Our Cannes-alysis event is an opportunity for us to bring back the latest & greatest from Cannes. It is an evening to showcase the most inspiring and interesting work, successful case studies and amazing innovations that roared their way to success at the festival of creativity.
This year saw several agencies from Ireland being shortlisted for Cannes Lions including BBDO and Boys + Girls. And of course, Rothco who came away with a total of 7 trophies including a Grand Prix - a first ever for an Irish agency. You’ve all heard the arguments before about why you should take part and attend this incredible festival as it's an opportunity to learn from the best of the best in advertising globally. However if you couldn't be there this year, the next best thing was to be at Cannes-alysis where our speakers brought the spirit of Cannes to the National Concert Hall for one night. A huge thank you to our speakers for sharing their insights and highlights with us and thank you also to our co-hosts for Cannes-alysis the Marketing Institute and the AAI.
First up Gráinne Wafer took us through the hot topics that she saw across campaigns at Cannes Lions of Gender, Trust and Tech. She believes it's time for less talking more ACTION and that the time is now. Being an observer is no longer acceptable. Despite all the talking over the past decade about gender equality, nothing has changed. Women are still underrepresented in advertising and in the industry. It's time for action.
Some of the campaigns highlighted by Gráinne included Bodyform's Blood Normal campaign and 'You Can Be Anything' Barbie - two campaigns helping to further gender equality. Gráinne also spoke about a year of tough conversations about trust, transparency, privacy and data. With some brands taking bold action, even if that means losing sales to build trust and substantiate your purpose. It was highlighted with a case study from Edeka, the supermarket took a bold stance for their campaign removing all products from their shelves that were imported to make a point that "This Supermarket is Poorer without Diversity."
Sandra Alvarez spoke to us about the moral spine of brands whether that is in helping to combat period shame, redefine masculinity for a generation or expose trash pollution in the oceans. Brands are trying to connect with consumers by using our emotions as anchors. They are ambitious about making a difference in the world, rising above and trying to credibly do better.
Two of the award winning case studies emphasised by Sandra included the Axe''s "Is it okay for guys" campaign. This campaign is designed to show how men privately struggle with masculinity - highlighting actual Google searches that reveal just how anxious they feel about adhering to, and straying from, societal norms. Plus Lad Bible's "Trash Isles" campaign which won the Grand Prix for PR, this campaign was created to force a conversation about plastic in the oceans by encouraging young people to lobby the United Nations to deem it a country of its own.
We were delighted to have Emma Sharkey with us on the night to speak about Rothco's winning campaign 'JFK Unsilenced' but also to take us through other entries in the Radio category emphasising how it is a forgotten medium but a golden opportunity?! It is one of the categories in Cannes Lion with the lowest number of entries and Ireland is a country with one of the highest radio listenerships. We should be creating brave and inspiring work worthy of entry in this category.
Some of the campaigns Emma played for the room on the night included 'No Needles' by McCann Birmingham for Dexcom, 'Voice of Change' by Akestam Holst for Europride, 'Date' by TBWA Johannesburg for Flightcentre, 'First Responders - Laura' by McCann New York for Verizon, and 'Deaths' by Ogilvy Chicago for Lyric Opera of Chicago. It was inspiring to hear what can be achieved in 60 seconds of audio.
Rory Hamilton tried to convince us that at this year's Cannes Lions "All of the World's Problems are Solved."
- Solved every social injustice
- Cured most communicable diseases
- Tackled every environmental disaster
- Brought several people back from the dead
Rory highlighted dozens of campaigns tackling a variety of global issues but obviously the most pressing one was the matter of Dog "Selfies" which was solved by Pedigree and their Selfie Stix - an ingenious invention to attach to your phone to grab your dog's attention. Simple but genius!
And last but not least two of our Cannes Young Lion competitors Jamie Fulham (Investment Manager, Core - Media Team CYL) and Chloe Barton (Brand Engagement Manager, AIB - Young Marketers CYL) spoke about their experience with the Cannes Young Lions competition. Their journey to it and the way they approached it as well as the pressure you're under when taking part. Also, the relief when your competition is over and you can go and soak in the rest of the festival. They each had the opportunity to see inspirational speakers, take in awe-inspiring campaigns, and learn from the very best which is what the festival is about.
To hear more from them and from all of our speakers, please take a look at our short video below filmed while in Cannes with some of the Irish delegates who attended.
