The day promised to be hectic with a series of award announcements, seminars and workshops. Deciding what to attend and what to skip appeared to be the toughest decision.  I started my day by attending the various press conferences laid out through the morning.  Hearing the jury members share their views on the parameters of award winning work, reasons why some made it and some didn’t (“some people were just too lazy to explain in detail”) and the

trends and challenges facing the industry were an education in themselves. 

This year a new award category was announced – Mobile Lions.  With 6 billion mobiles and 1 million tablets,

mobiles as a category can no longer be ignored. Dubai won a Gold Lion with the famous campaign by TBWA/RAAD –Fridge Magnet.  To help their client a pizza firm –Red Tomato Pizza increase home delivery orders, the agency devised an app by which the clients could order a pizza simply by clicking on their mobiles.  It was heartening to see the Dubai team walk on stage to receive their award amongst thunderous applause.    

The Grand prix in this category was awarded to the Coca cola campaign where people could gift a free coke to anyone, anywhere in the world by clicking on their mobiles. Another interesting win was Backseat driving by Toyota which by now was collecting a nice kitty of awards.

A key parameter for awards in this category – “from this can also be done on mobile to this CANT be done without a mobile” The outdoor awards category announced two grand prix winners.  Two, as both the entries represented two diametrically opposite mediums.  One a simple billboard by Coca cola called Coke Hands by Ogilvy Shanghai and the other a “triumph of technology inspired inventiveness” by Mercedes, developed by Jung von Matt, Hamburg.  Mercedes developed a zero emission car and showcased their eco friendly message by creating an invisible car – a car that could not be seen by people or the environment.  Millions saw the invisible car and helped Mercedes present a compelling case for their brand.

India won its first Gold Lion at the awards with a hoarding for Western Union Money Transfer.  This campaign by Mc Caan showed the changing faces on currency notes from Manmohan Singh to Abraham Lincoln and others.  Prasoon

Joshi walked on his stage in his trademark black shirt to receive the award later in the evening. 

Axe received the Creative effectiveness award for their campaign – even angels will fall by proving that the client’s sales had increased manifold due to the effectiveness of the campaign and not due to other causes like distribution, competitor activity etc. 

The India seminar dedicated to Indian creativity and its influence globally was a much awaited event. Balki from Lintas and   Shekhar Kapur were interviewed by Wired magazine editor –David Rowan.  Balki spoke about why global campaigns and brands had to behave Indian to succeed here. His advice to  global companied wishing to succeed in India – live in India, watch Indian movies and leave it to the Indians.   Shekhar Kapur asked the world not to treat India as a market but look at it as a culture.  My view on this session – confused!

Serpentine lines awaited as I tried to attend the Face book session on -the psychology and creativity of sharing.  The packed hall apparently unnerved Face Book’s young Global Head of Brand Design Paul Adams. He started speaking but got nervous, and forgot his lines. He then left the stage saying “give me a minute, I’ll be back in a second.” He returned and was welcomed back with an encouraging roar from the supportive audience.  Confidence restored, he went on to enthrall the audience. 

Paul spoke about the changes that will take place in news and TV.  The new format for news will be –world

news; local news; news you are interested in; news your friends are watching. People don’t love brands, they love their friends.  This was the message shared through the FB and then the You Tube session.  New learnings here – brands must appoint specialist YouTube content developers if they want their films on You Tube to stand out. Creative agencies should be rewarded by their clients depending on the number of people who choose to see their ads on YouTube.

The award ceremony in the evening was held with its usual sophistication. What I enjoyed more was the celebration by the award winners immediately after the awards.  People laughing, dancing, posing with their awards.  A happy moment indeed!    

Authored By: Vandana Kakar, she is representing Mediavataar @ Cannes.