Publications
Partners
Cannes - South Africa has won two grand prix at the Cannes Lions Advertising festival in its best performance ever, after scooping a Grand Prix every year since its first win in 2006.
The two winners are Net#work BBDO's campaign for Virgin Atlantic Airways - an offbeat, almost surreal radio spot described by the judges as "an engaging and entertaining ad for a brave client" - and TBWA Hunt Lascaris' outdoor billboard made of Zimbabwean currency for the exile newspaper, The Zimbabwean.
It was an emotionally charged moment when agency founder John Hunt went up to receive the trophy. Hunt, who is now TBWA's global creative chief, has won many awards in an illustrious career, but never a Cannes grand prix.
He received warm and prolonged applause from a knowledgeable crowd, which included a strong and rapturous South African contingent.
The Virgin Atlantic commercial promotes its upper class as "first class comfort for a business class fare". South African radio jury chairperson Matthew Bull, of Lowe Bull, said "the ad got better and better the more we listened to it".
The panel was parsimonious in handing out awards. "Cannes is not about handing out dozens of awards, but about rewarding great work," he said.
Andrew Whitehouse, the South African member of the outdoor judging panel, said the Zimbabwean ad was proof of the value of a good idea, even when executed with old-fashioned technology.
But the view of the panel was that technology is changing this medium for ever. One panel member said this might be the last time a traditional outdoor ad would win at Cannes.
The ad also won a Gold Lion in the media category. The South African member of the media jury, Mark Tabac, said it was one of two contenders for a grand prix there too.
The two vital criteria in making the awards, says Tabac, were return on investment and effectiveness. "Seventy percent of entries in the media category were not from media agencies," he says.
"That's why we were very strict on this. Too many entries focused on creativity instead of results."
- Fin24.com
