Hasta La Creative!

The kids who rely on Youth Ambassadors in Kansas City are in the line of fire today. In other words, the kids are not currently living a storybook childhood. Perhaps, that’s why these animated tales from VML contain such awesome power. The agency is presenting some of the harshest truths about our culture in a […]

The post A Child’s Pain Is The City’s Pain Is The Nation’s Pain appeared first on AdPulp.

It’s not a real Cannes Lions festival without a little scandal. And Marcel can’t take all the glory, can he??

This year did, in fact, see another controversy develop as the festival approached its last day and the “Network of the Year” competition came down to a nail-biter between last year’s finalists, BBDO and Ogilvy.

Many thought that Clemenger BBDO of Australia had a strong contender in the the Titanium category, which celebrates “game-changers” that have “[broken] new ground in branded communications,” in the form of “Meet Graham.” The project, created for Transport Accident Commission of Victoria last year, stems from a basic idea: “designing” a human who can survive car crashes.

But the work was ultimately dismissed by both the Titanium and Integrated juries, which cited its similarity to this 1985 anti-smoking spot by agency FCO according to “a spokesman for the juries” cited in a Campaign report yesterday.

FWIW, this is the first time we have ever come across an unnamed representative speaking on behalf of two specific Cannes juries.

According to copywriter Rob Jankowski, the Blade Runner-inspired effort above was “The only advertisement ever to appear on UK terrestrial TV and in cinemas without any type or logo at the end.”

“Meet Graham” ultimately won the Grand Prix in Cyber and Health and Wellness, making it one of the more-awarded efforts of the festival. But multiple parties tell us Clemenger BBDO and the larger network were not at all happy with this decision … and that most of the jury members themselves had never heard of “Natural Born Smoker.”

Some felt that Clemenger BBDO was being accused of directly ripping off the earlier work, and creative chairman John McGrath directly countered that perception in a statement:

Clemenger BBDO Melbourne has built its reputation on originality. We are incredibly proud of that promise. How others judge it, and their motives for doing so, we do not know, nor is it any of our business. The “Meet Graham” project was created to solve one of our client’s greatest problems. Every stage of our process, from the very initial strategy and brief, was based on a unique understanding of road safety data and the physics of road accident trauma. The problem itself identified the creative outcome.

The smoking ad referred to is a 32 years old TV spot. It was absolutely not the inspiration for the sculpture/tech based idea developed for our client. We’d never even heard of it.

From BBDO Worldwide chief creative officer David Lubars:

We were greatly disappointed and surprised to learn that “Meet Graham” had been rejected from the Integrated and Titanium categories.  The implication that it had drawn inspiration from a UK TV ad from over 30 years ago—aside from being preposterous—was raised and addressed at the beginning of the festival. The work then went on to be judged favorably by other juries, just as it has been judged in other award shows such as D&AD (in which Clemenger BBDO received a Black Pencil for it and was named Agency of the Year).

As Lubars noted, it’s not clear why some unnamed members of the jury brought this matter up at the literal last minute. And now we’re hearing a slightly different spin behind why the work got dismissed.

One Titanium juror told us that seeing “Natural Born Smoker” made it hard for the jury to recognize “Meet Graham” with the Titanium award, which is designed to recognize new ways forward. No one was suggesting Clemenger BBDO knew about “Natural Born Smoker” while making “Graham,” this juror added. Rather, it was simply hard to give a Titanium Lion to work that had strong echoes of the past.

The spokesperson cited in Campaign’s earlier report did not make that distinction.

On the Carlton terrace Saturday night after the news broke, several Australian friends of Clemenger BBDO were angry about the “Graham” snub. They floated conspiracy theories about why certain jury members might have ulterior motives in killing the piece.

We reached out to a spokesperson for the agency, but it seems at this time that BBDO will not elaborate beyond the statements above.

And despite all this noise, the Omnicom company still won network of the year with Clemenger BBDO taking agency of the year.

We look forward to next year’s controversy.

Oh hey. Remember last January when Amir Kassaei announced, in a Campaign op-ed, that the world would be seeing a little less of DDB at the 2016 awards shows?

He made sure to note that his employer has “won more Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity than any other network on the planet” while throwing a whole lot of shade at everyone else: “Too many of us in the industry have bought into the idea that winning awards is proof of creative effectiveness, so much so that we’re willing to sacrifice our integrity to get them. And in turn that has lessened the integrity of the awards themselves.”

As we knew then and still know now, his promise was a whole bunch of bullshit.

But it’s worth noting in light of Arthur Sadoun’s announcement yesterday that Publicis Groupe would ban all of its agencies from participating in awards shows, trade shows or any other sort of paid promotional effort until the holding company has finished developing its AI-based global platform Marcel.

He claimed that means Publicis will be completely absent from next year’s Cannes, CES, the Clios, the Effies and every other awards event big or small.

Will he keep his promise? Was this all just a big PR stunt, especially given the fact that Publicis currently lags behind all the other major holding companies in its 2017 Cannes total? What if both things are simultaneously true?

Anyway, now that our anonymous comments have gone to that great troll home in the sky (R.I.P.), we would like to ask everyone reading—especially Publicis employees—to tell us what you really think about Marcel.

The topic has already gone somewhat “viral” on Fishbowl, the app that aspires to be a gossip magnet for people in various industries including advertising.

Some takes that are mildly hot:

“Marcel, please tap into your network and give high fives to all former Publicis employees who are so grateful to have left at this moment.”

“Am I the only one relieved we are going to stop wasting time and money over awards and schmooze fests? Thanks Marcel.”

“Marcel is just vaporware that will never live up to its billing.”

“Bonjour, Marcel! Can you connect me with a recruiter.”

So far, the only reader to weigh in via our tip box (which is still 100% anonymous, by the way) had a very succinct response: “FUCK YOU.”

Feel free to use your Facebook thing or the tip box on the right.

Here’s a recap from a selection of today’s talks at Cannes, in case you were too hungover to attend any panels today, or maybe you’re not in the south of France this weekend: “The sun is setting on Cannes,” one agency exec affiliated with a major holding company told Ad Age. Clients with each passing […]

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I don’t know who goes to Cannes for the panels, but some of the featured panels do look promising. Given the high cost to attend the industry’s marquis event, perhaps agency principals could demand attendance at X number of panels, plus a full debriefing for the team upon return. According to a memo reviewed by […]

The post Ad People Can’t Kick The Cannes appeared first on AdPulp.

Wexley School for Girls won Best Of Show at the 2017 American Advertising Awards Seattle (still known as the ADDYs) for the following War Dragons spot. Ads for adventure-focused video games tend to stay pretty straightforward, which is partially why the dark humor and unexpected twists of this spot work so well. As Ian Cohen […]

The post War Dragons And Wexley Emerge Victorious At The Seattle ADDYs appeared first on AdPulp.

Ogilvy & Mather Vietnam returned the Silver Lion in the Direct category and Bronze Lion in the PR category the agency won at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity last month for its “Saving Africa’s last wild rhinos, by poisoning them” work for the Rhino Rescue Project, Campaign reports.

The Ogilvy office returned both Lions of its own accord after finding that some campaign elements “did not run in-market as stated in our submission video,” according to a statement from the agency:

We determined that some elements of the campaign material created to support the NGO’s efforts to reduce Vietnamese consumer demand for rhino horns did not run in-market as stated in our submission video (see above) to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Ogilvy & Mather sends our sincerest apologies to both our client and the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. We are deeply regretful of any embarrassment this error in judgement has caused. While our agency has a long history of pro bono work for various causes including rhino horn protection, we do not condone any work done in opposition of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity regulations and guidelines. Our client on this particular campaign, along with many other conservation groups, are doing important work on an ongoing basis to combat the continued problem of rhino poaching. We deeply believe in this cause and Ogilvy Vietnam has pledged to continue to work on a pro bono basis helping any and all NGO’s who share in that belief.  Towards that goal, the agency will be hosting a roundtable on the topic, to which it will invite interested NGO’s and other stakeholders to discuss the ongoing problem of rhino horn consumption in Vietnam.

Of course, Ogilvy & Mather Vietnam is not the only shop to return its Lions following questions about a submission not running in-market as presented. Grey Singapore returned the Cannes Lion it won for the “I SEA” app following backlash after the app was removed from Apple’s app store for not working as intended.

To Ogilvy & Mather’s credit, the agency seems to have made the decision to return the dubious awards without any prompting by way of outside controversy or pesky journalists.

Here’s the case study video.

Earlier this week, we wrote about the Apple Store removing Grey Group Singapore’s “I Sea” app, which subsequently won a Promo and Activation Bronze Lion at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The app supposedly provided satellite footage to users allowing them to “flag” ships which could be distressed refugee boats in an attempt to prevent drownings at sea. Instead it showed the same image to all users, coupled with a weather report from Libya intended to give the impression that what they’re watching is a live feed. Grey clarified in a June 19 blog post that the app “is currently in a testing mode.” 

Today, Cannes Lion issued a press release confirming that it is reviewing the eligibility of the Grey Group Singapore entry, “after the veracity of the app was brought into question.” The review in question will be conducted with the agency after the conclusion of the festival. Here’s the brief statement in full:

Review of entry eligibility for “I Sea” app

23 June 2016 – Cannes Lions can confirm a review of the “I Sea” app, created by Grey Group Singapore, after the veracity of the app was brought into question.

The work claimed a Bronze in the Promo & Activation Lions where it was also shortlisted, as well as being shortlisted in the Mobile, Media and Direct Lions.

Following concerns expressed about aspects of its functionality, a review will be conducted with Grey Group Singapore following the Festival.

 

“Every morning I sit for hours on the beach holding my ether orb.” -Lee Clow The “cult of creativity” that is LA’s ad scene, will be gathering at the Beverly Hilton this week to give themselves trophies. What you are about to see are promotional videos for the “Sold Out” event. Southern California advertising people […]

The post Lee Clow, Supreme Master, Will See You At The Gala appeared first on AdPulp.

If you’re on your way to Cannes this weekend, AdPulp is happy for you. If you’re not on your way to Cannes to collect your Lion, you can stay up on the festival via various social media outlets detailed in the following infographic created by Ghergich & Co. and ImageBrief.

The post The Quick Guide to Cannes Lions 2015 appeared first on AdPulp.