DDB’s Cannes jurors share the trends and insights they brought back from the Festival this year.
Juan Carlos Ortiz, DDB Latina
Everything is crossed. Today all the big ideas are competing in several categories. One great work can win in film, but can also win in outdoor ambient, and also in direct, and also in promo. The convergence is everywhere. Big ideas are crossing through all categories.
TOP FAVS
IBM Smart Ideas | Metro Trains Dumb Ways to Die | Dove Sketches
Paulo Cesar Queiroz, DDB Brasil
In the category of media, we need to keep in mind that we are talking business. No results, no deal. If you want to shortlist, if your goal is to fight for a Lion, you must show the results. And the creative idea has to be combined with media strategy. The media solution must have the potential to be widely applied and must work in large scale.
TOP FAVS
McDonalds Becomes Macca’s | Shopping Villalobos A Loja Vazia | Facebook 1914
Joji Jacob, DDB Singapore
I came back with the strong feeling that thanks to the rise of technology, everything we do in the future will be direct communication. Technology now allows brands to talk to consumers on a one-to-one basis. I also thought that this year, more than ever, there was a return to simplicity and honesty in terms of ideas.
TOP FAVS
Hemoba My Blood is Red and Black | SKY Live Spots | SPCA Driving Dogs
Jacco ter Schegget, Tribal DDB Europe & Amsterdam
We saw some great craft in Cyber, and especially valued good copywriting. We loved alternative interfaces (and robots!) and focussed on great storytelling. Content marketing and production has become more important, especially when it is fresh and has a strong relevance to the brand. And last but not least, nothing beats good storytelling, especially in Cyber.
TOP FAVS
Adidas Neo Window Shopping | Oreo Daily Twist | Sun Valley Skippy, The Stone-Skipping Robot
Borja Borreo, Interbrand Madrid
Trying to define the boundaries between Advertising and pure Design entries was a hotly debated topic. I think part of the jury was misled by the power of some good ad campaigns (tactical and short-time led ideas) that had not much to do with pure design thinking (long-term concepts & ideas). The category still needs to be defined properly and I think it is too broad, though I did find it especially interesting because of that. We had to deal with so much stuff; packaging, typography, digital & motion, videos, installations, apps, retail spaces, posters, annual reports, stationery, corporate identity, etc. It was an amazing opportunity to see such a variety. Notable trends were a taste for simplicity and ideas that worked seamless across different media – good storytelling brought to life in a simple but meaningful way.
TOP FAVS
Apart from Auchan The Selfscan Report (the Grand Prix): Qantas Stories for Every Journey | Shopping Villalobos A Loja Vazia | Absolut Unique
Lisa Bennett, DDB North America
A big topic of discussion in our jury room was around how digital technology has made the medium of film even more powerful. There are more opportunities than ever for people to view films and more films being created specifically for online viewing. For that reason, it is very difficult to stand out in today’s world and to hold the viewers attention. Before awarding a Film Lion, we debated not just the quality of the creative idea, but the insight, the connection to the brand and whether or not it was persuasive.
TOP FAVS
Intel + Toshiba The Beauty Inside | Axe Susan Glenn | Southern Comfort Whatever’s Comfortable Beach
Chuck Rachford, DDB Chicago
Radio is still lagging every other medium in true innovation. Cyber and Film are innovating every day but with radio we’re still using the same basic tools and techniques we have for decades. This is a real shame since radio is easier than any of those to fund and produce. But there are some creative teams that will see this as the huge opportunity it really is – a chance to redefine how we look at radio – and when that happens they will be showered with more Gold Lions than they can handle.
TOP FAVS
Prime Television Call Girl | Phillips Digital Video Monitor | Nampak Twinsaver Tissues for Men
Magnus Jakobsson, DDB Stockholm
Mobile has matured way beyond tech gimmicks. It’s real content, real usability and if it’s just for fun, it’s fun for real. Notable trends as far as tech-gimmicks go were (surprisingly) face recognition/swapping apps, and also swapping the ringtone or answering machine to something else. Trends like these killed themselves merely by being trending. Great content, unique and new usability is the way to go. Everything else is dead, or at most living dead.
TOP FAVS
Reborn Second Life Apps | Smart Communications TXTBKS | Doremir Scorecleaner Notes
Cam Hoelter, DDB Sydney
With very little innovation compared to other newer media, originality was a big topic of discussion in press. How close does something have to be to be done before? Illustration was another big trend this year. Particularly very detailed intricate illustration. There were some breathtaking examples of illustrative craft this year. See ‘Sunlight’ dishwashing liquid and ‘Samsung’ kids suitcases.
TOP FAVS
Duracell Positive & Negative | UNICEF Dealer, Drunk, Slut | Penguin Audio Books Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde
Rodrigo Bolivar, DDB Colombia
Although today there are many digital resources, storytelling has never been more important. As we were judging in the Branded Entertainment category, we were expecting to see Red Bull’s Stratos Space Jump. It seems that it wasn’t entered. However, I think the winning ideas would have been the same even with the participation of Red Bull.
TOP FAVS
Dumb Ways to Die, The Beauty Inside, and Real Beauty Sketches are incredible ideas, but I want to call attention to a few others: Old Spice Dikembe Mutombo’s 4 ½ Weeks to Save the World, PLDT Screen-Age Love Story, and WWF The Ant Rally