Applauding the best ads, booing the worst

The International Advertising Festival, held annually in Cannes, France, is the world’s largest gathering of advertising professionals which attracts over 8,000 participants. In this event, the Cannes Lions, the most-sought after creative awards, are handed out.

Now on its 49th year, the tilt was held at the Palais de Festival wherein the more famous Cannes Film Festival is staged every year. It’s situated at the famous Criosette, a palm-tree-lined boulevard by the beach which at that time was filled with bronzed European jet-setters.

In the exhibition area, there was a cyber-lounge where delegates could surf the Web or read e-mail for free. Also found in the area were the Warner Music stand, the Kodak booth, a cell phone charging area and, of course, a bar where croissants, coffee and ice-cold beer were served.

The week-long festival started with the viewing of all the TV commercial entries in the many auditoriums of the Palais. There was also a display of the shortlisted print and outdoors ads in the exhibition hall. Over 17,000 TV, press, outdoor ads, websites, media and direct marketing projects from all over the world were submitted this year, and only about 5 percent made the shortlist.

The die-hard delegates – mostly from agency creative departments – viewed reels upon reels of the best ads in the world They booed or whistled the lousy ads. They applauded the good ones. Others sat in silence – you could almost imagine a thought balloon above them saying, "Damn it! That ad is great! Which agency did it?"

Lunch breaks in between screenings were major distractions. Cafes and restaurants – with seats warmed by Hollywood stars like Sharon Stone, Adam Sandler and Michelle Yeoh – offered exquisite French Provençal food such as Salad Nicoise (green salad with tuna, egg and anchovies), Moules Marinerie (mussels cooked in tomato pesto soup), the famous bouillabaisse soup (a wide selection of fish simmered in saffron, leeks and fresh tomato and spiked with garlicky rouille), Creme Bruleé (rich egg custard topped with crunchy caramel) or pastis (an aniseed-tasting aperitif).

One of those cafes was La Pontiniere, distinguished by its awning with yellow and white stripes which provided amber shade under the bright Provençal sun. These establishments were quite expensive, but the chance to share a memorable meal with friends and colleagues seemed to outweigh all that.

Apart from the commercials screening, the festival mounted well-attended industry-related seminars. Much-awaited was the "Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors’ Showcase," featuring new directing talents from all over the world presented by Bob Isherwood Saatchi’s worldwide creative director.

Another eagerly awaited presentation was by Leo Burnett Worldwide on the subject, "Does Award Winning Advertising Sell (In a Tough Market)." It was presented by CEO Linda Wolf and chief creative officer Michael Conrad of Leo Burnett Worldwide.

Incidentally, Leo Burnett Worldwide made a presentation in ‘96 with the conclusion that 86 percent of the most awarded commercials in the world contributed to measurable marketplace success, validating the role of advertising. Its latest study conducted on the current advertising landscape, including Asia, revealed similar results proving award-winning advertising does sell!

The Dentsu seminar titled "Asian Diversity: The Doors to Discovery" touched on Asian creativity and creative work within the cultural context. A TV commercial from the Philippines was cited in the presentation as one with "(A) cult following in the Philippines" – the popular and very Filipino McDonald’s "Karen" TV spot.

The jury president, Jeff Goodby of Goodby Silverstein & Partners, USA, facilitated and chaired the judging process. He is behind the "Got Milk" campaign and was chosen three times as Adweek’s Creative Director of the Year. The panel of international judges from all over the world spent three full days in session.

The judges chose which made this year’s shortlist, less than 10 percent of all the entries. Those certificate winners were deliberated upon before they were awarded a Gold, Silver, Bronze Lion or the Grand Prix.

Goodby urged fellow judges to approach this year’s entries with "a fresh pair of eyes." He said the tilt is a powerful tool towards improving the quality of advertising for the years to come.

The Philippines submitted a total of 70 entries for the TV, Press, Poster and Outdoor categories. Ogilvy & Mather Manila gave the Philippines its only citation in this year’s festival with a shortlist in the Outdoor category with their work for The Economist titled "Blade" and "No Middle Ground."

Getting on the shortlist means your work gets displayed in the exhibition halls of the Palais during the entire festival period and is deemed as one of the best ads of the year.

In the past years, the Philippines had a better showing with BBDO Guerrero Ortega getting ten ads shortlisted – Adidas, Fedex regional and Dot.ph, as well as Canesten’s "Surgeons" TVC. Saatchi’s and O&M also had shortlists for TV (a public service TVC "Fireworks" and Huggies’ "Singing in the Rain").

The Philippines has yet to win a Cannes Lion medal, although last year David Guerrero of BBDO Guerrero Ortega received a Gold Lion as copywriter for the regional Fedex print ad, "Box" developed out of BBDO Thailand.

Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai, India put Asia in the limelight this year with a Gold in the outdoor category for its anti-smoking ad: a spoof of the famous Marlboro ad showing a lone cowboy framed by the Arizona setting sun, looking at his dead horse while the headline reads: Second Hand Smoke Kills. A beautifully crafted piece of work with a striking public service message that hits home.

The Film Awards night, the highlight of the festival, was held on a Saturday evening at the Palais. It was attended by thousands of advertising, marketing and media delegates all in their best evening wear. The curious onlookers, comprising mostly of Cannes locals and tourists, hoped to see movie celebrities; they got to see ad industry celebrities instead! Many creative directors wore this getup: a black coat, a shiny shirt, dark jeans and a pair of Nikes.

The ceremony was pretty straightforward and, without a doubt, very prestigious. (Unlike local ad awards nights which have an array of song and dance performances.) The Bronze and Silvers winners were announced with the winning work shown on screen, but only the Gold Lion winners climbed onstage to get their metal.

This year’s hotly-tipped winner came from Wieden & Kennedy for the Nike Play "Tag" TVC. This spot already won a slew of awards in other tilts. The winning commercial involves a game of tag played in an entire city! The scale of this production is immense. The commercial opens with one boy being "tagged" and he runs around the city trying to tag his next victim and the whole population runs away from him. It ends with the boy trying to catch someone in the subway station who is unaware that the boy is "it" while the logo/slogan "Nike Play" is shown onscreen. This spot is every bit a winner.

British agencies shone with the most number of Gold and Silvers in the film section while the Americans brought in six Golds. Singapore won the Gold for Asia with the Ikea "Dog" spot from Lowe Singapore. This spot also capped the Grand Prix in the Singapore Creative Circle Award held last week. The Silver Lion winners for Asia were Saatchi’s Hong Kong Oxygen Broadband Internet TV commercial "Classroom"; Dentsu Japan for its "Whale" spot for the Children’s Foundation Appeal; Leo Burnett Korea for its McDonald’s spot; and a very likable and entertaining spot from O&M Mumbai for Fevicol Adhesive titled "Bus." The only Bronze winner for Asia came from China with a commercial produced by D’arcy Shanghai for Bright Milk titled "Football." Not a good year for Thailand who had their share of Lions in the past years.

The Journalists’ Award also went to Nike "Tag." The journalists attending the festival got to vote on the TV commercial they think would win the Grand Prix. They got it right again this year.

Palme d’Or Award for the Best Production Company went to Gorgeous International, London who also produced the top TV spot Nike "Tag." Agency of the Year went to Saatchi & Saatchi London who garnered the most number of awards during the festival.

Swatch chairman and CEO Nicolas Hayek won the Advertiser of the Year Award, which honors clients who have distinguished themselves by the quality of their campaigns or who inspire innovative marketing of their products or services.

The formal awarding ceremonies ended at 10:30 p.m. (A decent time compared to the 3 a.m. closing time posted by the recent Philippine Ad Congress!) Guests got on a bus which took them to the Palm Beach Hotel at the other end of the Criosette for an extravagant buffet dinner. The Lion winners were in high spirits. After dinner, the night air was stirred by an impressive fireworks display on the beach followed by endless dancing.

The party group headed off to the must-be-seen-at-bar at the Martinez Hotel for more of the bubbly, and they then hobbled next door to the aptly named Gutter Bar. As the sun rose, all headed back to their respective places of rest and hangover. A few went out for breakfast. It was their last day in Cannes and they wanted it to be their longest!