hold their heads high thanks to some award-winning campaigns that once again bring honor to the nation.
