Czech Authorities Want Speeders to Stop Trying to Make Up for Lost Time on Its Roads

The numbers are sobering: A full 86% of Czech drivers regularly exceed the speed limit, according to the country’s police, with more than a third of high-speed accidents ending in death. In a bid to make Czechs think twice about their sometimes erratic driving habits, a campaign and documentary have been launched showing the devastating…

General Mills Solves Birthday Cake Conundrum With Covid-19 Safe Candle

As the Covid-19 pandemic engenders a massive reassessment of hygiene practices, the tradition of blowing out birthday candles is coming under long-overdue scrutiny due to its risk of spreading germs. For its centenary year, Betty Crocker, the General Mills-owned baking brand, has reimagined the process with the design of a sound-activated LED candle that gamifies…

Telenor Pakistan’s Digital Birth Certificate Wins Cannes Mobile Grand Prix

Telenor Pakistan’s project to give digital birth certificates to unregistered children in Pakistan has continued its winning streak by scoring the top prize in the Cannes Lions Mobile category. “Naming the Invisible by Digital Birth Registration,” created by Ogilvy Pakistan, won the Mobile Grand Prix. This is the second Grand Prix at Cannes for the…

Sick Beats Wins Cannes Radio and Audio Grand Prix

Each year, Cannes Lions honors creative works that communicate a brand’s purpose through audio storytelling or sonic innovation. This year, the festival awarded the big prize and one of five gold Lions to efforts that made unique strides in accessibility for children. On Thursday, Cannes awarded Sick Beats, a collaborative effort between nonprofit Claire’s Place…

Skittles Uses Its Rainbow to Colorize Images of LGBTQ+ History for the First Time

The lives of LGBTQ+ people have often been overlooked in history. Skittles is trying to remedy this by diving into the archives and shining a spotlight on historic LGBTQ+ moments. The “Recolor the Rainbow” campaign, created by Adam & Eve/DDB, coincides with Pride month in June and is a partnership between Skittles, Gay Times Group,…

Streakers Eye Wimbledon in Spot Promoting Danish Streaming Channel’s Coverage

Since television began to broadcast live sporting events, audiences have occasionally subjected to the sight of a naked person streaking across the field, chased by police or stewards. It’s almost a sport to those who participate. With Wimbledon, the world’s most famous summer tennis tournament, set to run through Danish on-demand broadcaster TV 2 Play…

Reddit, Burger King Win Cannes Social and Influencer Grand Prix

Two campaigns that, in their moment, were unlikely heroes have received top honors at Cannes Lions today. Burger King’s “Stevenage Challenge” and Reddit’s “Superb Owl”–the website’s 5-second regional Super Bowl ad–emerged as the Grand Prix winners in the Social and Influencer category. For the “Stevenage Challenge,” that’s the second Grand Prix win today, with the…

Burger King’s Obscure Football Sponsorship Wins Cannes Direct Grand Prix

Burger King has added to its Cannes Lions awards haul by scoring the top prize in Direct, which celebrates targeted and response-driven creativity. The fast-food brand’s “Stevenage Challenge,” created by David Miami, won the Direct Grand Prix. It also won a gold Lion in the category. Launched in 2019, the campaign saw Burger King sponsor…

UK Telecom Brand O2 Is Staging a Show in Fortnite for People Who Miss Live Gigs

U.K. telecom provider O2 is the latest brand to break into Fortnite by creating an interactive music experience within the video game. Created by VCCP, the campaign marks the first time that The O2-an entertainment venue in London-will appear in a video game. It is also the first time that a U.K. music act, the…

Showtime Partners With AnalogFolk on Content Strategy to Promote New Series

American broadcaster Showtime is developing a promotional content strategy with AnalogFolk’s New York team to make audiences more aware of new series being aired, with the first work produced promoting comedy Flatbush Misdemeanors. The collaboration will see a new approach brought to promoting new programming from Showtime, with the Flatbush Misdemeanors work aiming to celebrate…

British Confectioners Fox’s Gets Sweet on New Media Strategy With Spark Foundry Hire

British confectionery brand Fox’s named Spark Foundry as its media planning and buying partner in the U.K to help it build awareness. The appointment by the Valeo Snackfoods-owned brand, whose range includes Fox’s Glacier Mints, will give Spark Foundry the tools to build awareness and drive sales of the company’s candy range using a renewed…

Ad Council PSAs Highlight Struggles, Joys of #Dadication in Unscripted Campaign

When his daughter falls off her bike, Durrell will be there to catch her. It’s not the experience he had as a kid, but he’s rewriting history for the next generation. And Joseph wants to set an example for his children, overcoming his drug addiction and inspiring them to dream big. Those are a few…

DoorDash’s ‘Soul of the City’ Traces the Emotional Return of New York City’s Restaurants

The energy that consumes DoorDash’s Tribeca premiere at The Standard Biergarten in New York aligns with that of the short film the event honors: communal. Hopeful. Vibrant. As the crowd awaits the premiere of “Soul of the City,” the delivery service’s follow-up to its 2020’s “Southside Magnolia,” there’s an air of excitement for both the…

Dove Campaign Celebrates the Role of Fathers and Supports Their Mental Well-being

According to new research, practicing a holistic care regime, that takes care of both physical and mental health, helps men hold more effective relationships. That was one of the findings of research undertaken by Dove Men+Care in partnership with research company Promundo. As a result, in order to celebrate fatherhood around Father’s Day, the Unilever…

Smashing Fortnite Freezers: How Wendy’s Became a Fresh Voice on Twitch

Wendy’s has always taken an unconventional approach to social marketing, and its path to success on streaming platform Twitch followed that model. “We made a huge impact on Twitch without arguably the most important part of Twitch: the presence of the streamer,” VMLY&R group creative director McKay Hathaway said during Adweek’s Elevate: Experiential and Creativity…

What Will Win Big at Cannes Lions 2021? International Creatives Predict

It’s about that time of year when agencies and clients nervously mull over the possibility that they’ve spent so much on entering Cannes Lions and won’t actually win anything to show for it. But who is likely to win big at this year’s Festival of Creativity, with over 29,000 entries received for this year? The…

Tasty’s Licensing Partners Sold More Than $250 Million of Branded Merchandise in 2020

Tasty, the food sub-brand from BuzzFeed, wants to twist its commerce loop into a commerce pretzel, double and triple-dipping revenue by monetizing every stage of the culinary process. The publisher recently announced its latest brand licensing venture: a collaboration with General Mills to produce four dry meal kits, a Tasty-inflected version of the iconic Hamburger…

A Jägermeister-Sponsored Documentary Toasts the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in the US

Lesbian bars have a long and storied history in the U.S., providing many queer women safe spaces to meet over much of the last century. With the bars’ numbers around 200 in the 1980s, it may surprise some to learn that there are fewer than 25 remaining today. The pandemic has taken a toll on…

Cannes Lions 2021 Records Decline in Entry Rates Despite Accepting Two Years of Work

Ascential’s 2021 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, which will take place virtually for the second year in a row, received 29,074 award entries from 90 countries covering a two-year period after 2020’s festival organizers canceled giving out awards because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the resumption in judging ad work, the entry numbers are…

Publicis.Poke CEO Nick Farnhill Stepping Down, to Be Replaced by John Hadfield

Nick Farnhill, founder and chief executive of Publicis.Poke, is leaving the agency after 20 years. John Hadfield, CEO of Bartle Bogle Hegarty Singapore, will move from the fellow Publicis Groupe agency to replace Farnhill. Hadfield has been CEO of BBH Singapore for the past 11 years and was previously managing director at BBH London. Farnhill…